President Trump blasted leakers in his administration who fed information to the so-called whistleblower details of his July 25 phone call with Ukraine President Zelensky. The Los Angeles Times obtained a recording of Trump’s remarks made Thursday morning to a gathering of U.S. U.N. mission staffers as he wrapped up a whirlwind U.N. week in New York City.
President Trump speaks at a press conference at the U.N., New York City, September 25,2019, screen image.
Excerpt from the Times report:
“Basically, that person never saw the report, never saw the call, he never saw the call — heard something and decided that he or she, or whoever the hell they saw — they’re almost a spy,” Trump said.
“I want to know who’s the person, who’s the person who gave the whistle-blower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” he continued. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
Trump spoke at a private event at the Intercontinental Hotel in New York City where the president thanked the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, and her staff as he wound up four days of meetings around the U.N. General Assembly.
A person attending the event provided the Los Angeles Times with a recording of the president’s remarks.
The Times also reported Trump called reporters “scum” and “animals” while noting there a some good reporters. He also criticized Joe and Hunter Biden.
Trump called out Democrats for ‘strong-arming’ Ukraine.
He then accused Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who met with Zalensky in Kyiv this month, of pressuring the Ukrainian leader to accuse Trump of improper behavior.
“Democratic senators went over there and strong-armed the guy,” Trump said, affecting Murphy’s voice for a moment. “‘You better damn well do this or you’re not going to get any money from Congress.’ Oh, I see, that’s OK?”
End excerpts, please read the entire L.A. Times article at this link.
The New York Times published a similar report based on second hand reports.
Excerpt:
President Trump on Thursday morning told a crowd of staff from the United States Mission to the United Nations that he wants to know who provided information to a whistle-blower about his phone call with the president of Ukraine, saying that whoever did so was “close to a spy” and that “in the old days,” spies were dealt with differently.
The remark stunned people in the audience, according to a person briefed on what took place, who had notes of what the president said. Mr. Trump made the statement several minutes into his remarks before the group of about 50 people at the event intended to honor the United States Mission. At the outset, he condemned the former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s role in Ukraine at a time when his son Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
Mr. Trump repeatedly referred to the whistle-blower and condemned the news media reporting on the complaint as “crooked.” He then said the whistle-blower never heard the call in question.
“I want to know who’s the person who gave the whistle-blower the information because that’s close to a spy,” Mr. Trump said. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
President Trump has been targeted by Deep State spies and leakers from the outset of his presidency–and during his 2016 campaign. If not treason, it is damned close.
