Trump suggests intel chairman should be arrested for 'treason'

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump

on Monday escalated his attacks against the lawmaker leading the
impeachment inquiry against him, suggesting that Representative
Adam Schiff be arrested for "treason."

The comment is likely to inflame criticism of Trump's
handling of the scandal engulfing his presidency, stemming from
a telephone call in which Trump asked Ukraine's President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden
and his son.

The telephone call was included in an intelligence officer's
whistleblower complaint that raised concerns about whether the
president sought to leverage U.S. aid to Ukraine for a political
favor.

"Rep. Adam Schiff illegally made up a FAKE & terrible
statement, pretended it to be mine as the most important part of
my call to the Ukrainian President, and read it aloud to
Congress and the American people. It bore NO relationship to
what I said on the call. Arrest for Treason?" Trump wrote in a
post on Twitter.

Trump appeared to reference statements made by Schiff during
a hearing held by the House Intelligence Committee, of which
Schiff is the chairman. Schiff said his remarks parodied Trump's
comments on the call with Zelenskiy.

The Republican president has increasingly lashed out at
political opponents since House Democrats announced on Tuesday
they would pursue an impeachment inquiry.

He likened the whistleblower and White House officials who
gave information to the whistleblower to spies and suggested
they committed treason.

The inspector general for the director of national
intelligence deemed the whistleblower complaint credible and
urgent, while the top U.S. intelligence officer said the
whistleblower acted in good faith.
(Reporting by Makini Brice and Doina Chiacu; Editing by
Catherine Evans and Chizu Nomiyama)