Trump falsely calls impeachment probe ‘a coup’ designed to strip citizens of rights in wild Twitter tirade

Donald Trump has issued his most inflammatory condemnation yet of the impeachment investigation against him, labelling it “a COUP” designed to strip Americans of their freedoms.

The president is being investigated over a phone call to Ukraine‘s Volodymyr Zelensky in which it is said he appeared to attempt to leverage military aid for personal political gain.

On Tuesday night, Mr Trump falsely likened the impeachment process to a coup, typically defined as an illegal and often violent seizure of power from a government.

We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.

“As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The United States of America!”

The outburst came as officials inside his administration agreed to provide testimony for the investigation.

Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, and Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to that country, are expected to appear before the intelligence committee of the House of Representatives later this month.

Shape Created with Sketch. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 22 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 1/22 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty 2/22 Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well EPA 3/22 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. Reuters 4/22 Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty 5/22 Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty 6/22 Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP 7/22 Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters 8/22 Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority Getty 9/22 Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News 10/22 Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty 11/22 Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty 12/22 John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP 13/22 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty 14/22 Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty 15/22 Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty 16/22 Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty 17/22 Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign Getty 18/22 Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house Getty 19/22 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty 20/22 Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change AFP/Getty 21/22 John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor Getty 22/22 Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots Getty 1/22 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty 2/22 Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well EPA 3/22 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. Reuters 4/22 Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty 5/22 Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty 6/22 Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP 7/22 Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters 8/22 Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority Getty 9/22 Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News 10/22 Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty 11/22 Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty 12/22 John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP 13/22 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty 14/22 Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty 15/22 Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty 16/22 Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty 17/22 Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign Getty 18/22 Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house Getty 19/22 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty 20/22 Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change AFP/Getty 21/22 John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor Getty 22/22 Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots Getty

The decision by the two diplomats, one of whom is still employed by the state department, will be seen as of considerable significance. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo had said he did not want five of his officials whose testimony had been sought by Democrats to cooperate.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denounced the investigation that has been launched into his actions as a “witch hunt”. At the weekend he sparked controversy when he retweeted the words of a pastor who had warned that if Mr Trump were impeached, it would fracture society in a way similar to the civil war.

Yet the language he used on Tuesday appeared to represent an escalationin his rhetoric, and may have been intended to energise those supporters who believe the president is being undermined from within by the so-called “deep state”.

Indeed, his words echoed those of former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich, a firm supporter of Mr Trump who claimed in a Fox News opinion article that the real estate mogul was the target of an attempted “coup d’etat” by Democrats.

Independent news email Only the best news in your inbox Independent news email Only the best news in your inbox Enter your email address Continue Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid Email already exists. Log in to update your newsletter preferences Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email Update newsletter preferences

“So, Pelosi rushes out ... announces, ‘We’re moving forward on impeachment’. They have not yet met with the whistleblower. They have not yet received the transcript of the phone call. Nothing had changed except the sheer pressure of her left. And she couldn’t get away from it!”

He added: “And that sort of captures this whole process. That’s where we are right now. This is not an impeachment; this is a coup d’etat,”

Over the weekend, senior White House advisor Stephen Miller appeared on Fox News to denounce the whistleblower and allege that accusations were not only false, but that the individual was not genuine.

“I know what the deep state looks like,” said Mr Miller declared. “I know the difference between a whistleblower and a deep state operative. This is a deep state operative, pure and simple.”