Chief Justice John Roberts, who is presiding over the Senate impeachment trial of Trump, refused to read aloud a question during the proceedings.
Why? Well, the question included the name of the whistleblower who brought Trump’s Ukraine scandal to attention.
Republican senator Rand Paul submitted the question. It’s the senator’s latest attempt to publicize the whistleblower’s name. But there are laws that protect against just that sort of public identification.
For months, republicans like Paul and Trump have been fascinated with the identity of the whistleblower. They are furious that the anonymous intelligence community member outed Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president.
Since this incident sparked the impeachment inquiry, Trump’s ire has only grown. On Twitter, the president has said that the anonymous whistleblower “hates Trump” and that he wants to see his accuser.
Trump has even alleged that the whistleblower is “close to a spy.” That phrase thinly veils Trump’s desire to retaliate against the anonymous source. However, his anger and frustration are meaningless in the face of federal whistleblower protections. These rules exist to protect anyone who steps forward to expose government wrongdoing.
Those rules have done little to stop republicans from sneakily trying to expose the whistleblower, though. Trump himself retweeted a message that contained the alleged name of the whistleblower, but it hasn’t been confirmed.
Ultimately, Justice Roberts refused to read Paul’s question aloud upon realizing what it included. For his part, Senator Paul insists that the name be read.
A spokesman for Paul wrote on the politician’s Twitter:
“Paul believes it is crucial the American people get the full story on what started the Democrats’ push to impeach President Donald Trump.”
Paul’s plan blatantly defies federal whistleblower protections. Many Republican senators disagree with Paul’s approach.
Senator Lindsay Graham, for instance, expressed trepidation over the issue. When asked if he thought it was a good question from Paul, Graham replied simply, “Not in this environment.”
