Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

6 hours ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

8 hours ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

9 hours ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

9 hours ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

9 hours ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

1 day ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

1 day ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

1 day ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

2 days ago
Trump: Whistleblower 'Must Be Brought Forward to Testify'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
November 4, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — The whistleblower who raised alarms about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and touched off the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry is willing to answer written questions submitted by House Republicans, the person’s lawyer says.

“Being a whistleblower is not a partisan job nor is impeachment an objective. That is not our role.” — Mark Zaid, the whistleblower’s attorney
But President Donald says that’s not good enough.
Trump himself refused to provide anything but written answers in response to limited questions during the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election.
The testimony offer, made over the weekend to Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, followed escalating attacks by Trump and his GOP allies who are demanding the whistleblower’s identity be revealed.
It would allow Republicans to ask questions of the whistleblower without having to go through the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff.
“Being a whistleblower is not a partisan job nor is impeachment an objective. That is not our role,” Mark Zaid, the whistleblower’s attorney, tweeted Sunday.
“We will ensure timely answers,” he said.
U.S. whistleblower laws exist to protect the identity and careers of people who bring forward accusations of wrongdoing by government officials. Lawmakers in both major political parties have historically backed those protections.

Trump Has Denied He Did Anything Wrong

But Trump, weighing in on Twitter Monday morning, said the person should appear publicly.
“He must be brought forward to testify. Written answers not acceptable!” Trump wrote, slamming the entire process as a “Con!”
Trump has denied he did anything wrong in his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which he pressed Zelenskiy to investigate Trump’s political rivals. At the time, the administration was withholding military aid to Ukraine that had been approved by Congress.
That call sparked the complaint that led to the inquiry.
Zaid said the whistleblower would answer questions directly from Republican members “in writing, under oath & penalty of perjury.” Only queries seeking the person’s identity won’t be answered, he said.
Nunes’ office did not have immediate comment.
The new proposal came as Trump stepped up his attacks on the investigation, tweeting on Sunday, “Reveal the Whistleblower and end the Impeachment Hoax!”
The whistleblower’s secondhand account of the phone call has been providing a road map for House Democrats investigating whether the president and others in his orbit pressured Ukraine to probe political opponents, including former Vice President Joe Biden.

Photo of Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talks to reporters just before the House vote on a resolution to formalize the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Whistleblower’s Complaint Has Been Corroborated in Many Respects

Democrats are heading into a crucial phase of their impeachment inquiry as they move toward public impeachment hearings this month. They have called for testimony in the coming weeks from 11 witnesses, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and former national security adviser John Bolton in closed-door interviews. It’s unclear whether any of them will come to Capitol Hill.
Trump is also pushing the news media to divulge the whistleblower’s identity.
“They know who it is. You know who it is. You just don’t want to report it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday. “And you know you’d be doing the public a service if you did.”
The Associated Press typically does not reveal the identity of any whistleblower.
The whistleblower’s complaint has been corroborated in many respects by people with firsthand knowledge of the events who have appeared on Capitol Hill.
Trump says he demanded no quid pro quo, as has been alleged, but he also says such arrangement are common while leveraging power in conducting foreign policy.
The whistleblower has become a central focus for Republicans, and in particular the president. The intelligence community’s inspector general has said the person could have an “arguable political bias,” but he nevertheless found the whistleblower’s complaint to be “credible.”

The Inquiry Was Approved in a Mostly Partisan Vote

The president believes that if he can expose bias in the initial allegations against him, he can paint the entire impeachment inquiry as a partisan, political probe. To this point, Republicans have largely fought the inquiry on process, not substance, arguing it is tainted because interviews are being conducted in closed sessions — though GOP lawmakers are in attendance and grilling the witnesses — and complaining that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had not called a vote to launch the matter.

“When you’re talking about the removal of the president of the United States, undoing democracy, undoing what the American public had voted for, I think that individual should come before the committee.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Pelosi did call such a vote last week — the inquiry was approved in a mostly partisan vote — and the investigation will soon shift into open hearings.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Sunday that he had not yet discussed the whistleblower’s offer with Nunes, but agreed with Trump that the person should answer questions in a public appearance before the committee.
“When you’re talking about the removal of the president of the United States, undoing democracy, undoing what the American public had voted for, I think that individual should come before the committee,” McCarthy told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Attorney Zaid said his team had addressed the issue of alleged bias with Republican members of the committee and had stressed the need for anonymity to maintain the safety of the whistleblower and that person’s family, “but with little effect in halting the attacks.”
“Let me be absolutely clear: Our willingness to cooperate has not changed,” tweeted Andrew P. Bakaj, another attorney representing the whistleblower. “Their fixation on exposing the whistleblower’s identity is simply because they’re at a loss as to how to address the investigations the underlying disclosure prompted.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

DON'T MISS

It’s Raining Cash for Some 2026 Fresno City Council Hopefuls

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

DON'T MISS

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

DON'T MISS

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

DON'T MISS

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

DON'T MISS

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

DON'T MISS

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

UP NEXT

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

UP NEXT

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

UP NEXT

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

UP NEXT

Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance

UP NEXT

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

UP NEXT

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

UP NEXT

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

UP NEXT

Yosemite’s Largest Campground Reopens Friday After $26.2 Million Renovation

UP NEXT

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

5 hours ago

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

6 hours ago

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

6 hours ago

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

6 hours ago

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

7 hours ago

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

7 hours ago

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

7 hours ago

Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance

7 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Scott Oscar Whitehead

8 hours ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

8 hours ago

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

United States judges spoke out against the unprecedented surge in violence and disturbing threats made against members of the judicial branc...

3 hours ago

United States judges speaking about receiving violent threats over rulings
3 hours ago

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

Fresno city hall with council campaign finance money
4 hours ago

It’s Raining Cash for Some 2026 Fresno City Council Hopefuls

E. coli identified at avocado lake
5 hours ago

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Republican Senators, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

Breaking News from Reuters
6 hours ago

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

6 hours ago

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

President Donald Trump speaks after disembarking Marine One, as he departs for Scotland, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 25, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
7 hours ago

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend