Tag: second whistleblower

Second Ukraine whistleblower has “firsthand knowledge” of Trump allegations

Axios logoThe attorney representing the whistleblower whose anonymous complaint about President Trump and Ukraine has sparked an impeachment inquiry confirmed to ABC News on Sunday that he is now representing a second whistleblower with “firsthand knowledge” of some of the allegations.

Why it matters: One of the attacks Trump and his allies have used to try to undermine the credibility of the first whistleblower is that he relied on secondhand information from other White House officials. There is no requirement in the whistleblower statute for firsthand information, but an official with direct knowledge of the allegations could provide even more explosive evidence in the impeachment investigation.

    • Attorney Mark Zaid confirmed to ABC that the second whistleblower has been interviewed by intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson, but said that they have not been in contact with the House committees conducting the inquiry.

View the complete October 6 article by Zachary Basu on the Axios website here.

IRS whistleblower said to report Treasury political appointee might have tried to interfere in audit of Trump or Pence

Washington Post logoAn Internal Revenue Service ­official has filed a whistleblower complaint reporting that he was told that at least one Treasury Department political appointee attempted to improperly interfere with the annual audit of the president’s or vice president’s tax returns, according to multiple people familiar with the document.

Trump administration officials dismissed the whistleblower’s complaint as flimsy because it is based on conversations with other government officials. But congressional Democrats were alarmed by the complaint, now circulating on Capitol Hill, and flagged it in a federal court filing. They are also discussing whether to make it public.

The details of the IRS complaint follow news of a separate, explosive whistleblower complaint filed in August by a member of the intelligence community. That complaint revealed Trump’s request of Ukranian leaders to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, a political rival. It has spurred an impeachment probe on Capitol Hill.

View the complete October 3 article by Jeff Stein, Tom Hamberger and Josh Dawsey on The Washington Post website here.