President Donald Trump is seething over an impeachment inquiry into his conduct after Democrats subpoenaed the White House about contacts with Ukraine and he signaled his administration would not cooperate.
In a series of tweets Saturday sent as the presidential motorcade ferried him to his Virginia golf course, Trump defended his comments and lashed out at critics, including a past foil, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah.
"This is a fraud against the American people!" he tweeted.
The inquiry reached deeper into the White House when the House sent a letter Friday to Trump's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, informing him that the White House was being subpoenaed for documents it had refused to produce.
The move capped a tumultuous week that widened the constitutional battle between the executive branch and Congress and heightened the political standoff with more witnesses, testimony and documents to come.
Trump received support from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who dismissed questions about Trump's attempts to push Ukraine and China to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden as a "silly gotcha game."
Democrats accused Trump of speeding down "a path of defiance, obstruction and cover-up."
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham derided the subpoena as coming from a Democratic "kangaroo court."