Republicans are on a rampage, demanding the whistleblower’s name. There are many legal protections that protect the anonymity of whistleblowers in any investigation, but that hasn’t stopped the outcry for the identity of the person who wrote the memo that helped to start the impeachment investigation of President Trump.
During the course of Tuesday’s closed-door testimony, Republicans were accused of using pointed questioning to ascertain the name of the person who wrote the infamous memo. This memo detailed an account of the President offering Ukraine military aid in a quid pro quo in return for a political favor. Republicans responded to Democratic accusations, stating that the Democrats were not allowing valid questions regarding the whistleblower.
A whistleblower’s name is, of course, protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act. The information regarding the whistleblower is shielded from public review by the Protection Act, providing necessary safeguards.
Tensions intensified during the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday, during an interview with Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council Official that was on the call with President Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vindman stated that he had worries that the President was pressing for help in an investigation into Biden and conveyed those worries to his supervisors.
Members in the room stated that the Republican Counsel pressed for information regarding who Vindman had reported his concerns to, however, that line of questioning as abruptly shut down by Adam Schiff.
Democrats view this line of questioning as invasive, and the whistleblower’s lawyers have stated that outing the name would put the person’s life and family at risk of retaliation. The lawyers assert that potential whistleblowers could be too worried to come forward for fear of losing anonymity. The continuing protection of the whistleblower is in the best interest of this person and the person should be protected.