Trump fires back at 'corrupt' Schiff, 'phony' mainstream media during fiery remarks on impeachment
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President Trump slammed Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as "shifty" and a "corrupt politician" Wednesday in response to the latest developments in the impeachment inquiry hearings on Capitol Hill.
The president was touring an Apple plant in Austin, Texas with company CEO Tim Cook and others when he was asked about the hearings back in Washington. He responded by attacking the media and House Democratic leadership, reminding reporters of a parody account of the president's call with Ukraine's leader that Schiff shared before Congress in September.
"Nancy Pelosi has done a terrible job as Speaker [of the House]. There's never been a speaker that's done so little, and she's totally incompetent," Trump said. "And shifty Schiff, he stands up and he tells lies all day long ... We have no due process."
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TRUMP IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS: LIVE UPDATES FROM DAY FOUR
Trump also called out what he said were incorrect and conflicting reports of his discussion with Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland -- Schiff's first witness of the day Wednesday -- about the Ukraine matter.
"He [Sondland] asked me what should he do -- I said 'I want nothing' -- and then I repeated -- 'I want nothing. I want no quid-pro-quo. Tell the president [of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky] to do the right thing,' and then he finished off, he said, 'this is the final word from the president of the United States'," Trump told the assembled media before taking aim at their coverage.
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The president claimed there has been some "fair" coverage of the inquiry before going on to claim, "Not only did we win today, it's over."
"Some of the fair press, of which there isn't too much, said 'this thing is over," Trump continued.
"We have a phony press -- they're dishonest. Most of them -- we have some fine people, fine journalists and reporters," he later said, calling several outlets, including ABC News, CNN and the Washington Post "fake papers [and] fake press" that "hurt our country."
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When asked about the anonymous intelligence community whistleblower, Trump claimed the individual is a "political operative" and that their account of the July 25 call with Zelensky largely became moot after he released the transcript of the conversation.
"The whistleblower's not a whistleblower, he's a fake."
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Questioned about any potential Biden family connection to the situation, the president responded by slamming Hunter Biden, the son of the former vice president, criticizing his 2013 discharge from the U.S. Navy.
"When you talk about corruption ... All of a sudden he's getting millions and millions of dollars from Ukraine, from China ... This guy made nothing. He got thrown out of the Navy, he couldn't get a job, and then his father becomes vice president and the press doesn't want to report it because the press is dishonest," Trump said.