Lindsey Graham calls for release of whistleblower identity

(AP) — Senator Lindsey Graham is calling for the identity of the whistleblower who spurred the impeachment inquiry to be made public.

But Democrats are pushing back saying that demand by some Republicans is “simply revenge” and would discourage other whistleblowers from coming forward in the future.

In recent weeks, a name has circulated in conservative media of a man said to be the whistleblower. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., on Wednesday tweeted a link to a story on the Breitbart website that used the name. He also included the name in his tweet.

Responding to reporter question about the risks of identifying the whistleblower, Graham said the statute is being abused in President Trump’s case.

“It’s designed to protect you from being fired if you come forward. It doesn’t give you anonymity,” said Graham (R-South Carolina). “Nobody should be prosecuted based on an anonymous accusation. Impeachment is the political death penalty. Without the whistleblower complaint, none of this would be going on so I want to know who the person is.”

U.S. whistleblower laws exist to protect the identity and careers of people who bring forward accusations of wrongdoing by government officials. Lawmakers in both parties have historically backed those protections.

“This attempt to name the whistleblower is simply revenge, outright punitive retribution and trying to discourage other whistleblowers in an administration that is so fraught with corruption there are bound to be other whistleblowers as well,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut).

“This notion that this person (whistleblower) should be brought before the American people now, publicly disclosed and punished (…) is just the exact opposite of what we expect in a democracy,” added Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).

The identity of the whistleblower is almost a moot point: Much of the unnamed person’s August complaint about Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been corroborated and expanded upon by officials’ on-the-record, congressional testimony and the reconstructed, partial transcript of the call released by the White House.