YouTube has removed a video of Rand Paul using the name of alleged Ukraine whistleblower Eric Ciaramella on the Senate floor, saying it contravened its community guidelines.
“We’ve removed hundreds of videos and over ten thousand comments that contained the name. Video uploaders have the option to edit their videos to exclude the name and reupload,” Ivy Choi, a spokeswoman, told Politico.
Ciaramella, 33, is a career CIA analyst and was the Ukraine director on the National Security Council from 2016 until the summer of 2017.
Paul read the name on the Senate floor earlier this month after U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts declined to read a question, including the name, during the trial itself.
“It is a chilling and disturbing day in America when giant web companies such as YouTube decide to censure speech,” Paul said after the clip was removed. “Now, even protected speech, such as that of a senator on the Senate floor, can be blocked from getting to the American people.
“This is dangerous and politically biased. Nowhere in my speech did I accuse anyone of being a whistleblower, nor do I know the whistleblower’s identity. Apparently, YouTube has taken it upon itself to decide what questions can even be asked in the public debate, including on the Senate floor.”
His question, according to his office, was designed to focus on the “surveillance state’s abuse of its powers.”
“Manager Schiff and counsel for the #president,” read the question, “are you aware that House intelligence committee staffer Shawn Misko had a close relationship with Eric Ciaramella when at the National Security Council together, and are you aware and how do you respond to reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal House impeachment proceedings?”
The Washington Examiner reported details of that relationship in October.
The whistleblower lodged a complaint in August, claiming that President Trump appeared to pressure the Ukrainian president to launch a politically motivated investigation into Joe Biden, one of his Democratic opponents.
It led to an impeachment trial in which the president was eventually acquitted of abusing his power and obstructing Congress.
Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly called for the whistleblower to testify in public.
