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Dems eager 2 protect whistleblower considering OFF-HILL interview in secret location, obscuring person's appearance & voice — all bc they say they can't trust Trump allies not to leak his identity

House Democrats consider masking identity of whistleblower from Trump’s GOP allies in Congress

House Democrats eager to protect a whistleblower who raised alarms over President Trump pressuring a foreign leader to investigate a political rival are considering testimony at a remote location and possibly obscuring the individual’s appearance and voice — extraordinary moves to prevent Trump’s congressional allies from revealing the identity, according to three officials familiar with the discussions.

Democratic investigators are concerned that without such rare precautions, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee could learn and then leak the identity of the whistleblower, who has agreed to answer questions before the intelligence committees in the House and Senate.

Democrats overseeing the logistics of the testimony for the House impeachment inquiry are discussing a location away from the Capitol as well as a staff-only session that would prevent lawmakers from attending and asking questions.

Aides have considered having the whistleblower testify from a separate location via a video hookup in which the camera would obscure the whistleblower’s image and alter his voice, possibly with modification technology. They also are talking about having the whistleblower sit behind a screen or partition. A third option being floated includes audio-only testimony.

“Schiff does not want to burn his identity,” a senior congressional official said.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-democrats-consider-masking-identity-of-whistleblower-from-trumps-gop-allies-in-congress/2019/10/07/171a4b14-e927-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html