Trump takes aim at supposed second whistleblower

US President Donald Trump has taken aim at a second unnamed intelligence official who is reportedly considering filing a whistleblower complaint over Trump's dealings with Ukraine.

The New York Times reported Friday that a second person, who has more direct knowledge regarding the dealings, is considering lodging a complaint against the president and testifying before Congress about his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July.

During the call, Trump apparently pressured Zelensky to investigate Jo Biden, his potential opponent for the 2020 presidential election, warning that he would not give Ukraine the promised military aid in case he refused.

The call prompted Democrats to launch an impeachment inquiry based on a first whistleblower complaint that accused Trump of "using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 US election."

Trump took to Twitter on Sunday, saying the second official was a member of the "deep state" conspiracy, whom he claimed is working to undermine his presidency.

The second official is one of the people Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson interviewed in order to confirm the initial complaint, the Times reported.

The US president dismissed the Ukraine allegations as another witch-hunt attempting to smear his already tarnished reputation and damage his popularity as the Americans get closer to the 2020 presidential election.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who launched the impeachment inquiry of Trump late last month, said that a successful impeachment would be worth losing the Democrats’ House majority in 2020.

PressTV-Pelosi: Trump impeachment worth losing House in 2020

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that a successful impeachment of President Donald Trump would be worth losing the Democrats’ House majority in 2020.

Speaking in an interview at Tribune Fest, hosted by the Texas Tribune, the California Democrat suggested that complying with Congress' mandate to hold the president answerable is more important than politics.

Meanwhile, Democrats leading the impeachment probe have subpoenaed the White House for documents related to their impeachment investigation.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that his department had issued an initial response to the Democratic-controlled congressional committee’s request.

“The State Department sent a letter last night to Congress, which is our initial response to the document request. We will obviously do all the things we are required to by law,” Pompeo said in a news conference in Greece.

However, the top diplomat did not elaborate on the contents of the letter.

Pompeo, who acknowledged he had listened to the July 25 call, said the Trump administration was “incredibly focused in making sure that we worked with Ukraine in a way that was appropriate.”

According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, nearly half of Americans believe Trump should be impeached.

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