Attorneys for the whistleblower whose complaint launched an impeachment investigation into President Trump said that Trump allies are showing “desperation” by naming a person they suspect is the whistleblower.
Trump and Republican allies have called for the person to be outed, but Trump and well-placed Capitol Hill Republican sources admit they don’t know the person’s name for certain.
Last month, RealClearInvestigations said the person is Eric Ciaramella, a 33-year-old CIA analyst, but backtracked within two hours of publication. Ciaramella has not denied the allegation, and the whistleblower’s attorneys have refused to confirm or deny the identification.
“Identifying any suspected name for the whistleblower will place that individual and their family at risk of serious harm,” the whistleblower’s attorneys Mark Zaid and Andrew Bakaj said in a Wednesday statement.
“Disclosure of any name undermines the integrity of the whistleblower system and will deter any future whistleblowers,” the attorneys said. “We will note, however, that publication or promotion of a name shows the desperation to deflect from the substance of the whistleblower complaint. It will not relieve the President of the need to address the substantive allegations, all of which have been substantially proven to be true.”
Republicans say the person may have conspired with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff to target Trump and allege apparent errors in the initial complaint, such as the identity of U.S. officials on a July 25 call with Ukraine’s president. They also question the motivation behind an alleged cover-up involving moving the transcript to a more secure computer system.
Still, key elements of an original Aug. 12 whistleblower complaint proved true, with diplomats and current and former White House staff corroborating and elaborating on Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who worked for a Ukrainian energy firm.
As Trump called for the person to be outed and forced to testify, his allies have sought to make it happen.
Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert asked about Ciaramella during impeachment proceedings. Sharing a stage with Trump in Kentucky this week, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul urged news outlets to report the person’s name.
“To the media, do your job and print his name,” Paul told a cheering crowd.