President Trump
on Wednesday blasted Democrats for wasting time on “bullshit” as the House moves forward with its impeachment inquiry.
The president on Wednesday morning unleashed a torrent of tweets slamming Democrats as Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi (D-Calif.) stood alongside House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff
(D-Calif.) to lay out their agenda and progress on the impeachment inquiry.
“The Do Nothing Democrats should be focused on building up our Country, not wasting everyone’s time and energy on BULLSHIT, which is what they have been doing ever since I got overwhelmingly elected in 2016, 223-306,” Trump tweeted shortly after the conclusion of the press conference, misstating the 232 electoral votes his opponent got in 2016.
“Get a better candidate this time, you’ll need it!” he added.
(snip)
Trump has been increasingly hostile on Twitter in recent days as Democrats zero in on his efforts to urge Ukraine to look into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden
. He has accused Schiff of treason, claimed he is the victim of a “coup” and shared a quote from a supporter suggesting Trump’s removal would lead to a civil war.
His latest diatribe was sparked by the press conference, which Trump responded to in real time.
Pelosi opened the presser by highlighting House Democrats’ efforts to reduce prescription drug prices and ongoing discussions over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which is one of the top legislative priorities for the White House.
“The American people want us to do that. If the president is saying ‘if you question my actions I can’t agree on any subject,’ then the ball is in his court.”
Pelosi has said House Democrats want to work with President Trump on reducing drug prices even as they pursue an impeachment inquiry.
“Nancy Pelosi just said that she is interested in lowering prescription drug prices & working on the desperately needed USMCA. She is incapable of working on either,” Trump tweeted. “It is just camouflage for trying to win an election through impeachment. The Do Nothing Democrats are stuck in mud!”
The White House has cast doubt on the odds of working with Democrats on any legislation while the House proceeds through the impeachment process.
Pelosi and Schiff spent much of the press conference discussing and answering questions about the ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump, which was formally announced last week after it emerged that Trump urged the Ukrainian president in a July 25 phone call to look into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
House Democrats have sought documents and testimony from administration officials related to the call as part of the impeachment inquiry. The House Oversight and Reform Committee threatened to subpoena the White House for documents on Wednesday morning.
Schiff during the press conference specifically called out Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
, who was on the July 25 call and who a day earlier rejected Democratic requests to interview other State Department officials about the matter.
“We are deeply concerned about Secretary Pompeo’s effort now to potentially interfere with witnesses whose testimony is needed before our committee,” he said, adding that any attempts to interfere with witness testimony “will be considered as evidence of obstruction.”
Trump has in recent days ratcheted up his attacks on Schiff, accusing him of treason for exaggerating the contents of the Ukraine call during a House hearing last week.
“Adam Schiff should only be so lucky to have the brains, honor and strength of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “For a lowlife like Schiff, who completely fabricated my words and read them to Congress as though they were said by me, to demean a First in Class at West Point, is SAD!”
Pelosi indicated that the impeachment inquiry would continue at a deliberative pace, but she rejected Trump’s repeated assertions that there was nothing wrong with his call with the Ukrainian president.
“We will treat the president with fairness as we go forward,” Pelosi said. “We will have investigations and questioning that are worthy of the Constitution of the United States. It is unworthy of the Constitution what the president did in that call.”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham
scoffed at Pelosi’s statement, calling it “laughable” that Democrats would treat Trump fairly.
“The Witch hunt continues,” Grisham tweeted.
*see full story by The Hill