Sen. Rand Paul took to the Senate floor Tuesday to read aloud a question that identified the alleged Trump whistleblower that Chief Justice John Roberts blocked during the impeachment trial last week.
The Kentucky Republican also used a placard with the question and the alleged whistleblower’s name printed on it.
Paul said that he has no independent confirmation of the identity of the whistleblower, who is reported to be a CIA analyst who worked on the National Security Council. He instead said he was relying on press reports that the alleged whistleblower worked closely with Sean Misko, a staffer for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. (RELATED: Rand Paul Reads The Question He Wasn’t Allowed To Ask During Senate Trial)
WATCH:
The whistleblower met with an aide to Schiff, a California Democrat, prior to filing the Trump complaint on Aug. 12. Schiff, who has denied knowing who the whistleblower is, has warned Republicans against naming the alleged whistleblower during impeachment hearings conducted in the House.
Paul also criticized Roberts for blocking his question during the impeachment trial.
“I have no independent confirmation from anyone in government as to who the whistleblower. So how am I prevented from asking the question when nobody seems to admit that they even know who this person is?” he asked.
Paul read his question during a Jan. 30 press conference after Roberts declined to read it during the impeachment trial, but Tuesday was the first time it has been read into the congressional record.
Paul said that while he wants the whistleblower to have legal protection against retribution, he wants to know if the individual worked with other intelligence officials in the Trump administration to take down the president.
He said he wants to know if the whistleblower “gamed the system knowing that they would get these protections, they gamed the system in order to try to bring down the president, we should know about that.”
“If they had extreme bias going into impeachment, we should know about that,” he said.
The whistleblower accused President Donald Trump of abusing his office by allegedly pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open politically charged investigations in exchange for a White House meeting and U.S. military assistance. The complaint focused mainly on a July 25 phone call that Trump had with Zelensky.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.