Washington -- President Trump angrily lashed out at Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry and the whistleblower whose complaint prompted it, accusing a House chairman of treason and saying the anonymous individual's identity should be disclosed.
"This country has to find out who this person was, because that person's a spy, in my opinion," the president said in the Oval Office, arguing that only "legitimate" whistleblowers should be entitled to protection from retaliation.
At a remarkable press conference with the president of Finland later in the East Room, Mr. Trump repeated a series of falsehoods about the whistleblower and the allegations in the complaint, stating the individual's account of the call did not match a summary released by his own White House, and labeling Joe and Hunter Biden "stone cold corrupt."
He berated a reporter for asking about the Ukraine call, and derided what he called the "corrupt and fake" media in general. He said the controversy was a "hoax" that amounted to a "fraudulent crime on the American people."
Mr. Trump also called Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a "lowlife" who "should resign from office in disgrace."
"And frankly they should look at him for treason," the president said.
The dual outbursts came after Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned the White House and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to interfere with the impeachment inquiry, saying efforts to block witnesses or withhold testimony would be considered evidence of obstruction.
The committees leading the impeachment probe said Wednesday they plan to issue a new subpoena demanding the White House turn over documents about the president's July phone call with the leader of Ukraine.
"They just need to know that, even as they try to undermine our ability to find the facts around the president's effort to coerce a foreign leader to create dirt that he can use against a political opponent, that they will be strengthening the case on obstruction if they behave that way," Schiff said at a press conference with Pelosi on Capitol Hill.
"We have to be worthy of the Constitution. As we said before, we have to be fair to the president and that's why this is an investigative inquiry, not an outright impeachment," Pelosi said. "And we have to give the president his chance to exonerate himself, but he thinks what he did was 'perfect.'" -- Stefan Becket