The anonymous White House whistleblower suggesting President Donald Trump had an inappropriate conversation with a foreign power now known to be Ukraine reportedly made that claim based on hearsay.
President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, on September 16, 2019. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)
Fox News’ senior political analyst Brit Hume noted Saturday how CNN admitted that the political firestorm is all based on a whistleblower, thought to be a White House intelligence agent, with second-hand information:
Here’s a “new revelation” in this article: the whistleblower complaint is based on hearsay. From the article: “The whistleblower didn’t have direct knowledge of the communications, an official briefed on the matter told CNN.” https://t.co/rPPVRD88Qp
— Brit Hume (@brithume) September 21, 2019
The CNN story cited by Hume suggests, “It is hard to see how any of this ends well” but doesn’t mention the whistleblower’s precarious grip on his inside information until the reader is deep within the report. (RELATED: Reports Identify The Country At The Centre Of Mysterious Whistleblower’s Complaint)
“The whistleblower didn’t have direct knowledge of the communications, an official briefed on the matter told CNN. Instead, the whistleblower’s concerns came in part from learning information that was not obtained during the course of their work, and those details have played a role in the administration’s determination that the complaint didn’t fit the reporting requirements under the intelligence whistleblower law, the official said.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko denied that the conversation between Trump and Ukraine involved any sort of “pressure” from the president. (RELATED: Trump Calls Whistleblower ‘Highly Partisan,’ Denies Wrongdoing)
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a speech during a parliamentary session in Kiev, Ukraine August 29, 2019. Picture taken August 29, 2019. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/
The conversation has led to a series of allegations based on what Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky might have discussed. There have been reports that Trump attempted to coerce Zelensky to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son’s Ukrainian business interests.
Failed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton believes that Trump asked Ukraine to influence the 2020 elections, tweeting Friday: “The president asked a foreign power to help him win an election. Again.”
The president asked a foreign power to help him win an election.
Again.https://t.co/EjkE84oCCF
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 20, 2019