Trump calls on Ukraine whistleblower to ‘come forward’

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called on the whistleblower whose concerns prompted an impeachment inquiry to “come forward,” appealing directly to the intelligence community employee in a stark departure from norms of conduct in such cases.

“The Whistleblower got it sooo wrong that HE must come forward. The Fake News Media knows who he is but, being an arm of the Democrat Party, don’t want to reveal him because there would be hell to pay. Reveal the Whistleblower and end the Impeachment Hoax!” Trump said in a Twitter post.

RELATED: US Energy Secretary Perry refuses to testify before Trump impeachment inquiry

On Saturday, former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Republicans and Democrats need to work together for the good of the US, while avoiding a direct reference to the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

Tillerson, whom Trump fired in a tweet in March 2018 amid friction between the two over North Korea, Iran and Russia policies, has largely refrained from discussing politics publicly since leaving Washington.