Deplorable:
U.S. Rep. Steve King tweeted out photos of a person he believes could be the whistleblower behind the recent impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump's phone call with Ukraine.
The Iowa Republican posted photos to Twitter of a man standing with various Democratic politicians, including Hillary Clinton, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. King wrote the photos "are four strong clues" about the whistleblower's identity.
That tweet was later deleted and replaced with another post that included three photos of a man's face. Along with the photos, King tweeted that he does not know the whistleblower's identity, but the photos are "a better clue."
"Adam Schiff said, 'I do not know the identity of the whistleblower.' Me either, but @RepAdamSchiff here’s a better clue."
Some Republicans have suggested that Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has met personally with the whistleblower. On Wednesday, Schiff denied knowing the identity of the person who made the report.
Conservatives' push to reveal the whistleblower's identity comes as the U.S. House of Representatives launched its first week of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry. Renewed talks of impeachment started after an anonymous report was filed alleging Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
The whistleblower's identity has not been officially revealed or verified, despite calls from the president and conservative allies to make it public. Numerous conservative websites and social media accounts claim to know the identity of the whistleblower.
King's office did not respond to requests for comment about his Twitter posts or the relationship between the man in the photographs and the whistleblower case.
Federal laws provide protections to whistleblowers. It's unclear what consequences King could face if his tweets have revealed the person who made the report.
King is not the only Republican in Congress who has made allegations about the identity of the whistleblower. U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, retweeted King's original tweet showing four photos of the alleged whistleblower.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul shared the name of a person he believes could be the whistleblower on a conservative talk radio show Wednesday. The person "needs to be pulled in for testimony" to clarify whether they are indeed the whistleblower, Paul said.
The organization employing the person pictured on King's social media also released a statement that King was circulating false information.
This isn't King's first time weighing in on the impeachment process. Last month, he joined other Republican House members in a protest over the secrecy of impeachment inquiry testimony by the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform committees.
King does not sit on any House committees. He was removed from his assignments by House Republicans after comments he made to the New York Times about white nationalism and white supremacy.
Iowa's Republican U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have said politicians should not try to reveal the identity of the whistleblower, in accordance with federal law. In a call with reporters in November, Grassley argued that the whistleblower's identity does not matter as impeachment hearings proceed.
"I don’t know whether the whistleblower’s very darn important when what the president has done in two instances: one, released the whistleblowers’ comments and, secondly, released the transcript of the telephone call with the president of Ukraine," Grassley said.
https://www.press-citizen.com/story...esident-donald-trump-ukraine-iowa/4195065002/
U.S. Rep. Steve King tweeted out photos of a person he believes could be the whistleblower behind the recent impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump's phone call with Ukraine.
The Iowa Republican posted photos to Twitter of a man standing with various Democratic politicians, including Hillary Clinton, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. King wrote the photos "are four strong clues" about the whistleblower's identity.
That tweet was later deleted and replaced with another post that included three photos of a man's face. Along with the photos, King tweeted that he does not know the whistleblower's identity, but the photos are "a better clue."
"Adam Schiff said, 'I do not know the identity of the whistleblower.' Me either, but @RepAdamSchiff here’s a better clue."
Some Republicans have suggested that Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has met personally with the whistleblower. On Wednesday, Schiff denied knowing the identity of the person who made the report.
Conservatives' push to reveal the whistleblower's identity comes as the U.S. House of Representatives launched its first week of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry. Renewed talks of impeachment started after an anonymous report was filed alleging Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
The whistleblower's identity has not been officially revealed or verified, despite calls from the president and conservative allies to make it public. Numerous conservative websites and social media accounts claim to know the identity of the whistleblower.
King's office did not respond to requests for comment about his Twitter posts or the relationship between the man in the photographs and the whistleblower case.
Federal laws provide protections to whistleblowers. It's unclear what consequences King could face if his tweets have revealed the person who made the report.
King is not the only Republican in Congress who has made allegations about the identity of the whistleblower. U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, retweeted King's original tweet showing four photos of the alleged whistleblower.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul shared the name of a person he believes could be the whistleblower on a conservative talk radio show Wednesday. The person "needs to be pulled in for testimony" to clarify whether they are indeed the whistleblower, Paul said.
The organization employing the person pictured on King's social media also released a statement that King was circulating false information.
This isn't King's first time weighing in on the impeachment process. Last month, he joined other Republican House members in a protest over the secrecy of impeachment inquiry testimony by the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform committees.
King does not sit on any House committees. He was removed from his assignments by House Republicans after comments he made to the New York Times about white nationalism and white supremacy.
Iowa's Republican U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have said politicians should not try to reveal the identity of the whistleblower, in accordance with federal law. In a call with reporters in November, Grassley argued that the whistleblower's identity does not matter as impeachment hearings proceed.
"I don’t know whether the whistleblower’s very darn important when what the president has done in two instances: one, released the whistleblowers’ comments and, secondly, released the transcript of the telephone call with the president of Ukraine," Grassley said.
https://www.press-citizen.com/story...esident-donald-trump-ukraine-iowa/4195065002/
