NYT: Whistleblower Is CIA Officer Who Was Detailed To White House

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 26: U.S. President Donald Trump steps off of Marine One as he arrives at the White House after attending the United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. Earlier... WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 26: U.S. President Donald Trump steps off of Marine One as he arrives at the White House after attending the United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. Earlier today the Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified before the House Intelligence Committee about a whistleblower complaint reportedly based on U.S. President Donald Trump pressuring Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate leading Democrats as “a favor” to him during a recent phone conversation. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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The individual who filed a whistleblower complaint with the intelligence community’s inspector general last month is a CIA officer who was at one point detailed to the White House, The New York Times reported Thursday citing three unnamed people familiar with his identity.

The whistleblower has since returned to the CIA, the paper reported.

The complaint focused on events surrounding a call between Trump and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden. The complaint alleged that the White House subsequently sought to suppress records of the call, and has prompted the House to launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Little else is known of the whistleblower’s identity, the Times reported.

Trump has relentlessly attacked the anonymous complainant for his actions, reportedly telling a roomful of diplomats on Thursday that the whistleblower was “a spy” and adding that “in the old days, when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little different than we do now.”

Andrew Bakaj, a lawyer for the whistleblower, refused to confirm the Times’ reporting and told the paper: “Any decision to report any perceived identifying information of the whistle-blower is deeply concerning and reckless, as it can place the individual in harm’s way. The whistle-blower has a right to anonymity.”

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