‘In harm’s way’: Safety concerns grow for Trump impeachment whistleblower

There are safety concerns for the whistleblower in the impeachment inquiry against Trump, after the president made an unsettling remark.

The whistleblower at the centre of the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump is reportedly fearing for their safety after the US President made some unsettling comments about how to “handle” them.

The impeachment inquiry is linked to a phone conversation Mr Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25.

In August the unnamed whistleblower made a complaint alleging the president pressured Mr Zelenskiy to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son Robert Hunter Biden.

Mr Biden is currently the most likely Democrat to face Mr Trump in next year’s presidential election.

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Allegedly in exchange for dirt on his political rival, the whistleblower claimed the US President said he would grant Ukraine a previously withheld $US400 million in military aid.

Mr Trump has denied these claims.

Mr Bakaj said the whistleblower’s lawyers had serious concerns for their safety following unsettling comments made by the president. Picture: by Saul Loeb/AFP

In a letter, which was first reported on by 60 Minutes in America, a lawyer for the whistleblower, Andrew Bakaj, said alarms had been raised over their client’s safety following menacing comments from Mr Trump.

Writing to acting Director of National Intelligence, Joseph Maguire, Mr Bakaj expressed “serious concerns we have regarding our client’s personal safety”.

“The events of the past week have heightened our concerns that our client’s identity will be disclosed publicly and that, as a result, our client will be put in harm’s way.”

He referenced specific comments made by Mr Trump during a private event last Thursday, which were made public after a recording of the remarks was published by the Los Angeles Times.

In the recording the US President likened those who helped the whistleblower to “spies’ and appeared to make threatening comments about how they should be punished.

“I want to know who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information because that’s close to a spy,” he said during the private event in New York.

“You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? With spies and treason, right? We used to handle them a little differently than we do now.”

Mr Trump allegedly asked the Ukrainian President to dig up dirt on his political opponent Joe Biden. Picture: Olivier Douliery/AFP

Mr Bakaj said even though the president was referring to the whistleblower’s source, it “does nothing to assuage our concerns for our client’s safety”.

The $50,000 reward for information about the whistleblower recently offered by two Trump supporters was also mentioned in the letter.

Controversial conservatives Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl announced last week they would pay out the “bounty” for “any information” relating to the whistleblower’s identity.

“Unfortunately, we expect this situation to worsen, and to become even more dangerous for our client and any other whistleblowers, as Congress seeks to investigate this matter,” Mr Bakaj said.

TRUMP WANTS TO MEET WHISTLEBLOWER

Only a handful of people know the whistleblower’s true identity, with the complaint only identified them as a member of the US intelligence community.

On Thursday the New York Times claimed to have gained even more information about their identity, reporting the whistleblower was a man who works for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The publication said sources revealed the agent has been seconded to the White House for duty but was now back to his regular desk role.

Mr Trump lashed out at the whistleblower in a furious Twitter rant today, saying he “deserved to meet [his] accuser”.

He also said there would be “big consequences” for the person that originally passed on information to the whistleblower.

Like every American, I deserve to meet my accuser, especially when this accuser, the so-called “Whistleblower,” represented a perfect conversation with a foreign leader in a totally inaccurate and fraudulent way. Then Schiff made up what I actually said by lying to Congress......

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2019

....In addition, I want to meet not only my accuser, who presented SECOND & THIRD HAND INFORMATION, but also the person who illegally gave this information, which was largely incorrect, to the “Whistleblower.” Was this person SPYING on the U.S. President? Big Consequences!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2019

Federal whistleblowers have strong protections under a special law governing officials wanting to report wrongdoing by colleagues or superiors, but they have to go through a strictly defined process.

Acting Director of National Intelligence, Joseph Maguire, said the person “acted by the book” when filing the complaint.

“I think the whistleblower did everything in the right way,” he told the House Intelligence Committee.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said on Sunday he expects the whistleblower to testify “very soon”, after revealing his committee had been negotiating to interview the unknown accuser.

“All that needs to be done, at this point, is to make sure that the attorneys that represent the whistleblower get the clearances that they need to be able to accompany the whistleblower to testimony,” he said.

Mr Schiff added they also needed to “figure out the logistics to make sure that we protect the identity of the whistleblower”.

The exact date the whistleblower will testify depends on how long it takes to get security clearance for their lawyers.

Mark Zaid, another lawyer for the whistleblower, said they were continuing to work with government officials in deciding how to move forward.

“We continue to work with both parties in House & Senate and we understand all agree that protecting whistleblower’s identity is paramount,” Mr Zaid said on Twitter.

“Discussions continue to occur to co-ordinate & finalise logistics but no date/time has yet been set.’