WASHINGTON — A lawyer for the whistle-blower whose complaint set off an impeachment inquiry of President Trump said Sunday that the same legal team was now representing a second whistle-blower, an intelligence official with firsthand knowledge of the president's interactions with Ukraine.
The new whistle-blower "made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against," Mark S. Zaid, one of the lawyers, said on Twitter.
Mr. Zaid confirmed a report by the ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on his show, "This Week," which said the new whistle-blower had already been interviewed by the intelligence community's inspector general's office, but had not yet communicated with any congressional committees.
Another member of the legal team confirmed on Twitterthat the firm was now representing "multiple whistleblowers" but declined to comment further.It is also not clear if the new whistle-blower will file a formal complaint. Mr. Zaid said the second whistle-blower's act of coming forward to the inspector general had already secured whistle-blower protections.
The first whistle-blower, a C.I.A. officer who was detailed to the National Security Council, filed a complaint in August outlining how Mr. Trump used his power to push Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals, setting off an impeachment inquiry. Mr. Trump has tried to undermine the credibility of the first whistle-blower, whose identity is not publicly known, by saying that the individual was trading on secondhand information."The first so-called second hand information 'Whistleblower' got my phone conversation almost completely wrong, so now word is they are going to the bench and another 'Whistleblower' is coming in from the Deep State, also with second hand info," Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday night, referring to his now-infamous July 25 phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in which he leaned on Mr. Zelensky to investigate Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president and current presidential candidate, as well as his son Hunter Biden. "Keep them coming!"
Mr. Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, framed the news of the new whistle-blower on Sunday as a political hit on the president. "SURPRISE Democrat lawyer has other secret sources," Mr. Giuliani wrote on Twitter. He added that the bottom line was that there was "no quid pro quo" attached to Mr. Trump's pressure on Ukrainian officials to investigate his political rivals, and called the story an "ORCHESTRATED DEM CAMPAIGN LIKE KAVANAUGH," referring to the sexual misconduct allegations against Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
Mr. Zaid works for Compass Rose Legal Group, a law firm that specializes in representing whistle-blowers. He is part of the legal team that is now representing both individuals who have come forward. The team also includes Andrew P. Bakaj, the lead lawyer, and I. Charles McCullough III.
"I can confirm that my firm and my team represent multiple whistleblowers in connection to the underlying August 12, 2019, disclosure to the Intelligence Community Inspector General," Mr. Bakaj said on Twitter. "No further comment at this time."
NY Times, October 6, 2019
Voices4America Post Script: Read and share the news of "multiple whistleblowers"! #WhistleblowerWave #TrumpIsACriminal #ImpeachAndRemove