GOP Rejects Whistleblower’s Offer to Answer Written Questions: Jordan
The offer from the person whose complaint against Republican President Donald Trump helped lead to the impeachment inquiry was rejected by the GOP, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said.
One of the lawyers representing the whistleblower—whose identity has still not been confirmed—said on Nov. 3 that the legal team “offered GOP [the] direct opportunity to ask written questions of [the] whistleblower.”
“We have directly engaged GOP as to the irrelevance of the whistleblower’s information and identity (including addressing any issue of bias), but with little effect in halting the attacks. BTW, countless OIG complaints are filed anonymously and full of hearsay. It’s common,” Mark Zaid, the lawyer, wrote in a statement on Twitter.
“We offered HPSCI (and SSCI), both majority and minority, to have [the] whistleblower answer questions in writing, under oath and penalty of perjury. Obviously, per House rules GOP is beholden to [the] Dems. We, however, are not.”
Zaid said the offer was made to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. Questions seeking identifying information wouldn’t be answered, Zaid said.
Jordan said in a statement later Sunday: “Written answers will not provide a sufficient opportunity to probe all the relevant facts and cross-examine the so-called whistleblower. You don’t get to ignite an impeachment effort and never account for your actions and role in orchestrating it.”
“We have serious questions about this individual’s political bias and partisan motivations and it seems Mark Zaid and Adam Schiff are attempting to hide these facts from public scrutiny. Last week’s testimony raised even more concerns about the anonymous whistleblower and our need to hear from them in person,” he added.
Zaid said in response, “We will protect [the] whistleblower’s identity, not only for their own sake but also for all future whistleblowers.”
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is heading the impeachment inquiry, for weeks said that he was arranging for the whistleblower to testify to Congress.
But after it was discovered Schiff’s staff had contact with the person before the complaint was filed, Schiff seemed to change his mind and began saying it wasn’t necessary for the whistleblower to testify.
Schiff has said he regrets claiming on national television “we have not spoken directly to the whistleblower,” which many took as him saying neither he nor his staff had had contact with the person.
Schiff, a main proponent of the Trump-Russia collusion theory, also fabricated a portion of the Trump call transcript while chairing a hearing, leading to criticism from political opponents.
Trump and leading Republicans have pushed for the disclosure of the whistleblower’s name.
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Trump said: “They know who it is. You know who it is. You just don’t want to report it. You know you’d be doing the public a service if you did.”
At least one report has claimed to identify the person but The Epoch Times has been unable to corroborate that identity.Follow Zachary on Twitter: @zackstieber
