Trump’s informer is informed by scruples
As of this writing, we know almost nothing about the whistleblower who filed a complaint against President Donald Trump over the contents of his July 25 call to President Zelenskiy of Ukraine. All we know is this.
First, he or she continues a tradition as old as this country. Congress passed the first whistleblower legislation in
July 1778 after a handful of sailors accused U.S. Navy officers of torturing British prisoners of war. In so doing, Congress laid down a challenge to us all: “Resolved, that it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as other inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge.”
As Americans, in other words, we are all called upon to be whistleblowers!
Second, he or she played by the rules. Didn’t run to CNN or The New York Times. Didn’t leak to Democrats in Congress. No, in this all-important case, involving the president of the United States, the whistleblower followed the proper channels by first obtaining confirmation of alleged wrongdoing from several sources and then confidentially submitting that information to the proper authorities: to Michael Atkinson, the Trump-appointed inspector general of the Intelligence Community, who conducted his own two-week investigation before branding the complaint “credible” and “of urgent concern;” and, from him, to Joseph Maguire, the Trump-appointed director of National Intelligence, who told Congress: “I think the whistleblower did the right thing. I think he followed the law every step of the way.”
Third, and most significantly, he or she exposed “a serious or flagrant problem, abuse, or violation of law or Executive Order” that every American should be concerned about: namely, as stated in the official complaint, “that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.”
So venerable is the tradition of whistleblowers, you’d think they’d be treated as patriots. Sadly, that’s not always the case. More often, in fact, whether exposing government or corporate wrongdoing, they’ve been called “rats,” “snitches,” “media whores,” “money grubbers,” or worse. Many have lost their jobs for daring to follow their conscience and speak up.
But none has experienced the torrent of abuse aimed at today’s whistleblower.
Several times a day, for the last two weeks, he or she’s been accused of treason — by none other than the president of the United States, who’s vowed to expose the whistleblower’s identify so he can attack him or her personally. Trump’s also called the whistleblower a spy, for whom hanging or shooting remains the only proper punishment.
“You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right,” he told members of the U.S. mission to the UN.
Trump has accused the whistleblower of having no firsthand knowledge of his call. Which has been contradicted by Inspector General Atkinson: “The whistleblower stated on the form that he or she possessed both firsthand and other information.”
Trump also insists the whistleblower’s not telling the truth, even though he has admitted asking Zelenskiy to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, which is confirmed by White House notes on the call.
But, notice. Trump never answers the basic question: Why is it OK for a president to invite a foreign government to intervene in an American presidential election? He won’t answer that question because he can’t. There’s no way he can justify or defend what is, in fact, an act of treason.
We don’t know if the inquiry underway will lead to Trump’s impeachment. But we know how it started. By a career intelligence officer who’s worried about this president undermining our sacred election process.
We don’t know if that whistleblower’s a man or woman. We don’t know his or her name. We don’t know where he or she works. All we know is there’s one brave American who still cares enough about the difference between right and wrong — and is willing to risk everything in order to right that wrong. God bless America. Even knowing as little as we do, I’m already prepared to erect a monument to that whistleblower on the Washington Mall. Or, better yet, in front of the Trump Hotel.