Donald Trump accuses Democrats of doctoring impeachment testimony

Donald Trump has accused Democrats of doctoring the transcripts of impeachment testimony.

Donald and Melania Trump attend the Veterans Day Parade on Monday in New York. Picture: Getty Images

Donald Trump has accused Democrats of doctoring the transcripts of impeachment testimony and has renewed a call for the whistleblower to give evidence in the public hearings beginning on Thursday.

The US President’s comments came as tensions rose in Washington ahead of the highly anticipated televised hearings that will expose to the nation the growing political divide over the Dem­ocratic Party-led impeachment inquiry.

In a newly released transcript of testimony, Laura Cooper, the top Pentagon official overseeing Ukraine, said the President directed a freeze on US military aid to Ukraine against the judgment of Defence Department officials.

Ms Cooper said no explanation was given for the freeze. She also claimed that during a meeting with US diplomat Kurt Volker in August, he strongly implied that the freeze on aid might be resolved if Ukraine issued a statement related to election interference.

Ahead of the hearings, Mr Trump escalated his attack on the Democrats, accusing them of tampering with the transcripts of senior officials who have given closed-door testimony that has been damaging to the President, singling out House of Representatives intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff.

“Shifty Adam Schiff will only release doctored transcripts,” Mr Trump tweeted. “We haven’t even seen the documents and are restricted from (get this) having a lawyer. Republicans should put out their own transcripts!”

Democrats last week released transcripts of six senior US officials and diplomats who gave closed-door testimony.

Mr Trump said those being called to testify in the public hearings should include the unnamed intelligence whistleblower whose complaint about Mr Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky led Democrats to call the inquiry.

“Where is the whistleblower who gave so much false information? Must testify along with Schiff and others,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, Mr Trump called for the whistleblower and his lawyer as well as Mr Schiff to be investigated for fraud.

Mr Schiff has said the Democrats will not call the whistleblower because it would be a breach of that person’s legal rights.

“The whistleblower has a right under laws championed by this committee to remain anonymous and to be protected from harm,” he said.

Mr Schiff also indicated that Democrats would block many on a list of witnesses compiled by Republicans that includes Hunter Biden, the son of Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Republicans want to question Hunter Biden about his time as a board member of Ukrainian ­energy company Burisma.

The Democrat-majority committee is able to veto Republican witness requests and Mr Schiff said Hunter Biden would not be called to testify.

He said the hearings “will not serve as vehicles for any member to carry out the same sham investigations into the Bidens or debunked conspiracies about 2016 US election interference that Trump pressed Ukraine to conduct”.

The top Republican on the intelligence committee, Devin Nunes, said rejection of Republican-called witnesses would “constitute evidence of your denial of fundamental fairness and due ­process”.

Mr Schiff said the first witnesses on Thursday (AEDT) would be acting US ambassador to the Ukraine William Taylor and senior State Department official George Kent.

Both men testified behind closed doors last week, with Mr Taylor saying it was his “clear understanding” that US military aid was withheld from the Ukraine in exchange for that country investigating Democrats for Mr Trump.

Mr Kent testified that he heard US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland relay that Mr Trump “wanted nothing less than President Zelensky to go to microphone and say investigations, Biden and Clinton”.

On Saturday (AEDT), former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, removed by Mr Trump in May, will testify.

The nationally televised public hearings mark a new, more urgent phase of the impeachment inquiry as Democrats try to persuade Americans Mr Trump committed acts that were impeachable offences. Republicans will seek to discredit witnesses and raise doubts about the President’s culpability.

Democrats accuse Mr Trump of orchestrating a campaign of pressure against Ukraine by withholding almost $US400m in US military aid unless that country announced a public investigation into the activities of the Bidens in Ukraine.

Mr Trump has denied there was any quid pro quo linking US aid to an investigation and says he did nothing wrong.

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia