President Donald Trump responded Wednesday to the news that Rep. Adam Schiff had knowledge of the “whistleblower” complaint prior to the official submission of the document.
“I think it’s a scandal that he knew before. I would go a step further: I think he probably helped write it,” Trump said.
The New York Times published the story revealing Schiff’s knowledge of the complaint just minutes before the president’s press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. The report noted that a House Democrat staffer told the CIA informant to file the “whistleblower” complaint after learning preliminary details of the president’s conversation.
Trump expressed surprise that the New York Times published the story.
“I give a lot of respect for the New York Times for putting it out. … That’s a big story,” Trump said.
Trump called the entire investigation “a scam,” suggesting that House Democrats and Rep. Schiff set up the complaint to damage his presidency.
He said he would continue looking into the origins of the “whistleblower’s” claim.
“That whistleblower, there’s no question in my mind that some bad things have gone on and I think we’ll get to the bottom of it,” Trump said.
But President Trump confirmed that he would cooperate with subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives, noting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was freely handing them out.
“She hands out subpoenas like they’re cookies,” Trump said about Pelosi, noting that former Speaker Paul Ryan never would give his allies subpoenas.
“Paul Ryan was actually right, probably, because they should never ever allow a thing like this to happen to our country again,” he said.
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