Trump campaign blasts ‘secondhand’ whistleblower claims

The Trump campaign on Thursday blasted a whistleblower complaint that alleges President Trump misused the presidency for political gain as an “even bigger hoax” than the Russian-meddling investigation.

In a statement, the 2020 campaign cast doubt on the whistleblower’s motivations and the veracity of the official’s claims, saying it relies on “secondhand” information to accuse Mr. Trump of pressuring Ukrainian officials to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.

“We now know that this account was cobbled together by a partisan bureaucrat with ’no direct knowledge,’ represented by an attorney for Hillary Clinton and donor to Joe Biden’s campaign,” Trump campaign National Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. “Democrats are trying to block the inevitable reelection of President Trump because they know they can’t beat him fair and square at the ballot box.”

A letter detailing the complaint says Mr. Trump pressured the Ukrainian president in a July 25 phone call, and that White House officials then tried to “lock down” the contests of the call. The account accurately summarizes a transcript of the call that Trump administration officials released on Wednesday.

The whistleblower was not a direct witness to most of the events described, though found colleagues’ accounts credible because they were referenced by multiple officials in “almost all cases,” according to a letter to Capitol Hill lawmakers that details the complaint.

Joseph Maguire, the director national intelligence, told Congress on Thursday the whistleblower “did the right thing” by coming forward with the complaint.

Yet key Republicans rallied behind Mr. Trump, arguing the whistleblower’s credibility is thin.

“When I think of whistleblower complaints I generally think of someone with first-hand knowledge of the events in question,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina and staunch Trump ally, said.

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, said the whistleblower’s choice of counsel tells the story.

“What we know about this so-called ’whistleblower,’” she tweeted. “He didn’t hear any conversations between @realDonaldTrump and Ukraine first-hand. His lawyer worked for Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and donated to Joe Biden. Got it.”