(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Thursday told staff from United States Mission to the United Nations that he wanted to know who gave information to the whistleblower about his call with the Ukranian President, calling the person who did it “close to a spy” and that “in the old days” spies were dealt with differently, The New York Times reported.
“I want to know who’s the person who gave the whistle-blower the information because that’s close to a spy,” Trump said, according to the Times, which cited a person briefed on what occurred who had notes of what the President 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.”
Earlier Thursday, a stunning whistleblower complaint alleged Trump abused his official powers “to solicit interference” from Ukraine in the upcoming 2020 election, and the White House took steps to cover it up. Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire also testified before the House Intelligence Committee about the whistleblower complaint.
Trump has denied doing anything improper in his dealings with Ukraine.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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