Trump complains whistleblower's sources are like 'spies' and would have been dealt with 'differently' in the 'old days'


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
President Trump reportedly stunned attendees of a private breakfast Thursday by railing against the U.S. officials who provided information to a whistleblower, suggesting they should be harshly punished for treason.
Trump, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times report, spoke Thursday to staff of the United States Mission to the United Nations and ranted about the sources who spoke with the anonymous whistleblower, saying, "I want to know who's the person who gave the whistleblower the information because that's close to a spy."
Trump reportedly then said, "You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president's remarks, the newspapers report, stunned people in the audience. They came following the release of the declassified complaint alleging Trump abused his power by pushing for Ukraine's president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and that White House officials then moved to restrict access to the call's transcript. Although the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge, the complaint says it is based on the account of more than half a dozen U.S. officials.
At this same event, Trump reportedly referred to reporters as "animals" and "scum" while saying that although "I didn't do anything," "I don't know if I’m the most innocent person in the world."
During his testimony Thursday, acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire defended the whistleblower, saying they "acted in good faith throughout" the process and "did the right thing."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Mar-a-Lago IT director flipped on Trump after dropping Trump-linked lawyer, special counsel says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published