In a Wednesday press conference, President Trump went off-the-rails when faced with questions about the growing Ukraine scandal. When asked by Reuters reporter Jeff Mason about what he specifically wanted from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Trump berated Mason, telling him to “ask the president of Finland a question!” “Biden and his son are stone cold crooked, and you know it... It’s a whole hoax and you know who’s playing into the hoax? People like you and the fake news media that we have in this country,” he ranted. “Because you’re corrupt. Much of the media in this country is not just fake, it’s corrupt.”

He also claimed—with zero evidence—that House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) helped write the whistleblower complaint that raised concerns about his July 25 phone call with Zelensky. “It shows that Schiff is a fraud,” he said, referring to a New York Times report stating that Schiff learned of the whistleblower’s concerns prior to the filing of the complaint. “I think it’s a scandal that he knew before. I’d go a step further, I think he probably helped write it. That’s what the word is... He knew long before and he helped write it too... The whole thing is a scam.” He also threatened to bring “a lot of litigation against a lot of people.”