Trump will be the chief messenger in the response effort, and his allies will probably take cues from him, said Sekulow.

Some Republicans say that’s the problem. In the past few days, Trump has called for the whistleblower to be unmasked, suggested that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) should be arrested for treason and amplified the comment of a supporter who said impeachment could create a “Civil War like fracture” in the United States…

“There are different ways to bake the cake, depending on what sort of cake you want,” the official said. “Different flavoring, different temperatures, different ingredients yield different types of cake, and the president as the master baker is testing recipes and deciding what type of cake he wants.”…

“It’s such a cliche that Trump doesn’t think anyone can defend him the way he can defend himself, but they need to try, because right now it’s just him tweeting about Adam B. Schiff,” said a Republican congressional aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss their view of the White House’s plan.