President Donald Trump on Monday slammed the House impeachment inquiry as a "scam," accusing Speaker Nancy Pelosi of making "a fool out of herself" in announcing the probe without seeing the White House memo on his Ukrainian telephone call.
"The impeachment inquiry is a scam," Trump told reporters after signing an agreement with China that would ease some trade tariffs. "The conversation that I had with the Ukrainian president was a very cordial, a very good conversation.
"The mistake they made — the opponents, the opposition, the Democrats, the radical left, deep-state, whatever you want to call them — they came out with a whistleblower report before they saw the conversation.
"Had they waited one day, Nancy Pelosi wouldn't have made a fool out of herself — and she wouldn't have said what she said, because when she saw it she [would've] said, 'This is not what the whistleblower said.'"
Three Democratic House committee chairmen Monday issued subpoenas to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and acting White House budget director Russell Vought, demanding they produce requested documents by Oct. 15.
The House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees are among six panels investigating President Trump's July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and whether he suggested a probe of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
House committees have also subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was on the telephone call, and the White House itself for document in their probe.
Trump said Monday that White House was preparing a response to Pelosi regarding its subpoena.
"The White House is preparing a letter for Speaker Pelosi," he said.
He added Pelosi announced the investigation before he released a memo on the call — and he slammed House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for "defrauding the American people" in his comments on the investigation.
"The problem is I released [the memo] a day after they had already made their big statements — and, again, it's a big scam," Trump said. "Adam Schiff should be investigated for what he did.
"His speech was a fraud. Everything he said was a fraud. He went out as though I wrote [the memo].
"He defrauded the American people," the president declared. "He defrauded Congress. He defrauded himself and his family."
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