GOP raises alleged whistleblower name in secret hearing, and Dems post it online
WND Staff
November 7, 2019
Lawyers for the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint triggered the impeachment inquiry against President Trump have warned of consequences if the accuser's name is revealed.
But the Democratic majority itself may have outed the whistleblower when it posted online a transcript of the testimony of William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine.
Taylor, according to page 236 of the transcript, was asked by the committee's Republican counsel, Steve Castor: "Okay. Does a person by the name of Eric Ciaramella ring a bell for you?
Taylor replied that it didn't, and he affirmed he never had any communications with somebody by that name.
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When WND asked Democrats in the majority on the House Oversight Committee to identify Ciaramella, the man answering the telephone suddenly went silent and said he was transferring the caller to the media team.
However, no one on the media team was willing to respond, and the reporter asked to communicate via email, which also did not generate a response.
Donald Trump Jr., defying warnings by the whistleblower's lawyers, sent out a tweet Wednesday identifying Ciaramella as the whistleblower.
Last Thursday, attorneys for the whistleblower, Andrew Bakaj and Mark Zaid, declined to confirm or denythat their client was Ciaramella. The day before, RealClearInvestigations reported Ciaramella, a CIA analyst, is the whistleblower, calling his identity "an open secret inside the Beltway."
Trump Jr.'s tweet linked to a Breitbart News reportthat Ciaramella was part of an Obama administration email chain celebrating the eventual signing of a $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee to Ukraine.
According to the Washington Examiner: "Ciaramella, 33, a career CIA analyst, was Ukraine director on the National Security Council during the end of the Obama administration and remained there during the early months of the Trump administration, when he was briefly acting senior director for European and Russian affairs. On Oct. 7, the Washington Examiner reported that Ciaramella is now a deputy national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia on the National Intelligence Council, reporting to the director of national intelligence."
Bakaj and Zaid claim that identifying "any suspected name for the whistleblower will place their family at risk of serious harm."
"We will not confirm or deny any name that is published or promoted by supporters of the president. Disclosure of any name undermines the integrity of the whistleblower system and will deter any future whistleblowers."
The The Washington Examiner reportedRepublican lawmakers and their staff have used the impeachment proceedings to collect information about Ciaramella.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, raised Ciaramella's name during an unrelated public hearing with Natalie Jaresko, Ukraine’s former finance minister, the Examiner said.
Commenting on the naming of Ciaramella in the transcript, The RedState blog said:"Either Adam Schiff's staff overlooked the name of alleged whistleblower Eric Ciaramella in the transcript of acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor before releasing it or Eric Ciaramella isn't the whistleblower.
"There have been rumors that once Schiff’s staff saw that Ciaramella’s name had not been redacted, they pulled the transcript. However, as of this morning, his name is still unredacted on page 236."
Most establishment media outlets are not publishing the name.
"This young man is anything but a whistleblower. He is a highly partisan Democrat who is part of a soft coup to take out the president," Red State said.
"Democrats want to prevent Ciaramella from testifying under oath before lawmakers, because their entire case depends on his credibility as a true whistleblower. Once the American people are presented with Ciaramella’s work history, his associations and his activities during the 2016 election and beyond, he will have zero credibility and voters will see for themselves that once again, the Democrats, rather than the Republicans, have tried to subvert the U.S. system of justice."