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  • 2019-11-01 (xsd:date)
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  • Was Trump Caught on Leaked Recording Threatening Ukraine Whistleblower With Death? (en)
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  • At any other time in modern history, a headline that suggested the U.S. president threatened a government whistleblower with death perhaps would seem too far-fetched to be real. But in the toxic political and internet landscape of 2019, some Snopes readers inquired whether it was true. The headline, Leaked Audio Catches Trump Threatening Ukraine Whistleblower With Death And Calling Reporters Scum was published by the liberal website PoliticusUSA, which pulled its story from the Los Angeles Times, where the story originated. On Sept. 26, 2019, the Times published the audio, which was provided by an unnamed attendee at the event where Trump made the remarks. The Times described the event as a private gathering for American diplomatic officials, held that same day at the Intercontinental Hotel in New York. The whistleblower complaint alleges that Trump tried to strong-arm Ukraine’s leader into interfering in the 2020 election. In the recording, Trump stated: The first part of the quote above appears to reference the whistleblower when Trump says, But basically that person never saw the report, never saw the call. He never saw the call, heard something and decided that he or she or whoever the hell it is — they're almost a spy. The second part of the quote, however, appears to reference the person who provided information to the whistleblower. In both cases, Trump suggests they're spies, and his remarks have been interpreted by some as a veiled reference to execution because treason carries the death penalty. It was not the first time the president has brandished the specter of harsh punishment to be levied against his political enemies for investigating him, an action he has stated he considers treason. On Twitter, Trump has accused the whistleblower, and/or the person who supplied the whistleblower with sensitive information, of spying on the president. In the past, Trump has referenced the case of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, two American citizens who were executed in 1953 for espionage against the United States on behalf of what was then the Soviet Union. In July 2019, talking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump stated in reference to allegations against his campaign of collusion with Russia: Although it's true Trump's comments are threatening in nature, and he has discussed the death penalty as punishment for treason, we are rating this claim Mixture. That's because Trump did not state outright that the whistleblower and/or the whistleblower's informant should be put to death, but rather implied it. (en)
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