Harris on whistleblower complaint: ‘This is a cover-up’

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday the whistleblower complaint over President Trump’s alleged misconduct in his communications with Ukraine is “a cover-up.” 

The complaint released Thursday discusses Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — in which Trump asked the foreign leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden — and also alleges White House officials were asked to remove the transcript of the call. 

“This is a cover-up,” Harris tweeted Thursday, along with a picture of a highlighted portion of the complaint.

This is a cover-up. pic.twitter.com/PiLn9noact

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 26, 2019

Harris highlighted the section of the nine-page complaint, which was declassified Thursday, that reads, “White House officials told me that they were ‘directed’ by White House lawyers to remove the electronic transcript from the computer system in which such transcripts are typically stored for coordination, finalization, and distribution to Cabinet-level officials.” {mosads}

Harris, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a separate tweet from her official Senate account also renewed her call for Attorney General William Barr to testify before Congress. 

She included a highlighted portion of the complaint that alleges Barr “appears to be involved as well.”

I’ll say it again: Barr must come before Congress to testify under oath. pic.twitter.com/6TNAf05bJl

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) September 26, 2019

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced this week the House would launch a formal impeachment inquiry into the president amid allegations raised by the complaint. 

Other White House hopefuls, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), called out Trump’s alleged misconduct after reading the complaint. 

Sanders said it’s “only the tip of an iceberg of corrupt, illegal and immoral behavior by this president,” and Ryan called it “third-rate, banana republic behavior.” Castro said the complaint shows Trump is an “active national security threat.”