Rand Paul reads alleged whistleblower's name and Republicans 'fine' with it
Source: Politico
Rand Paul reads alleged whistleblower's name and Republicans 'fine' with it
The Kentucky Republican's comment on the Senate floor was met with shrugs by most Senate Republicans.
By KYLE CHENEY and BURGESS EVERETT
02/04/2020 01:16 PM EST
Updated: 02/04/2020 08:28 PM EST
Sen. Rand Paul read aloud the name of the alleged whistleblower who first raised alarms about President Donald Trump's conduct toward Ukraine. And most Republicans didnt seem to care.
After being denied by Chief Justice John Roberts last week, Paul used a period reserved for senators impeachment speeches to read aloud the name of an intelligence community official alleged to be the whistleblower.
"They made a big mistake not allowing my question. My question did not talk about anybody who is a whistleblower, my question did not accuse anybody of being whistleblower, it did not make a statement believing that someone was a whistleblower. I simply named two people's names because I think it's very important to know what happened," Paul said on the floor.
Its the type of move that might have prompted a backlash from within his own party not too long ago, and several senators said they would not have done it. But after three weeks of the impeachment trial and with Trumps firm grip over the party, there was little blowback from his colleagues on Tuesday.
I was glad we didnt put the chief justice in a bad situation, said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of the GOP leadership. I have some sympathy for [Pauls] view on this. The whistleblower law should protect the whistleblowers job and future opportunity and not necessarily hide who the whistleblower is.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/04/rand-paul-reads-alleged-whistleblowers-name-senate-floor-110684