Thread by @tburages

Suspicion, rage, and finger-pointing are mounting in the NSC and White House. 👇

"One official — speaking, like others, on the condition of anonymity — described the climate as verging on 'bloodletting.'" 1/6

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

There is A LOT of anger at Guiliani.

“Rudy — he did all of this,” one U.S. official said. “This s---show that we’re in — it’s him injecting himself into the process.” 2/6

Guiliani and Trump left key players out while Guiliani brought his own team to Ukraine:

"He also had his own emissaries in Ukraine who were meeting with officials, setting up meetings for him and sending back information that he could circulate in the United States." 3/6

NSC officials, the Pentagon and State Department were left reacting to rumors about the nearly half a billion dollars of military AND INTELLIGENCE aid that was being withheld from Ukraine. 4/6

Funnily enough, several WH officials were reluctant to allow Trump to talk to Zelensky on July 25.

"... some worried that even if he were coached before the call, Trump would not be able to resist pressing Zelensky for dirt on Biden." 5/6

During the call "vague misgivings that had risen over the preceding 5 months hardened into alarm. Among those who listened in on the call or [saw the] transcript, the president’s persistence with Zelensky on the corruption probe marked the crossing of a perilous threshold." 6/6