BackSecond whistle-blower may be poised to emerge in Trump saga
A media report says the second whistle-blower has come forward with details about Trump’s efforts to get the Ukrainian govt to dig up damaging information about a political rival Joe BidenThe second whistle-blower hasn’t yet communicated with the congressional committees conducting an impeachment probe into Trump, the report says
PremiumThe lead attorney representing a US intelligence official who first came forward with a complaint against President Donald Trump says his firm is now representing “multiple whistle-blowers" in connection to the matter.
Andrew Bakaj’s comment Sunday followed a report by ABC News that a second whistle-blower has come forward with details about Trump’s efforts to get the Ukrainian government to dig up damaging information about a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“My firm and my team represent multiple whistle-blowers in connection to the underlying August 12, 2019, disclosure to the Intelligence Community Inspector General," Bakaj, of the law firm Compass Rose Legal Group PLLC, said on Twitter.
Mark Zaid, a second attorney with Compass Rose, also confirmed the report of the second whistle-blower, who he said has “first hand knowledge" of the matters at hand and cannot be retaliated against.
The second whistle-blower hasn’t yet communicated with the congressional committees conducting an impeachment investigation into Trump, ABC News reported.
Trump said on Twitter last week that he wants to “meet not only my accuser" but also “the person who illegally gave this information." He also suggested the people involved had been “spying" and threatened “big consequences."
The administration suffered a week of damaging developments that included Trump publicly calling on Ukraine and China to investigate Biden and his son -- echoing Democrats’ accusation that the president was leveraging his power to target a political opponent.
House impeachment investigators have subpoenaed the White House for documents on efforts by Trump and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to pressure Ukraine into opening a probe of the Bidens.
“The evidence of wrongdoing by Donald Trump is hiding in plain sight," Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is part of the House Democratic leadership, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week." “The president’s own words in the public domain has indicated that he doesn’t think there’s any problem in soliciting foreign interference."
Trump claims that Biden improperly helped his son Hunter profit from business deals in Ukraine and China. The allegations related to Ukraine have been discredited, and those related to China aren’t supported by publicly known details. Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign has dismissed the allegations as without merit.
The existence of a potential second whistle-blower, who may have more direct knowledge of Trump’s interactions with Ukraine, was first reported Friday by the New York Times.
Trump responded in a tweet on Saturday, saying the “Deep State" is “going to the bench" for reinforcements.
One of Trump’s staunchest Republican allies, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, declined on Sunday to defend Trump’s suggestion, make to reporters outside the White House, that China investigate the Bidens. The president wasn’t being serious, Jordan said.
“I don’t think he really meant go investigate" and nobody “really believes that the president of the United States thinks China’s going to investigate," Jordan said. “I think he’s getting the press all spun up on all of this."
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