Scaramucci calls Trump a ‘traitor’ to the US

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Friday called President Trump a “traitor” to the U.S. while discussing the president’s dealings with Ukraine. 

“The American president is a traitor to the United States. He is literally the most un-American president that we’ve had probably since Andrew Johnson,” Scaramucci said on CNN.

Scaramucci, who has become a vocal Trump critic recently, asserted that Trump was reacting to the situation like “somebody who doesn’t have any principles or any morals.”

The former White House aide also expressed surprise that Republican lawmakers were largely sticking with Trump. 

“I would have thought that the leadership in the Congress would have broken by now, the Republican leadership in the Congress,” Scaramucci said. “Where is the leadership?”

“The American President is a traitor to the United States,” former White House Communications Director @Scaramucci says after text messages detail how a desired meeting with Trump put pressure on Ukraine. https://t.co/oXize6soH9 pic.twitter.com/lk3flpatnC

— New Day (@NewDay) October 4, 2019

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.{mosads}

Trump is facing heightened scrutiny over his push for Ukraine to investigate former vice president and current 2020 Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden, an issue that is at the heart of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Trump has denied that there was a quid pro quo involved in his request to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “look into” Biden, a request he made during a July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian leader.

The call came as Trump was withholding military aid to Ukraine, though Trump has insisted he held up the aid to get other European countries to contribute for the cause.

Trump sparked fresh scrutiny on Thursday when he publicly encouraged Ukraine and China to launch probes into Biden. 

Text messages released by House Democrats on Thursday night indicated that a U.S. official involved with Ukraine was concerned about a potential a quid pro quo involving the aid, something another official dismissed.

“I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign,” William Taylor, a top official at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, said in text messages provided by former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker. 

George Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, responded to Taylor by saying he believed the diplomat was “incorrect about President Trump’s intentions,” adding he believed Trump had no intention of a “quid pro quo.”

Scaramucci in recent months has frequently been critical of Trump. He has compared the president to an infamous cult leader and called him a “full-blown demagogue.”