US President Donald Trump lashed out at House Democratic leaders yesterday, saying they had “gone stone cold CRAZY” by launching a far-reaching corruption probe that began with demands for documents from 81 people associated with him.

In morning tweets, Mr Trump asserted that letters sent on Monday were meant to harass “innocent people” and were borne of frustration among Democrats for not being able to prove co-ordination between his campaign and Russia in the 2016 election.

“Now that they realize the only Collusion with Russia was done by Crooked Hillary Clinton & the Democrats, Nadler, Schiff and the Dem heads of the Committees have gone stone cold CRAZY,” Mr Trump wrote, referring to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff. “81 letters sent to innocent people to harass them,” Mr Trump wrote. “They won’t get ANYTHING done for our Country!”

In subsequent tweets, Mr Trump accused Democrats of conducting a “big, fat, fishing expedition” and wrote in all capital letters, “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!”

The president’s angry response came a day after Mr Nadler sent letters demanding all communications on a host of controversies surrounding Mr Trump, as the panel probes whether the president and his administration have engaged in obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power.

The far-reaching document request seeks information from Mr Trump’s sons, business associates and political confidants, among others. It touches on a wide array of matters, including the president’s business dealings with Russia, the firing of former FBI director James Comey and hush payments made to women who say they had affairs with Mr Trump.

Mr Nadler said on Monday that House Democrats have “a responsibility to investigate these matters and hold hearings for the public to have all the facts.” He pledged to move quickly. But the extensive scope could bolster claims by Mr Trump and Republicans that congressional Democrats are seeking to undermine the president and cripple his 2020 re-election effort rather than conduct a disciplined fact-finding inquiry.

In a tweet, Mr Trump quoted Fox News host Sean Hannity saying Democratic tactics amount to “modern day McCarthyism”.

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