Whistleblower would answer Republicans questions in impeachment inquiry: lawyer

A lawyer for the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint helped spark the impeachment inquiry into President Trump said Sunday that his client would answer written questions from House Republicans as part of the impeachment inquiry.

Mark Zaid posted on Twitter that his legal team has offered GOP lawmakers a chance to interrogate his client through writing as Republicans have pushed to make the whistleblower’s identity known. 

{mosads}He said he gave the offer to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, as he tries to protect the whistleblower’s identity from exposure, which he said “could jeopardize their safety, as well as that of their family.”

“So we have offered to @DevinNunes, Ranking HPSCI Member, opportunity for Minority to submit through legal team written questions to WBer,” he tweeted. “Qs cannot seek identifying info, regarding which we will not provide, or otherwise be inappropriate. We will ensure timely answers.”

WBer NEWS ALERT:

1/Our legal team offered GOP direct opportunity to ask written questions of #whistleblower.

Recent GOP messaging, led by President Trump (incl this morning), has been to highlight original #WBer & demand disclosure of identity.

— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) November 3, 2019

Trump and the Republican Party have seized on the whistleblower’s anonymity, saying it undermines their credibility in interpreting the controversial call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the call, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden’s son.

News of the whistleblower report prompted Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to launch the impeachment inquiry. House Democrats have said they don’t need the whistleblower’s testimony because other testimonies have supplied enough information for the investigation.