Trump Slammed for Dismissing Whistleblower Written Answers: ‘What a Raging Hypocrite!’

President Donald Trump has been accused of hypocrisy for dismissing the Ukraine scandal whistleblower agreement to answer written questions from Congressional Republicans.

Trump kicked off the workweek by getting on the Twitter machine and launching a bunch of new barbs at the “disgraceful” impeachment inquiry of his dealings with Ukraine.

What I said on the phone call with the Ukrainian President is “perfectly” stated. There is no reason to call witnesses to analyze my words and meaning. This is just another Democrat Hoax that I have had to live with from the day I got elected (and before!). Disgraceful!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2019

At one point, Trump resumed his attacks on the whistleblower while saying it would be “not acceptable” if they are only pressed by written questions.

The Whistleblower gave false information & dealt with corrupt politician Schiff. He must be brought forward to testify. Written answers not acceptable! Where is the 2nd Whistleblower? He disappeared after I released the transcript. Does he even exist? Where is the informant? Con!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2019

Trump was reacting to the news that Mark Zaid, the legal representative for the whistleblower, has offered a deal where his client will answer questions from House Republicans under oath if they submit written inquiries to his team. It is currently unclear if the GOPers on the Intelligence Committee will take the deal or not.

While Trump is calling this arrangement insufficient, it may be worth remembering that the president declined to speak directly to Robert Mueller during his investigations on Russia and obstruction of justice. Instead, Trump only submitted written answers to Mueller’s questions, which the special counsel “generally” deemed “inadequate and incomplete” during his testimony before Congress.

Critics recall this detail, so they find it interesting that Trump is demanding the whistleblower be held to a standard he refused to abide by:

The president who refused to meet with Mueller — whose written answers were described by the special counsel as not honest — says WB shouldn’t be able to answer in writing. https://t.co/sxpHo365OB

— Greg Miller (@gregpmiller) November 4, 2019

➡️ What a raging hypocrite!!

Trump was perfectly fine answering, in writing, questions from Mueller. Now, it’s a crime to do so. Unreal. https://t.co/aUSoqM4zjC pic.twitter.com/eL6lIQD2c7

— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) November 4, 2019

Pres wants whistleblower subjected to questions and “written answers not acceptable.” Pres Trump only provided written answers to questions from the office of special counsel Robert Mueller. 23 pages of Trump’s written responses were part of Mueller’s 448-page report.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 4, 2019

Written answers are exactly what Trump gave to Mueller. Now they’re “not acceptable!” https://t.co/afCL1c9Nan

— Sam Stein (@samstein) November 4, 2019

Trump, of course, provided written answers to Mueller because his attorneys thought he’d perjure himself in an interview. Now: “not acceptable!” https://t.co/C0QQd9mhat

— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) November 4, 2019

Of course Trump submitted written answers to Mueller but give up looking for consistency in his defense. This is and always has been a flood-the-zone strategy. See also the “no quid pro quo but even if there was…” argument https://t.co/pV9qTxfwwF

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) November 4, 2019

I am not even going to bother with the obvious hypocrisy here on written answers ….. https://t.co/nsZ7MKJriM

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) November 4, 2019

“Written answers not acceptable!” Is something I wish Robert Mueller had said. https://t.co/b5aktwvN7F

— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) November 4, 2019

So Republicans think that written responses from the whistleblower are insufficient for cross-examination, but written responses from the President to Mueller are totally fine to determine credibility.

Yeah, right.

— Mieke Eoyang (@MiekeEoyang) November 4, 2019

Why were written answers good enough when Mueller was asking you questions but now are not good enough for the whistleblower? https://t.co/M7n8gypLLy

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) November 4, 2019