Whistleblower wrote memo after learning of Ukraine call, saying WH official called it 'crazy,' 'frightening'
Second whistleblower claims first-hand knowledge
Republicans
press Adam Schiff and House Intelligence Committee staff on meetings
with initial whistleblower; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine
Herridge reports from Washington.
EXCLUSIVE – Immediately after learning secondhand information from a White House official about President Trump’s July 25 phone call with the president of Ukraine,
the first whistleblower wrote a dramatic personal memo, saying the
White House official characterized the call as “crazy”
and “frightening,” Fox News has learned.
In
the two-page, single-spaced memo on July 26, the day after the
Trump-Zelensky phone call, the whistleblower wrote: “The following is a
record of a conversation I had this afternoon with a White House
official about the telephone call yesterday morning between President
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.”
The
whistleblower wrote that the conversation with the unnamed White House
official “only lasted a few minutes, and as a result, I only received
highlights.”
In contrast to a publicly released transcript
of the July 25 phone call, the two-page memo used dramatic language.
According to the memo, the White House official “described the (July
25th) call as ‘crazy,’ ‘frightening,’ and ‘completely lacking in
substance related to national security.’”The first whistleblower
complaint helped spark House Democrats to launch a formal impeachment
inquiry into the president, with many claiming he improperly pressured
Ukraine to investigate potential 2020 election rival Joe Biden, whose
son Hunter once sat on the board of a key Ukrainian energy firm. Trump
repeatedly has denied he did anything wrong.
The whistleblower
memo appeared to rebut criticism that the White House-released
transcript was notes or a summary, writing that the “standard practice”
was for the “White House situation room to produce a word-for-word
transcript that memorializes the call.” The whistleblower also stated
the transcript was produced and being “treated very sensitively.”Significantly,
the whistleblower noted, “The President did not raise security
assistance” during the call. Allegations of a quid pro quo were central
to the complaint, later filed by the whistleblower in mid-August which
also “connected the dots” through media reports and other unnamed
officials.“The President told Zelensky that he would be sending
his personal lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, to Ukraine
soon and requested that Zelensky meet with him. Zelensky reluctantly
agreed that, if Giuliani travelled to Ukraine, he would see him,” the
whistleblower wrote.
In the transcript, Zelensky said, “we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine.”
Fox News reached out to the whistleblower’s attorneys, who did not immediately respond.
On Friday, the lawyers did not respond to Fox News’ questions about their client’s failure to disclose his or her contacts with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s staff, as well as the whistleblower’s prior work history with a current, prominent Democratic politician.
On Monday, the whistleblower’s legal team confirmed a second whistleblower from the intelligence community had come forward with first-hand knowledge of certain allegations contained in the first whistleblower’s complaint, which was said to have been based primarily on second-hand sources.
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