Kamala Harris Says Whistleblowers Must Be Protected From Donald Trump: 'He Is Clearly Committing Crimes in Plain View'
Senator Kamala Harris has accused President Donald Trump of openly committing crimes and said Congress must do all it can to protect whistleblowers coming forward to make allegations about his misconduct in office.
There are at least two whistleblowers who have come forward about the Ukraine-Biden affair. Trump allegedly put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to interfere in the 2020 election by investigating spurious corruption allegations around former Vice President Joe Biden.
Another whistleblower has come forward making allegations about Trump's tax returns, according to The Washington Post, claiming that there were "inappropriate efforts to influence" the IRS auditing the president's finances.
Trump has vociferously denied any wrongdoing over Ukraine and questioned the credibility of the whistleblowers, accusing them of partisanship and lying in their complaints. One of the whistleblowers is a CIA officer.
"We have to do everything possible," Harris, a California Democrat and a candidate for her party's 2020 presidential nomination, told the Iowa Starting Line Podcast about protecting the whistleblowers.
"Donald Trump is the least patriotic president we've ever had. And he is clearly committing crimes in plain view. He is engaged in suppression of evidence, he is intimidating witnesses, he is creating fear. There are members of Congress who have said he is inciting violence.
"And the reality of it is that he, frankly, should just stop talking and stop tweeting. I have actually said that he has violated the terms of service of his Twitter account and therefore he should be relieved of his privileges.
"But, this is a serious matter, all joking aside, it's a very serious matter, and we're going to have to make sure that those whistleblowers who are speaking up for our democracy and doing the right thing, that they are protected in every way."
House Democrats launched a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump after the first whistleblower's allegations emerged in public. Trump has since doubled-down, saying he did nothing wrong and even openly asking China to investigate Biden and his businessman son, Hunter Biden.
The White House is refusing to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, ignoring subpoena requests and instructing those who work in the administration to do the same.
Trump also released a transcript of a July 25 call with Zelenskiy—which formed part of one whistleblower's complaint—claiming it would demonstrate his innocence. The transcript shows Trump asking Zelenskiy for a favor and to investigate the Bidens.
Moreover, texts between senior State Department diplomats show that there was at the very least the perception that the withholding of military aid from Ukraine was leverage to ensure a Biden investigation was opened.
"The so-called Whistleblower, before knowing I was going to release the exact Transcript, stated that my call with the Ukrainian President was 'crazy, frightening, and completely lacking in substance related to national security.' This is a very big Lie. Read the Transcript!" Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning.
"No Pressure at all said Ukraine! Very congenial, a perfect call. The Whistleblower and others spoke BEFORE seeing the Transcript. Now they must apologize to me and stop this ridiculous impeachment!"
