Trump questions why he isn't able to 'learn everything' about the whistleblower

In a spate of morning tweets, Trump also offered a visual reminder of the breadth of his support in the 2016 election, tweeting a map purportedly showing the U.S. counties that voted for him and daring Democrats to "try to impeach this."

The pushback by Trump and Republican allies against the rapidly moving impeachment inquiry by House Democrats come as polls show rising public support for removing the president from office.

Trump once again insisted that his July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "PERFECT," dismissing concerns at the core of the whistleblower's complaint that Trump pressed for an investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son.

"So if the so-called 'Whistleblower' has all second hand information, and almost everything he has said about my 'perfect' call with the Ukrainian President is wrong (much to the embarrassment of Pelosi & Schiff), why aren't we entitled to interview & learn everything about the Whistleblower, and also the person who gave all of the false information to him," Trump tweeted. "This is simply about a phone conversation that could not have been nicer, warmer, or better."

Andrew Bakaj, a lawyer representing the whistleblower, sent a letter on Saturday to acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire expressing fears for his client's safety.

In the letter, Bakaj cited Trump's remarks last week in which he said whoever gave the whistleblower the information about the call was "close to a spy" and alluded to the death penalty. Bakaj also said that "certain individuals" have issued a $50,000 "bounty" for "any information" relating to his client's identity.

Trump's contention that the whistleblower has only second-hand information is at odds with a statement released by Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson.

Aso Tuesday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo balked  at subpoenas and requests for depositions by House Democrats, writing that they were undermined by "profound procedural and legal deficiencies."

Pompeo's letter came ahead of scheduled depositions this week with five State Department officials, starting with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie "Masha" Yovanovitch, whom Trump disparaged during his phone conversation with the Ukrainian president in July.

In a letter to Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., Pompeo said there is a "woefully inadequate opportunity for the Department and witnesses to prepare."

He also claimed that committee staff have been acting inappropriately in interactions with State Department staff.

"I am concerned with aspects of your request . . . that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully and treat inappropriately the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career Foreign Service Officers, whom the Committee is now targeting," Pompeo wrote. "Let me be clear: I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead and serve alongside at the Department of State."

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee defeated by Trump in 2016, warned Tuesday that his efforts to unmask the whistleblower are "really dangerous."

"From everything we know, and we don't know much, this is an experienced person who saw things that bothered him," Clinton said during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America." "That's what the whole whistleblower statute is for, and it's to protect their identity."

Earlier Tuesday, Trump also pinned to the top of his Twitter feed a largely red 2016 election map with the words "Try to impeach this" emblazoned across it.

The map appears to depict counties Trump won in red and those carried by Democrat Hillary Clinton in blue. Because Clinton, for the most part, won more densely populated parts of the country, many of them on the coasts, the map appears largely red even though Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes than Trump, who prevailed in the electoral college.

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