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Trump Demand to Unmask Whistle-Blower Roils Impeachment Inquiry
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-01/trump-demand-to-unmask-whistle-blower-roils-impeachment-inquiry
By Billy House October 1, 2019, 4:00 AM EDT Updated on October 1, 2019, 9:55 AM EDT
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are dialing up pressure to unmask the Ukraine whistle-blower in a breathtaking departure from how allegations of corruption and waste have been handled by both parties for years.
The push to identify the anonymous intelligence official risks deterring future whistle-blowers from coming forward -- particularly in the House Democrats’ current impeachment inquiry -- even as lawyers for the official are negotiating with House and Senate committees over an appearance for closed-door interviews.
The whistle-blower’s complaint is central to the House Democrats’ current impeachment inquiry, with the potential to lead to other witnesses with first-hand knowledge of Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
But the whistle-blower’s identity could also help Trump’s allies identify other officials in the White House who gave the person information about the telephone conversation and efforts to “lock down” the records of the call.
Trump referred to the whistle-blower as a “spy” in a closed-door meeting last week and has said several times that he deserves to know the whistle-blower’s identity. On Tuesday, Trump called for the whistle-blower to be interviewed by his representatives, amid a series of statements about the content of the whistle-blower’s report that have been debunked by the White House transcript and the Trump-appointed inspector general of the intelligence community.
“So if the so-called ‘Whistleblower’ has all second hand information, and almost everything he has said about my ‘perfect’ call with the Ukrainian President is wrong (much to the embarrassment of Pelosi & Schiff), why aren’t we entitled to interview & learn everything,” Trump said on Twitter, about “the Whistleblower, and also the person who gave all of the false information to him.”
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By Billy House October 1, 2019, 4:00 AM EDT Updated on October 1, 2019, 9:55 AM EDT
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are dialing up pressure to unmask the Ukraine whistle-blower in a breathtaking departure from how allegations of corruption and waste have been handled by both parties for years.
The push to identify the anonymous intelligence official risks deterring future whistle-blowers from coming forward -- particularly in the House Democrats’ current impeachment inquiry -- even as lawyers for the official are negotiating with House and Senate committees over an appearance for closed-door interviews.
The whistle-blower’s complaint is central to the House Democrats’ current impeachment inquiry, with the potential to lead to other witnesses with first-hand knowledge of Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
But the whistle-blower’s identity could also help Trump’s allies identify other officials in the White House who gave the person information about the telephone conversation and efforts to “lock down” the records of the call.
Trump referred to the whistle-blower as a “spy” in a closed-door meeting last week and has said several times that he deserves to know the whistle-blower’s identity. On Tuesday, Trump called for the whistle-blower to be interviewed by his representatives, amid a series of statements about the content of the whistle-blower’s report that have been debunked by the White House transcript and the Trump-appointed inspector general of the intelligence community.
“So if the so-called ‘Whistleblower’ has all second hand information, and almost everything he has said about my ‘perfect’ call with the Ukrainian President is wrong (much to the embarrassment of Pelosi & Schiff), why aren’t we entitled to interview & learn everything,” Trump said on Twitter, about “the Whistleblower, and also the person who gave all of the false information to him.”
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