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The whisteblower’s complaint that was declassified and released publicly led America’s top newspapers on Friday.
The New York Times had a banner headline in all capital letters that the complaint asserts a White House coverup, and three stories underneath.
One, from Maggie Haberman and Katie Rogers, details the president’s explosive remarks to the U.S. Mission at the United Nations, saying that whoever provided information about his calls to Ukraine’s leaders was “close to a spy.” A second article details how White House aides foresaw trouble with Trump’s remarks and tried, unsuccessfully, to limit publicity. A third focused on the whisteblower’s complaints, describing the effort to “lock down” call records.
“Whistleblower alleges coverup” read the Wall Street Journal’s top article. “Some allies of the Republican president fretted privately that the complaint and the coming House impeachment proceedings could damage Mr. Trump’s re-election prospects, even as the president and his advisers publicly argued that Democrats were overreaching and would face a backlash from voters,” the article states.
The role played by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer and the former New York City mayor, also was explored.
“Ukrainians seeking influence in Washington viewed him as a direct conduit to Mr. Trump. And when Mr. Giuliani’s actions were in conflict with the U.S. government’s national-security and foreign-policy apparatus, it was unable and at times unwilling to deter him. Some senior government officials knew little, if anything, of his work,” the article stated.
The Miami Herald produced a local angle — the two South Florida businessmen who were mentioned in the whistleblower’s complaint, albeit not by name. The newspaper reached one of them, Lev Parnas, who said it was his duty to turn over damaging information on former Vice President Joe Biden. Parnas and Igor Fruman, both big Republican donors, helped introduce Giuliani into top Ukrainian political circles, the article said.
The Washington Post headline read, “Trump, GOP hit back as coverup is alleged.” The president’s playbook, and that of his party, are scorched Earth, the newspaper writes.
“Trump has acted impulsively and indignantly as he wages an all-out political war to defend himself from allegations that he abused his power to solicit foreign interference in his 2020 reelection bid,” the article by Robert Costa and Philip Rucker says. “And in a testament to how completely he controls the Republican Party, many GOP officeholders and conservative media figures have followed Trump’s cues by joining his attempts either to attack the anonymous whistleblower, discredit the explosive accounts in their complaint, or malign the media for covering it.”
“Whistleblower claimed that Trump abused his office and that White House officials tried to cover it up” and “Whistleblower painstakingly gathered material and almost single-handedly set impeachment in motion” also make the Post’s front page.
