In the past two days, there has been a lot of threats to reveal the name of the whistleblower who got the ball rolling in the Trump Impeachment Inquiry.
There is, of course, no reason to out him. The whistleblower complaint has been superseded by firsthand testimony, and the phone call transcript summary, which corroborate, if not go futher than, the original complaint.
The identity of the whistleblower is unimportant now that we have direct testimony. But there are ways Republicans in Congress could ask questions consistent with legal protections. So the assault on the whistleblower is pure thuggery. Silence by other Republicans is complicity.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) November 6, 2019
So why out the whistleblower? Republicans defending need a face they can slam. They tried with Hunter Biden — it had no legs. They tried with Schiff – nope. So now it’s the whistleblower. And they are serious.
Especially Senator Rand Paul.
Rand Paul says he "probably will" disclose whistleblower's name https://t.co/kCgalAVxJS pic.twitter.com/0cMc6nhUen
— The Hill (@thehill) November 6, 2019
Naming the whistleblower has nothing to do with stopping impeachment and everything to do with retribution against the specific person and intimidation of future would-be whistleblowers, some of whom have already approached Congress. https://t.co/NQBgoIhMZU
— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) November 6, 2019
Statement of November 6, 2019, Concerning the Suspected Identity of the Whistleblower pic.twitter.com/qMBRuLALI8
— Andrew P. Bakaj (@AndrewBakaj) November 6, 2019
Attempts by the president and congressional Republicans to publicly identify the whistleblower are inexcusable and must stop. These efforts are nothing more than an attempt to distract the public from a legitimate investigation of serious allegations made against the president. pic.twitter.com/NdbRhmHQjj
— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) November 6, 2019
By the way, it is not hard to find the whistleblower’s name and identity. It is out there on right wing sites. In fact, Rand Paul tweeted a link to one of those sites, so maybe that is his way of “outing”. (UPDATE: Don Trump Jr also tweeted the a link, AND the name)
And Russian news sites haven published it. But so far, no major news outlet or congressperson has said the name.