Trump allies led by Rudy Giullani try to change the narratives of Ukrainegate
Allies of US President Donald Trump and his top aides sought Sunday to change the narratives about Ukrainegate by turning the tables on Democrats pushing for his impeachment.
They are insisting the president was the true “whistleblower” in urging Ukraine to investigate the son of rival Joe Biden for corruption.
Trump’s Republican allies have closed ranks as he battles the deepest crisis of his presidency, flatly denying he abused his power and seeking to discredit the anonymous whistleblower who exposed the scandal.
“The president of the United States is the whistleblower,” Trump advisor Stephen Miller told “Fox News Sunday.”
“This individual is a saboteur trying to undermine a democratically elected government,” he said. “Getting to the bottom of a corruption scandal in Ukraine is in the American national interest.”
Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani — who has emerged as his point man in the Ukraine scandal — led the charge along with Miller in a series of combative Sunday talk show appearances.
But a transcript of the July 25 call shows Trump pushing for Kiev to revisit the matter, saying both Giuliani and US Attorney General Bill Barr would be in touch.
For Democrats, that amounted to a smoking gun, leading Speaker Nancy Pelosi to finally approve an impeachment process she opposed as a risky distraction from the 2020 battle.
Trump insists he did nothing wrong, denouncing a new “witch hunt” and demanding the resignation of lawmaker Adam Schiff, who is leading the probe in Congress.
Between Saturday night and Sunday morning, the president retweeted dozens of news clips of conservatives defending his conduct — along with a video ominously warning his supporters that “our country is at stake like never before.”
– Whistleblower to testify ‘very soon’ –
Democrats have charged aggressively into the inquiry, ordering Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to turn over Ukraine-related documents and scheduling witness testimony.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Schiff said he was “urgently” investigating all aspects of the Ukraine affair, including whether Trump withheld millions of dollars in aid as leverage — although he expected the White House to “fight us tooth and nail.”
“Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace — who has publicly criticised Fox colleagues for echoing the White House line on the scandal — reported that Trump had overridden the Pentagon, State Department, and National Security Council in deciding, alone, to withhold aid.
He also reported Giuliani had been working “off the books” with two Washington lawyers to damaging obtain information about Biden from Ukraine — an allegation denied by Giuliani.
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