TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN/WHISTELBLOWER: “President Trump told staff members at the United States Mission to the United Nations on Thursday [9-26-19] that he wants to know who provided information to a whistle-blower about his phone call with the president of Ukraine, saying that whoever did so was ‘close to a spy’ and that ‘in the old days’ spies were dealt with differently. The comment stunned people in the audience, according to a person briefed on what took place and a partial audio recording of Mr. Trump’s remarks. Mr. Trump made the statement several minutes into his remarks before the group of about 50 mission employees and their families. At the outset, he condemned former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s role in Ukraine at a time when his son Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. Mr. Trump repeatedly referred to the whistle-blower and condemned the news media as ‘crooked’ for reporting on an explosive complaint by the whistle-blower. The president then said the whistle-blower never heard the call in question.”
–Maggie Haberman and Katie Rogers, “Trump Attacks Whistle-Blower’s Sources and Alludes to Punishment for Spies,” The New York Times online, September 26, 2019