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Donald Trump Jr. is under fire for toeing the line of whistleblower protection laws. On Wednesday, November 6, Trump Jr. tweeted out an article from an alt-right news source that identified and named the alleged White House whistleblower who sparked the Ukraine scandal and ultimately led to the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
The article suggests the whistleblower was a “Never Trumper” and that she worked closely with the Obama administration and Clinton campaign.
“That and other emails show [redacted] interfaced about Ukraine with individuals who played key roles in facilitating the infamous anti-Trump dossier produced by Fusion GPS and reportedly financed by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee,” the article states. “One of those individuals, then-Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland (pictured), received updates on Ukraine issues from dossier author Christopher Steele in addition to Nuland’s direct role in the dossier controversy.”
Immediately after Trump Jr. tweeted out the article with the alleged whistleblower’s name, the backlash began.
However, in typical Trump fashion, the president’s son denied any wrongdoing.
“I love the outrage about me tweeting an article about the ‘alleged’ whistleblower… also good to know you have other sources confirming,” Don Jr. tweeted. “Those thinking I coordinated with The White House to tweet out an article haven’t been watching my feed much. Didn’t happen!”
The whistleblower’s attorney condemned Trump Jr.’s decision to tweet out the alleged name and said that continuing to publicize the name “will simply place that individual and their family at risk of serious harm.”
From CNN’s Jake Tapper:
Whistleblower atty @MarkSZaidEsq on a member of the president’s family tweeting out a story on a pro-Trump website allegedly naming the whistleblower: “Identifying any name for the whistleblower will simply place that individual and their family at risk of serious harm. We will not confirm or deny any name that is published but we will note publication does nothing other than show the desperation of a partisan crowd to deflect from the substance of the whistleblower complaint.
It most certainly will not relieve the President of the need to address the substantive allegations, all of which have been substantially proven to be true.
The whistleblower’s attorney would not confirm nor deny the name tweeted out by Trump Jr.
