Trump Wants to Meet ‘Whistleblower,’ Warns of ‘Big Consequences’ for Source of Information

President Donald Trump arrives for a photo opportunity with sheriffs from across the country on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Sept. 26, 2019. Erin Scott/Reuters

Republican President Donald Trump said he wants to meet the person who filed a complaint against him and also wondered whether the person who provided information to the complainant was spying, an assertation he made in a private venue last week.

“Like every American, I deserve to meet my accuser, especially when this accuser, the so-called ‘Whistleblower,’ represented a perfect conversation with a foreign leader in a totally inaccurate and fraudulent way,” Trump said in a statement on Twitter on Sept. 29.

“I want to meet not only my accuser, who presented SECOND & THIRD HAND INFORMATION, but also the person who illegally gave this information, which was largely incorrect, to the ‘Whistleblower.’ Was this person SPYING on the U.S. President? Big Consequences!”

The whistleblower complaint, which was released last week, conflicts with the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The inspector general of the intelligence community found “arguable political bias“ on the part of the person who filed the complaint and the complainant relied on secondhand information and information from a non-governmental organization funded by leftist billionaire George Soros.

Trump also criticized Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, for fabricating part of the Trump-Zelensky transcript during his opening statement at a recent committee hearing.

“Schiff made up what I actually said by lying to Congress,” Trump said. “His lies were made in perhaps the most blatant and sinister manner ever seen in the great Chamber. He wrote down and read terrible things, then said it was from the mouth of the President of the United States. I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.”

After reports of the complaint emerged earlier this month, Democrats in the House launched an impeachment inquiry against Trump, accusing him of committing crimes.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), announcing the inquiry on Sept. 24, alleged that Trump “seriously violated the Constitution,” saying that the House is “moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.”

The announcement came after a meeting with the House Democratic caucus.

Nearly all of the House Democrats have expressed support for the inquiry or impeaching Trump. About a dozen others have said they want to see the results of the inquiry before reacting or have condemned the inquiry.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) in a Nov. 2018 file photograph. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) said he doesn’t support the inquiry.

“People will say ‘your job is to be a good Democrat or a good Republican’—your responsibility and job is to be a good American,” he said during an appearance on Fox News. “When you impeach somebody it has to be for a really strong reason.”

Noting the 2020 election is only about a year away, Van Drew said voters have an opportunity to vote against Trump if they want.

“Why don’t we let the people do the impeachment through the electoral process the way we usually do?” he asked. “He is still going to be the candidate for the Republican Party.”