The Whistleblower Will Testify Before Congress, Schiff Says

By David Boddiger  |  September 29, 2019 | 3:18pm
Congress

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff confirmed
on Sunday that the whistleblower who denounced President Donald Trump’s inappropriate
phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will appear
before the committee to testify “very soon.”

Appearing on ABC News’ This
Week, Schiff said the whistleblower would appear with their attorneys, but
not “minders” from either the Justice Department or the White House.

“We’ll get the unfiltered testimony of that whistleblower,”
said Schiff, who has so far taken the lead on the recently
announced impeachment inquiry of Trump.

He added that the committee was “taking all the precautions”
they can to ensure the testimony moves forward “in a way that protects the
whistleblower’s identity,” given that the president recently called that person
a “spy” and insinuated that they should be shot to death.

“You know what we used to do in the old days when we were
smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently
than we do now,” Trump told
a room full of staff members of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations on
Thursday.

Rather than a joke, that comment is being widely interpreted
as a threat, and adding to the sensitivity of the situation, The New York Times reported the same day various
details about the whistleblower, including that the person works for the CIA
and was detailed to work at the White House. The decision to publish those details prompted another
round of angry readers saying they planned to cancel
their subscriptions to the newspaper.

Some legal analysts believe the president’s bizarre,
mob-like comment is further evidence of witness tampering and obstruction of
justice. It also is unfathomable that the president made such comments to U.N. staffers, of all people.

The House Intelligence Committee, along with the committees
on Foreign Affairs and Oversight, also has subpoenaed
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for a series of Ukraine-related documents
requested by the committees more
than two weeks ago. And lawmakers leading the impeachment inquiry have
scheduled five
depositions with State Department officials who likely have knowledge of
Trump’s role in the scandal with Ukraine.

Per
Politico:

Democrats intend to depose former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
Marie Yovanovitch — who was removed by Trump and criticized by the president in
the call with Zelensky — U.S. ambassador Kurt Volker, who facilitated some of
[Rudy] Giuliani’s contacts with Ukrainian officials; deputy assistant secretary
George Kent, Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl and Ambassador Gordon Sondland. The
depositions are set to take place between Oct. 2 and Oct. 10, while Congress is
out on a two-week recess.

Volker, who was mentioned in the whistleblower complaint and
later thrown
under the bus by Rudy Giuliani, resigned on Friday.

Stay tuned, folks, the impeachment inquiry is just getting
started.

 
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