US President Donald Trump has said that Representative Adam Schiff, the Democrat poltician leading the impeachment case against him, has "not paid the price, yet" for his actions.
Mr Schiff has said he viewed the statement made by Mr Trump on Twitter as a threat.
The vitriol from Mr Trump against Mr Schiff and other Democrats followed days of their arguments in his impeachment trial before the US Senate.
Mr Trump is facing charges that he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate a political rival, and then tried to obstruct an investigation by Congress.
Shifty Adam Schiff is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man. He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2020
"Shifty Adam Schiff is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man. He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!" Mr Trump said on Twitter.
Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he took the Republican president's social media post as a threat, Mr Schiff said, "I think it's intended to be."
As lead impeachment manager, Mr Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, played a central role in Democrats' efforts to paint Mr Trump's behavior as dangerous to democracy in America and around the world in arguments before the Republican-led Senate, where Mr Trump is likely to be acquitted.
While some Republican senators said Mr Schiff had been effective, most appeared unswayed.
The politician from California, a former federal prosecutor, has been a regular target of attack from Mr Trump and his Republican supporters in Congress.
Mr Trump's team of lawyers began their defense yesterday, arguing that Democrats' efforts to remove the president from office would set a "very, very dangerous" precedent in an election year.
