WASHINGTON (WASHINGTON POST) - President Donald Trump lashed out at House Democratic leaders on Tuesday (March 5), saying they had "gone stone cold CRAZY" by launching a far-reaching corruption probe that began with demands for documents from 81 people associated with him.
In morning tweets, Trump asserted that letters sent on Monday were meant to harass "innocent people" and were borne of frustration among Democrats for not being able to prove coordination between Trump's campaign and Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
"Now that they realize the only Collusion with Russia was done by Crooked Hillary Clinton & the Democrats, Nadler, Schiff and the Dem heads of the Committees have gone stone cold CRAZY," Trump wrote, referring to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff.
"81 letter sent to innocent people to harass them," Trump wrote.
"They won't get ANYTHING done for our Country!"
In subsequent tweets, Trump accused Democrats of conducting a "big, fat, fishing expedition" and wrote in all capital letters, "PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!"
The president's angry response came a day after Nadler sent letters demanding all communications on a host of controversies surrounding Trump, as the panel probes whether the president and his administration have engaged in obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power.
The far-reaching document request seeks information from Trump's sons, business associates and political confidants, among others.
It touches on a wide array of matters, including the president's business dealings with Russia, the firing of former FBI director James Comey and hush payments made to women who say they had affairs with Trump.
Nadler said Monday that House Democrats have "a responsibility to investigate these matters and hold hearings for the public to have all the facts".
He pledged to move quickly.
But the extensive scope could bolster claims by Trump and Republicans that congressional Democrats are seeking to undermine the president and cripple his 2020 reelection effort rather than conduct a disciplined fact-finding inquiry.
Even some Democrats are voicing concerns about that.
"Maybe I'm missing something, but the hazard of an omnibus document demand by House judiciary versus discreet, serial ones is that, however legitimate the areas of inquiry, the wide-ranging nature of it is too easily plays into the 'witch-hunt' meme," David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to former president Barack Obama wrote on Twitter on Monday.
In a tweet on Monday night, Trump quoted Fox News host Sean Hannity asserting Democratic tactics amount to "modern day McCarthyism".
Nadler's requests came on the same day that three other House committee chairmen, including Schiff, wrote letters to the White House and the State Department requesting documents on Trump's communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing "profound national security, counterintelligence, and foreign policy concerns".
Congressional investigations into Russian election interference remain ongoing, as does a probe by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is also examining whether Trump sought to obstruct his investigation.
