- President Trump in an interview on Fox and Friends Friday morning claimed to know the identity of the official whose complaint sparked the impeachment probe.
- "I know exactly who it is," said the president, describing the official as a "political operative."
- The hosts were keen to stress that they did not have confirmation of the identity of the whistleblower, whose identity is shielded under federal laws.
- "You don't need verification. You know exactly who it is," Trump replied.
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President Donald Trump in a lengthy and rambling interview on Fox News Friday accused the hosts of lying when they said they did not know the identity of the Ukraine whistleblower.
In the interview on "Fox and Friends" Friday morning Trump attacked Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who has led the impeachment probe sparked by the whistleblower's complaint.
"I want to see Adam Schiff testify about the whistleblower, who is a fake whistleblower," he said. "I know exactly who it is," and went on to call the official a "political operative."
Hosts Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, and Ainsley Earhardt then said they did not know the whistleblower's name, to which Trump replied: "I don't believe you."
You can read the full exchange below:
Steve Doocy: "You said we know the name of the whistleblower, but we have no idea."
Donald Trump: "I don't believe you."
Brian Kilmeade: "OK."
Doocy: "We've seen names online but we have no verification."
Trump: "You don't need verification. You know exactly who it is."
The president went on to accuse the hosts of lying as he sought to pressure them to conceding they knew the name of the alleged whistleblower.
"I don't think Steve has ever told a lie, but that one? Come on," Trump said.
In recent weeks, conservative activists and media outlets have published the name of an official who they claim is the whistleblower in a bid to breach federal laws providing anonymity to whistleblower's. The whistleblower's attorneys say that exposing the individual's identity would put their life at risk.
The president has attacked the official as a partisan operative and called on the media to name the person, but has so far backed away from doing so himself.
Fox News has banned employees from using the name of the alleged whistleblower on air.
Business Insider has been unable to verify the identity of the whistleblower, so is not publishing the name of the official alleged to be that person.
In the interview, Trump also alleged that the impeachment probe is a partisan plot, and said that the results of an investigation into the origins of the Mueller probe would be "historic."
He also said "I do want corruption, always," in an apparent slip of the tongue when discussing unfounded allegations of corruption against Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.