“Whistleblowers are not traitors,” @dcolapinto. “It is the job of the president to protect whistleblowers, not incite violence against them.”
Did this happen because @realDonaldTrump created a climate of hate against the #Whistleblower?
washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02…
Did this happen because @realDonaldTrump created a climate of hate against the #Whistleblower?
washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02…
The death threats against the #whistleblower & his attorney didn’t happen in a vacuum. Let’s review what else was happening just prior to November 7, 2019 - the day the threat was allegedly made.
On Nov. 1, 2019 @npr broadcast a short segment noting that President Trump “continues” his efforts to unmask the identity of the confidential #Whistleblower. wvpe.org/post/president…
Trump efforts to name the #Whistleblower were supported by a few Republican members of the House, like Devin Nunes, who refused to commit to protecting the #Whistleblower’s identity if he or she consented to an interview by the House Intelligence Committee.
On Nov. 4, 2019, @RandPaul appeared at a televised campaign rally with President Trump at which Senator Paul claimed to know the name of the #whistleblower and threatened to reveal the Whistleblower’s alleged name.
Sen. Paul said at the Nov. 4 Trump rally: “The #whistleblower needs to come before Congress, as a material witness, because he worked for Joe Biden. At the same time, Hunter Biden was getting money from corrupt oligarchs.”
Sen. Paul continued with his attack on the #Whistleblower by imploring:
“I say tonight to the media, do your job and print his name.”
“I say tonight to the media, do your job and print his name.”
And @RandPaul said at the Nov. 4 rally: “And I say to my colleagues if shifty Schiff will not let Hunter Biden come and if you will not bring the #whistleblower forward, every Republican in Congress should take a walk and say this is a farce.”
Rep. Louie Gohmert was also repeating unsupported conspiracy theories and false claims by pro-Trump attorneys that the #whistleblower was not a “real” Whistleblower because he or she did not make a disclosure protected by the Whistleblower law. houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/…
Rep. Gohmert & other Trump supporters argued that if the #Whistleblower wasn’t legally protected by the law then his or her identity could be revealed. However, not only were these arguments not legally supported they cited the wrong statute to bolster their false claims.
By Nov. 5, 2019 Sen. Chuck Grassley finally stepped in saying that it is up to the #whistleblower to decide whether or not to come forward. “That's strictly up to the whistleblower," Grassley told reporters. thehill.com/homenews/senat…
But Trump and his political supporters refused to listen to Sen. Grassley. They continued their attacks on the #Whistleblower.
On Nov. 5, 2019 @RandPaul went on #FoxNews and said he probably will reveal the alleged name of the #Whistleblower.
thehill.com/homenews/senat…
thehill.com/homenews/senat…
Of course, neither @RandPaul nor anyone else actually knows the name of the #whistleblower. They’re basing their claims on speculation by a right wing publication that claimed to have figured out who the #Whistleblower might be.
But the law requires President Trump to “protect this #Whistleblower’s” confidentiality & to “tell Senator Paul to stand down,” says Stephen Kohn of @kkcwhistleblow & @stopfraud on Nov. 5 on #FoxNews. video.foxnews.com/v/610084003600…
The very next day, on the morning of Nov. 6, Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, speculated on the #whistleblower’s name in a tweet to his 4 million followers. newsweek.com/law-firm-repre…
Not to be outdone by his son, President Trump went off the rails on the evening of November 6 at another campaign rally. Trump attacked the #whistleblower & the #Whistleblower’s attorney, @MarkSZaidEsq.
In an unhinged rant at his campaign rally on Nov. 6 President Trump called the #whistleblower’s attorney a “sleazeball” & said the #Whistleblower was a “sleazebag” and the audience booed in response to Trump’s attacks on the Whistleblower. c-span.org/video/?c482809…
On the morning of Nov. 7, Trump, Jr. appeared on the View and defended his attacks on the #Whistleblower & effort to reveal the Whistleblower’s identity, despite that it’s illegal. salon.com/2019/11/07/the…
On Nov. 7, 2019 a Trump supporter allegedly sent an email to the #Whistleblower’s attorney threatening him and his client with physical harm. Not a coincidence in my opinion & President Trump is to blame for inciting this.
The law actually requires the President to protect intelligence community employees who make #Whistleblower disclosures. See 50 USC §3234.
Not only has Trump refused to carry out his legal duty to protect the #Whistleblower, Trump has removed the acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph McGuire who testified that the Whistleblower & the IG “acted in good faith” & “followed the law.” cnn.com/2019/09/26/pol…
