Trump allies go on the offensive against whistleblower complaint, Democrats

Republicans vocally defended President Trump on Sunday morning during sometimes combative interviews after a whistleblower complaint centered on his interactions with Ukraine’s leader contributed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) announcement of an impeachment inquiry.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that the complaint is “hearsay” and “unreliable.”

“I am defending my client the best way I know how,” he said. “This is not about getting Joe Biden in trouble. This is about proving that Donald Trump was framed by the Democrats.”    

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of Trump’s staunchest allies in the Democratic-majority House, took to CNN’s “State of the Union” to defend the White House placing the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a secret server, calling it a necessary step against leaks.

Jordan also defended the contents of the call, in which Trump tried to persuade Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

“That doesn’t alarm you?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Jordan, who responded, “It’s not OK because he didn’t — but he didn’t do that.”

When Tapper referenced the White House summary of the call backing up the CNN host’s characterization of it, Jordan responded, “You guys don’t read things in context.”

And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s most vocal defenders in the Senate, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he has “zero problems” with the call. 

Reminded by host Margaret Brennan that the whistleblower complaint, which Graham called “hearsay,” is based on information the person obtained from White House officials, Graham said the focus should be on finding out who the officials were.

“The whistleblower says, ‘I have no direct knowledge.’ … Who are these people, and what are they up to?” Graham asked. “Salem witch trials have more due process than this.”

White House policy adviser Stephen Miller clashed with “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace, saying the whistleblower complaint “drips with condescension, righteous indignation and contempt for the president.” 

Miller, however, refused to answer Wallace’s questions about why Trump used his private attorneys to reach out to Ukrainian officials.

Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, said the whistleblower complaint and call summary indicated the necessity of the impeachment inquiry.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told Brennan, “Rudy Giuliani is attempting to speak for the United States government.”

“You can understand how the Ukrainians are confused when the personal attorney for the president is coming to them asking them to help destroy one of his political rivals,” he added.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that an agreement for the whistleblower to testify had been reached. He added that he hoped the testimony would happen “very soon,” saying the committee was still ensuring that the whistleblower’s attorneys would get clearance to accompany them and put protective logistics in place.

Schiff was noncommittal on whether Giuliani would be called to testify.

“I don’t want to commit myself to that at this point,” he said. “We certainly have to do a lot of work to see what Giuliani has been doing in Ukraine.”

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he predicted some Republicans would eventually support the impeachment inquiry.

“The House is a separate and co-equal branch. We don’t work for this president,” Jeffries said. “We have a responsibility to serve as a check and balance, and these issues are serious.”

Sunday morning also saw the release of a CBS News-YouGov survey that found 55 percent of Americans support an impeachment inquiry, compared to 45 percent who disapprove. Thirty-five percent said they strongly approve.