This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/06/us/politics/second-whistleblower-trump-ukraine.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Legal Team Says It Represents a Second Whistle-Blower Over Trump and Ukraine | Legal Team Says It Represents a Second Whistle-Blower Over Trump and Ukraine |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — A lawyer for the whistle-blower whose complaint set off an impeachment inquiry of President Trump said Sunday that the same legal team was now representing a second whistle-blower, an intelligence official with firsthand knowledge of the president’s interactions with Ukraine. | WASHINGTON — A lawyer for the whistle-blower whose complaint set off an impeachment inquiry of President Trump said Sunday that the same legal team was now representing a second whistle-blower, an intelligence official with firsthand knowledge of the president’s interactions with Ukraine. |
| The new whistle-blower “made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against,” Mark S. Zaid, one of the lawyers, said on Twitter. | The new whistle-blower “made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against,” Mark S. Zaid, one of the lawyers, said on Twitter. |
| Mr. Zaid confirmed a report by the ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on his show, “This Week,” which said the new whistle-blower had already been interviewed by the intelligence community’s inspector general’s office, but had not yet communicated with any congressional committees. | Mr. Zaid confirmed a report by the ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on his show, “This Week,” which said the new whistle-blower had already been interviewed by the intelligence community’s inspector general’s office, but had not yet communicated with any congressional committees. |
| Another member of the legal team confirmed on Twitter that the firm was now representing “multiple whistleblowers” but declined to comment further. | Another member of the legal team confirmed on Twitter that the firm was now representing “multiple whistleblowers” but declined to comment further. |
| It was not clear if the new whistle-blower would file a formal complaint. Mr. Zaid said the second whistle-blower’s act of coming forward to the inspector general had already secured whistle-blower protections. | It was not clear if the new whistle-blower would file a formal complaint. Mr. Zaid said the second whistle-blower’s act of coming forward to the inspector general had already secured whistle-blower protections. |
| The New York Times reported on Friday that an intelligence official with more direct knowledge of Mr. Trump’s dealing with Ukraine than the first whistle-blower, and who had grown alarmed by the president’s behavior, was weighing whether to come forward. The second official was among those interviewed by the intelligence community inspector general to corroborate the allegations of the original whistle-blower, one of the people briefed on the matter said. | The New York Times reported on Friday that an intelligence official with more direct knowledge of Mr. Trump’s dealing with Ukraine than the first whistle-blower, and who had grown alarmed by the president’s behavior, was weighing whether to come forward. The second official was among those interviewed by the intelligence community inspector general to corroborate the allegations of the original whistle-blower, one of the people briefed on the matter said. |
| The new whistle-blower matches the description of the official that The Times reported on last week. Mr. Zaid said he did not know whether the individual was the same person. | The new whistle-blower matches the description of the official that The Times reported on last week. Mr. Zaid said he did not know whether the individual was the same person. |
| The first whistle-blower, a C.I.A. officer who was detailed to the National Security Council, filed a complaint in August outlining how Mr. Trump used his power to push Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals. | The first whistle-blower, a C.I.A. officer who was detailed to the National Security Council, filed a complaint in August outlining how Mr. Trump used his power to push Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals. |
| Mr. Trump has tried to undermine the credibility of the first whistle-blower, whose identity is not publicly known, by saying that the individual was trading on secondhand information. On Sunday, White House officials said information from a second whistle-blower would make no difference. | |
| “It doesn’t matter how many people decide to call themselves whistle-blowers about the same telephone call — a call the president already made public — it doesn’t change the fact that he has done nothing wrong,” said Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary. | |
| Anticipating the news, Mr. Trump pre-emptively went on the attack on Saturday night. | |
| “The first so-called second hand information ‘Whistleblower’ got my phone conversation almost completely wrong, so now word is they are going to the bench and another ‘Whistleblower’ is coming in from the Deep State, also with second hand info,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday, referring to his now-infamous July 25 phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in which he leaned on Mr. Zelensky to investigate Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president and current presidential candidate, as well as his son Hunter Biden. “Keep them coming!” | “The first so-called second hand information ‘Whistleblower’ got my phone conversation almost completely wrong, so now word is they are going to the bench and another ‘Whistleblower’ is coming in from the Deep State, also with second hand info,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday, referring to his now-infamous July 25 phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in which he leaned on Mr. Zelensky to investigate Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president and current presidential candidate, as well as his son Hunter Biden. “Keep them coming!” |
| Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, framed the news of the new whistle-blower on Sunday as a political hit on the president. “SURPRISE Democrat lawyer has other secret sources,” Mr. Giuliani wrote on Twitter. He added that the bottom line was that there was “no quid pro quo” attached to Mr. Trump’s pressure on Ukrainian officials to investigate his political rivals, and called the story an “ORCHESTRATED DEM CAMPAIGN LIKE KAVANAUGH,” referring to the sexual misconduct allegations against Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. | Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, framed the news of the new whistle-blower on Sunday as a political hit on the president. “SURPRISE Democrat lawyer has other secret sources,” Mr. Giuliani wrote on Twitter. He added that the bottom line was that there was “no quid pro quo” attached to Mr. Trump’s pressure on Ukrainian officials to investigate his political rivals, and called the story an “ORCHESTRATED DEM CAMPAIGN LIKE KAVANAUGH,” referring to the sexual misconduct allegations against Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. |
| Mr. Zaid works for Compass Rose Legal Group, a law firm that specializes in representing whistle-blowers. He is part of the legal team that is now representing both individuals who have come forward. The team also includes Andrew P. Bakaj, the lead lawyer, and I. Charles McCullough III. | Mr. Zaid works for Compass Rose Legal Group, a law firm that specializes in representing whistle-blowers. He is part of the legal team that is now representing both individuals who have come forward. The team also includes Andrew P. Bakaj, the lead lawyer, and I. Charles McCullough III. |
| “I can confirm that my firm and my team represent multiple whistleblowers in connection to the underlying August 12, 2019, disclosure to the Intelligence Community Inspector General,” Mr. Bakaj said on Twitter. “No further comment at this time.” | “I can confirm that my firm and my team represent multiple whistleblowers in connection to the underlying August 12, 2019, disclosure to the Intelligence Community Inspector General,” Mr. Bakaj said on Twitter. “No further comment at this time.” |
| Democrats who are building the impeachment case against Mr. Trump sought to paint the accumulation of evidence against him as inevitable on Sunday. Meanwhile, the White House had few allies on the Sunday show circuit who strongly defended the president’s actions. | Democrats who are building the impeachment case against Mr. Trump sought to paint the accumulation of evidence against him as inevitable on Sunday. Meanwhile, the White House had few allies on the Sunday show circuit who strongly defended the president’s actions. |
| Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the second-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel had not yet heard from a second whistle-blower as of Sunday morning. But he hastened to argue that the speed with which details of the case were becoming public was itself a strong sign of wrongdoing. | Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the second-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel had not yet heard from a second whistle-blower as of Sunday morning. But he hastened to argue that the speed with which details of the case were becoming public was itself a strong sign of wrongdoing. |
| “We’re sort of sitting here watching the information flow out of the White House, damning information, facts that are undisputed,” Mr. Himes said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “What’s happening is that people around the president, professionals, who are in the Oval Office, who are in the Situation Room, are watching what is happening and are finally saying, ‘my God, this cannot happen anymore,’ and they are coming forward.” | “We’re sort of sitting here watching the information flow out of the White House, damning information, facts that are undisputed,” Mr. Himes said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “What’s happening is that people around the president, professionals, who are in the Oval Office, who are in the Situation Room, are watching what is happening and are finally saying, ‘my God, this cannot happen anymore,’ and they are coming forward.” |
| The intelligence panel is still working with the first whistle-blower and the director of national intelligence to arrange a private interview. With information evolving unusually quickly, few senior congressional Republicans or White House officials have been willing to step out publicly to defend Mr. Trump’s actions. The White House, which has been riven internally about how to handle impeachment proceedings, with no one clearly in charge, did not have any senior officials making the case to defend Mr. Trump on Sunday. | The intelligence panel is still working with the first whistle-blower and the director of national intelligence to arrange a private interview. With information evolving unusually quickly, few senior congressional Republicans or White House officials have been willing to step out publicly to defend Mr. Trump’s actions. The White House, which has been riven internally about how to handle impeachment proceedings, with no one clearly in charge, did not have any senior officials making the case to defend Mr. Trump on Sunday. |
| And those congressional allies who did make public comments on Sunday either focused on attacking Democrats’ handling of the case or said they would reserve judgment until they saw more facts. | And those congressional allies who did make public comments on Sunday either focused on attacking Democrats’ handling of the case or said they would reserve judgment until they saw more facts. |
| Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri and a key member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was interested to learn more about the new whistle-blower and offered no defense of Mr. Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. Instead, he said he first wanted to see the results of the Senate’s bipartisan investigation of the matter before making a judgment. | Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri and a key member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was interested to learn more about the new whistle-blower and offered no defense of Mr. Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. Instead, he said he first wanted to see the results of the Senate’s bipartisan investigation of the matter before making a judgment. |
| “You have to assume if it is essentially a partisan vote in the House, that that sets the stage for likely the same kind of vote in the Senate,” Mr. Blunt said on CBS. “But let’s see what the facts are.” | “You have to assume if it is essentially a partisan vote in the House, that that sets the stage for likely the same kind of vote in the Senate,” Mr. Blunt said on CBS. “But let’s see what the facts are.” |
| Others were more squarely behind the president. | Others were more squarely behind the president. |
| Representative Chris Stewart, Republican of Utah and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday” that he was “not at all” concerned by the emergence of another whistle-blower because he had already seen a transcript of Mr. Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president that, in his view, was not problematic. | Representative Chris Stewart, Republican of Utah and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday” that he was “not at all” concerned by the emergence of another whistle-blower because he had already seen a transcript of Mr. Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president that, in his view, was not problematic. |
| On ABC’s “This Week,” Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of Mr. Trump’s most steadfast defenders, said the president was merely interested in rooting out legitimate accusations of corruption and that Democrats were unfairly vilifying him for it. | On ABC’s “This Week,” Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of Mr. Trump’s most steadfast defenders, said the president was merely interested in rooting out legitimate accusations of corruption and that Democrats were unfairly vilifying him for it. |
| But pressed a half-dozen times to say where he approved of Mr. Trump’s public remarks this week calling on China to investigate the Bidens, Mr. Jordan would not answer. | But pressed a half-dozen times to say where he approved of Mr. Trump’s public remarks this week calling on China to investigate the Bidens, Mr. Jordan would not answer. |
| “I think he has you guys all spun up,” he said, repeating a line frequently used by Republicans in recent days. “I don’t think he really meant go investigate. Do you think China is really going to investigate?” | “I think he has you guys all spun up,” he said, repeating a line frequently used by Republicans in recent days. “I don’t think he really meant go investigate. Do you think China is really going to investigate?” |
| Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, said in a heated exchange on “Meet the Press” that Mr. Trump had “vehemently, angrily denied” to him withholding aid for Ukraine in exchange for investigating his political rivals. | Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, said in a heated exchange on “Meet the Press” that Mr. Trump had “vehemently, angrily denied” to him withholding aid for Ukraine in exchange for investigating his political rivals. |
| “Unlike the narrative of the press that President Trump wants to dig up dirt on his 2020 opponent, what he wants is an accounting of what happened in 2016,” Mr. Johnson said. | “Unlike the narrative of the press that President Trump wants to dig up dirt on his 2020 opponent, what he wants is an accounting of what happened in 2016,” Mr. Johnson said. |