AP FACT CHECK: Trump's 'read the transcript' impeachment cry

It's been his drumbeating demand for more than a week: "Read the transcript!"

"Just read the transcript."

"Can't we read English?"

"Just read the Transcript, everything else is made up garbage."

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, before boarding Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Lexington, Ky., for a campaign rally. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)

"READ THE TRANSCRIPT!"

People have read the transcript , though, and that's why President Donald Trump has an impeachment problem.

The whistleblower, the rough transcript of the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukraine's leader, and the words of a succession of career civil servants and Trump political appointees brought before Congress are largely in sync.

Together they have stitched an account that shows Trump pressing for a political favor from a foreign leader and, as key testimony has it, conditioning military aid on getting what he wanted.

Trump's defense, as the House prepares to open its public hearings on the matter in the coming week, has been to point to his own problematic words in the Ukraine phone call, declare them to be exonerating, and repeat.

In the face of abundant evidence that the whistleblower remains engaged, Trump suggests the whistleblower has skulked away. Political loyalists who tried to do Trump's bidding with Ukraine are lumped with career diplomats as "Never Trumpers."

He assails the whistleblower's account of the phone call as "sooo wrong, not even close," even though the official White House account of the call that came out afterward showed the whistleblower got the details right.

"Once I released the actual call, their entire case fell apart," Trump said of Democrats. The rough transcript actually helped fuel the inquiry because it affirmed and fleshed out the whistleblower's account.

Over the past week, Trump approached the spectacle of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry with understandable frustration but also a flawed account of the circumstances behind them.

A look at remarks by the president and his allies on this and other matters:

IMPEACHMENT

TRUMP: "It was just explained to me that for next weeks Fake Hearing (trial) in the House, as they interview Never Trumpers and others, I get NO LAWYER & NO DUE PROCESS." — tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: The hearing is a hearing, not a trial, and it is unfolding according to the usual process.

Trump is correct that he and his legal team are excluded from public hearings that begin Wednesday, but he hasn't been charged with anything and has no constitutional right to be represented by a lawyer in this proceeding.

In that sense, his position is not much different from criminal suspects who are being investigated but haven't been charged, or from past presidents at this stage of impeachment proceedings.

The coming public hearings led by the House Intelligence Committee are akin to the investigative phase of criminal cases, generally conducted in private and without the participation of the person under investigation.

But in future House Judiciary Committee hearings that presumably would result in the drafting of impeachment articles, Trump would be invited to attend and his lawyers could question witnesses and object to testimony and evidence, similar to the process in the impeachment proceedings against Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

If there is a Senate trial, Trump's legal team would defend the president against impeachment articles approved by the House in an environment that would look like a typical trial in some respects.

TRUMP: "The whistleblower disappeared." — Louisiana rally on Wednesday.

TRUMP, speaking about the period after he released a rough transcript of his phone call with Ukraine's president: "You haven't heard about the whistleblower after that, have you?" — Kentucky rally on Monday.

THE FACTS: The whistleblower did not disappear after the White House, in late September, released a rough transcript of Trump's call with Ukraine's president. In fact, the whistleblower is offering to answer written questions by GOP lawmakers, but so far Republicans have rebuffed him.

Trump's suggestion is that the whistleblower's account is false, and so the person has vanished, but key details have been corroborated by people with firsthand knowledge of the events who have appeared on Capitol Hill.

The rough transcript of the July 25 phone call also showed that the whistleblower had accurately summarized the conversation in the complaint sent to the acting director of national intelligence.

The whistleblower has offered through his or her lawyers to answer questions directly from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee "in writing, under oath & penalty of perjury." But House Republicans, who are interested in exposing the whistleblower's identity, want that official to appear at the public hearings .

U.S. whistleblower laws exist to protect the identity and careers of people who bring forward accusations of wrongdoing by government officials. Lawmakers in both parties have historically backed those protections.

TRUMP, on the whistleblower: "He must be brought forward to testify. Written answers not acceptable!" — tweet Monday.

THE FACTS: Trump's stance on providing written answers in a federal investigation is a turnabout from a few months ago.

Trump himself refused to provide anything but written answers in response to limited questions during the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election.

TRUMP, on Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee: "How about Schiff? He makes up a conversation, he gets up before the United States Congress, he repeats my conversation with the head of the Ukraine ... it was a total lie, and then I actually went and released the actual conversation." — Kentucky rally on Monday.

THE FACTS: He's exaggerating the episode and botching the timeline.

Schiff delivered what he called a parody of Trump's remarks in the president's July 25 phone call with Ukraine's leader.

Schiff did so after the White House released a rough transcript of the call, not before, as Trump states. So people who read the official account knew Schiff was riffing from it, not quoting from it.

SEN. RAND PAUL, R-Ky., arguing the whistleblower should be made to come forward so Trump can engage with that official: "Enshrined in the 6th Amendment is the right to confront your accuser." — tweet Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Paul omits key words from the start of the Sixth Amendment: "In all criminal prosecutions."

Trump is not facing an accuser in a criminal proceeding. The hearings are a political proceeding.

Moreover, the whistleblower's account has been substantiated by multiple on-the-record accounts of government officials and the rough transcript of Trump's phone call with Ukraine's president that the White House released.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a lawyer for criminal defendants and the right to confront their accusers. As it happens, the impeachment process also is outlined in the Constitution and it gives the House the sole power to impeach and the Senate the sole power to remove an official, including the president, from office.

WHITE HOUSE: "Before there was a whistleblower, there was the whistleblower's attorney_tweeting about overthrowing the government because he didn't like the election results." — tweet Thursday.

TRUMP: "Coup has started, whistleblower's attorney said in 2017. Do you know when that was? That was a long time ago. It's all a hoax. They say January 2017 a coup has started, and the impeachment will follow ultimately. It's all — it's all a hoax." — Louisiana rally on Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Trump and his team can't be faulted for believing that Mark Zaid, one of the whistleblower's attorneys, has it out for the president.

That does not mean Zaid can be dismissed as a Democratic partisan.

The longtime Washington lawyer has represented people in both parties, causes dear to each side and a line of whistleblowers.

Trump and his team are pointing to a January 2017 tweet by Zaid, who says he's a registered independent, in which he writes "#coup has started. First of many steps. #rebellion. #impeachment will follow ultimately."

That tweet was in response to news that Trump had fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she refused to enforce a ban on travel for people living in several predominantly Muslim countries.

Some of Zaid's legal work over the years has involved issues close to Trump, such as his challenge of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

Zaid represented a veterans' group in a lawsuit against the State Department that sought records of Clinton's response to the Benghazi, Libya, attacks as secretary of state. The suit targeted Clinton's reliance on the private server for government communication, saying "it may have been a deliberate attempt to shield communications from capture by governmental systems and the public's eye."

He also represented CIA contractors who were in Benghazi on the night of the attacks.

Zaid served as an attorney for the late Republican Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina and The Daily Caller, a conservative publication, in public records suits against the federal government.

Zaid now says his reference to a "coup" referred to those working in the Trump administration who were standing up to the president to help enforce the rule of law.

HUNTER BIDEN

TRUMP, on former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter: "Now look the $1.5 billion that Hunter ... got a lot of money from Ukraine, but he got $1.5 billion from China. ...They gave him $1.5 billion, he will make millions and millions with that. ...I think they would love to see another president." — Kentucky rally.

THE FACTS: There's no evidence Hunter Biden pocketed $1.5 billion from China. More generally, accusations of criminal wrongdoing by father or son are unsubstantiated.

The impeachment process was sparked by Trump's pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden when the father was vice president and his son in international business. He has also urged China to investigate.

In 2014, an investment fund started by Hunter Biden and other investors joined with foreign and Chinese private equity firms in an effort to raise $1.5 billion to invest outside China. That's far from giving Hunter Biden such a sum, as Trump describes it.

Hunter Biden's lawyer, George Mesires, says his client was an unpaid director of the fund at the time and pocketed nothing.

"To date, Hunter has not received any compensation for being on BHR's board of directors," Mesires said, referring to the fund. "He has not received any return on his investment."

WILDFIRES

TRUMP: "Every year, as the fire's rage & California burns, it is the same thing - and then he (Newsom) comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor. You don't see close to the level of burn in other states." — tweet Sunday.

THE FACTS: Not true. There are far fewer acres burned in California than other places such as Alaska.

So far this year, slightly more than 266,000 acres of California have burned in more than 7,700 fires. That's fewer than recent years for California, but the fires command attention because they are close to people.

While Alaska has had only 700 fires, it has lost 2.57 million acres to wildfires this year, more than nine times as much as California, according to statistics from the National Interagency Fire Center.

The Great Basin, Southern and Southwestern regions have all had more than 440,000 acres burned this year, far more than California.

"Fire is increasing everywhere because of climate change, but the impacts on people are more directly observable in California because of its population and wealth," said LeRoy Westerling, a fire expert at the University of California, Merced.

TRUMP: "The Governor of California, @GavinNewsom, has done a terrible job of forest management. I told him from the first day we met he must 'clean' his forest floors, regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him. Must also do burns and cut fire stoppers." — tweet Sunday.

THE FACTS: Trump is sidestepping responsibility. Of the 33 million acres of forest land in California, 57% is owned and managed by the federal government, 40% by private landowners and 3% by the state, according to Newsom's office, Forest Unlimited and the University of California's Forest Research and Outreach center.

Many of the recent fires are not in forests but shrub, agricultural area and grasslands where forest management is not an issue, University of Alberta fire expert Mike Flannigan said.

Chris Field, director of the Stanford Wood Institute for the Environment, said Trump is right to say California should be doing more to reduce the risks.

"I agree with the president that fuel reduction and fire breaks are important," he said. "But they are just the beginning. We also need to upgrade homes and businesses to make them more fire resistant, improve defensible spaces around buildings, and limit ignitions, including from downed power lines."

While California is increasing its spending for reducing fuels for fire by about $200 million for five years, federal officials are crying for money, Westerling said.

The National Forest Service's California office says it needs $300 million more a year to meet its goal of restoring 500,000 acres per year, up from 200,000 acres annually.

Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Eric Tucker and Seth Borenstein contributed to this report.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man who broke into the home of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seeking to hold her hostage and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.

But prosecutors later filed a motion saying the court failed to offer the defendant, David DePape, an opportunity “to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence" as required by federal rule. They asked the court to reopen the sentencing portion to allow him that option. The court did not immediately respond.

A jury found DePape, 44, guilty in November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.

The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and sent shockwaves through the political world. He suffered two head wounds including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws he will have for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced DePape to 20 years for attempted kidnapping and 30 years for the assault, the maximum for both counts. The sentences will run concurrently. He also was given credit for the 18 months he has been in custody.

In its afternoon motion to the court, the U.S. attorney's office said DePape was not given the opportunity by the court to speak before being sentenced and that could present an issue.

DePape's defense, however, said they opposed bringing back their client to court and filed a notice of appeal, according to the filing. Prosecutors and defense counsel did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment late Friday.

The court has 14 days to correct a sentence resulting from error, prosecutors said.

DePape stood silently as he was sentenced and looked down at times. His public defense attorneys had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years, pointing out that he was going through a difficult period in his life at the time of the attack, had undiagnosed mental health issues and had no prior criminal history.

At trial, DePape testified that he had planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and record his interrogation of the Democratic speaker, who was not at her San Francisco home at the time of the attack, to upload it online.

Ahead of the sentencing, one of his defense attorneys, Angela Chuang, told the judge to consider the prison terms being given to those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

"The five most serious sentences for people who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, of literally conspiring to overthrow the government, range from 15 to 22 years," Chuang said.

Corley said the Jan. 6 analogy didn’t adequately reflect the seriousness of breaking into an official's private home. The attack may have a chilling effect on people seeking office in the future, she said.

“They have to think not only, ‘Am I willing to take that risk myself, but am I willing to risk my spouse, my children, my grandchildren?’” the judge said.

Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence on each count and for DePape to serve 10 years concurrently, giving him a 40-year prison term.

Before sentencing, Christine Pelosi read her father and mother's victim statements, explaining how the violent attack changed their lives. In Paul Pelosi's statement, he explained that 18 months after the attack, he still gets headaches and vertigo and has fainted and fallen twice at home.

“Once you are attacked in such a public and political manner, with such threatening language, you always have to fear a copycat,” Nancy Pelosi said in her statement. “When I encourage people, especially women to consider running for office, physical threats to the family should not even be a factor, but they are.”

Both Paul and Nancy Pelosi said there are still bloodstains on the floor and other signs of the break-in at their home.

“Our home remains a heartbreaking crime scene,” Nancy Pelosi wrote.

DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the Pelosis’ home Oct. 28, 2022, intending to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling.

Defense attorneys argued DePape was motivated by his political beliefs, not because he wanted to interfere with Nancy Pelosi’s official duties as a member of Congress, making the charges against him invalid.

Chuang, one of his attorneys, said during closing arguments that DePape was estranged from his family and was caught up in conspiracy theories.

Sky Gonzalez, David DePape’s son, told reporters outside court the 30-year prison term was equivalent to getting a death sentence.

“I think that’s quite sad. I think that’s a really long time, because if you think about it, he’s already nearly 50. Basically, it’s just a death sentence," Gonzalez said before repeating the same conspiracy theories his father wrote about before the attack.

At trial DePape, a Canadian who moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago, testified that he believed news outlets repeatedly lied about former President Donald Trump. In rants posted on a blog and online forum that were taken down after his arrest, DePape echoed the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles runs the U.S. government.

Prosecutors said he had rope and zip ties with him, and detectives found body cameras, a computer and a tablet.

Paul Pelosi recalled at the trial how he was awakened by a large man bursting into the bedroom and asking, “Where’s Nancy?” He said that when he responded that his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her.

“It was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” Pelosi told jurors.

DePape also is charged in state court with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. Jury selection in that trial is expected to start Wednesday.

Sergio Lopez, acting assistant agent in charge of the FBI, speaks to reporters after the sentencing of David DePape in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024, in San Francisco. DePape was found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Sergio Lopez, acting assistant agent in charge of the FBI, speaks to reporters after the sentencing of David DePape in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024, in San Francisco. DePape was found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Gypsy Taub, ex-partner of David DePape, speaks to reporters after DePape's sentencing in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024, in San Francisco. He was found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

FILE - Paul Pelosi attends a portrait unveiling ceremony for his wife, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in Statuary Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 14, 2022. David DePape who was convicted last year in federal court of breaking into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home will be sentenced in federal court Friday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE – David DePape is seen, Dec. 13, 2013, in Berkeley, Calif. DePape convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer is set to be sentenced in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024. (Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)

FILE - In this image taken from San Francisco Police Department body-camera video, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi, right, fights for control of a hammer with his assailant David DePape during a brutal attack in the couple's San Francisco home, on Oct. 28, 2022. DePape convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer is set to be sentenced in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024. (San Francisco Police Department via AP, File)