Monday, February 03, 2020

The (Now) Irrelevant Whistleblower

There is a name floating around social media of an individual that some folks think is "the whistleblower." Some irresponsible members of the House of Representatives and Senate have shared it widely, likely hoping it results in retribution and discourages others who are considering doing their duty and reporting this administration's corruption. Many of Trump's supporters have forwarded those posts and tweets. Trump himself has winked at his supporters' actions. 

As to this whistleblower, it doesn't matter if the alleged individual is the whistleblower and who his or her friends or political leanings may be.

What matters is that the Intelligence Community Inspector General (IC IG), who was appointed by Donald Trump, evaluated the whistleblower complaint and found it "credible and urgent." Those are the criteria for passing it forward to the Congressional intelligence committees, in a law written and championed by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), one of Trump's allies in the Senate.

People who traffic in the supposed whistleblower's name may be violating the whistleblower law. They certainly are endangering the whistleblower's career and/or life for doing something that is not only legal but required under the law. And lest you missed it, I repeat: the whistleblower's complaint was investigated by the Trump appointed IC IG and deemed credible and urgent. That's what matters!

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