Was Whistleblower at Center of Ukraine Firestorm Unpatriotic? – Trump

President Trump on Monday questioned the patriotism of the whistleblower who has sparked intense scrutiny of a July phone call in which Trump is said to have pressed the leader of Ukraine about investigating former vice president Joe Biden and his son.

“Also, who is this so-called ‘whistleblower’ who doesn’t know the correct facts,” Trump said in a tweet as he attended a United Nations gathering in New York. “Is he on our Country’s side. Where does he come from.”

Speaking to reporters as he arrived at the United Nations, Trump also appeared to acknowledge that U.S. military aid to Ukraine was part of the conversation.

“It’s very important to talk about corruption,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter about the contents of the call. “If you don’t talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country you think is corrupt? One of the reasons the new president got elected is he was going to stop corruption, so it’s very important that on occasion you speak to somebody about corruption.”

Trump has repeatedly raised the specter of impropriety on the part of Biden and his son, who was on the board of a Ukrainian gas company that Trump pushed Zelensky to investigate, according to people familiar with the matter.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Trump said that he is not worried about impeachment and that “the one who’s got the problem is Biden.”

“What Biden did is a disgrace,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly asserted that he said nothing wrong during the call, on Sunday characterizing it as “perfect.”

Since the spring, Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, has pushed the Ukrainians to investigate a gas tycoon who had Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma Holdings starting in 2014.

“I don’t think it really matters whether there was a quid pro quo. . . . whether the president explicitly told the Ukrainians that they wouldn’t get their security aid if they didn’t interfere in the 2020 elections,” Murphy said. “There is an implicit threat in every demand that a United States president makes of a foreign power.”

On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) demanding several steps related to Trump’s call with Zelensky, including a release of the transcript.

Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was noncommittal when asked whether Trump plans to release a transcript of his call with Zelensky.