The White House responded Friday to suggestions that President Donald Trump’s mid-hearing tweet constituted “witness intimidation.”
The statement, initially given in answer to a question from MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson, characterized the president’s tweet as simply his opinion and attacked the ongoing hearing as a “totally illegitimate charade stacked against the President.”
The tweet was not witness intimidation, it was simply the President’s opinion, which he is entitled to. This is not a trial, it is a partisan political process—or to put it more accurately, a totally illegitimate, charade stacked against the President. There is less due process in this hearing than any such event in the history of our country. It’s a true disgrace
Trump’s tweet attacked former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch while she was still testifying before the committee. (RELATED: Ukraine Envoy Blasts ‘Concerted Effort’ By Ukrainians And Trump Allies To Take Her Down)
Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019
….They call it “serving at the pleasure of the President.” The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First! With all of that, however, I have done FAR more for Ukraine than O.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019
In addition to attacking Yovanovitch, the president argued that he had done far more for Ukraine than former President Barack Obama.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff read the president’s tweets into the record and promptly accused Trump of engaging in witness tampering.