JUNIOR TWEET 'NAMES' UKRAINE TIPSTER
President Trump’s son on Wednesday sent a tweet that included the purported name of the anonymous government whistleblower who set off the investigation into whether the White House attempted to strong-arm Ukrainian officials into probing a political rival of the commander in chief.
Donald Trump Jr.’s post followed the president himself asking news outlets to expose the identity of the CIA analyst who filed the complaint, as reports of the whistleblower’s possible identity circulate online.
Trump Jr.’s tweet linked to an article published by Breitbart — once run by former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon — that implied the whistleblower was proDemocrat and anti-Trump.
“There is no Whistleblower,” the president claimed Monday on Twitter. “There is someone with an agenda against Donald Trump.”
Yashar Ali — a contributing writer at The Huffington Post and New York magazine — also posted on Twitter that three sources confirmed the name, but he later deleted the message.
The Post could not independently verify the person’s identity.
Andrew Bakaj, one of the whistleblower’s lawyers, would not confirm or deny the reported name, but said Trump Jr. and others were endangering the person as well as the system built to protect whistleblowers.
“Identifying any name for the whistleblower will simply place that individual and their family at risk,” Bakaj told Agence France-Presse.
News Web site RealClearInvestigations first reported the circulating name and claimed the whistleblower’s ID is an open secret in Washington circles.
The New York Times first detailed the whistleblower’s biography, reporting that the person is a CIA officer once detailed to the White House who pos
sessed extensive knowledge of Ukrainian politics.
Meanwhile, at a rally in Louisiana Wednesday night, Trump blasted another of the whistleblower’s lawyers, Mark Zaid, for calling for a “coup” in 2017.
“Democrats must be accountable for their hoaxes and their crimes,” Trump said. “These people are bad people. They rip the guts out of our country.”
Trump and Sen. Rand Paul pressed news organizations to report the agent’s name at a political rally Monday in Kentucky.
“We also now know the name of the whistleblower,” the Kentucky Republican told the crowd and the reporters gathered in back. “I say tonight to the media: Do your job and print his name.”
Democrats and some Republicans — including the GOP’s most senior senator, Iowa’s Charles Grassley, a staunch advocate for whistleblowers — have pushed back, citing worries that the threat of exposure would discourage future whistleblowers from exposing potential wrongdoing and hurt congressional oversight efforts for years to come.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said, “This person’s life could be in danger, and I think they know that. And I think that’s not responsible,.
Trump and Paul’s remarks ignited another political firestorm as the White House battles near-daily revelations that the president and his allies held up defense aid desperately needed by Ukraine while pressuring the country’s leaders to probe Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.
Ukrainian officials have said there is no evidence of illegal activity by the Biden family.
The quid-pro-quo allegations sit at the heart of the whistleblower’s complaint and led Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch an impeachment inquiry.
That probe is where current and former Trump administration officials have delivered damning testimony.
Both the inspector general for the intelligence community and the acting director of national intelligence said the whistleblower followed proper procedures and acted in good faith.
Trump’s push to reveal the CIA officer’s identity would not violate any laws, experts said.
Laws protect the whistleblower from workplace retaliation, but revealing the identity would not be illegal unless the person is undercover. But those exposing the name could open themselves up to liability for any negative consequences for the whistleblower.