Attorney For Whistleblower Slams GOP Lawmakers As Hypocrites After First Impeachment Hearing
The attorney for the anonymous Ukraine whistleblower, Mark Zaid, blasted Republican party lawmakers as hypocrites in the wake of the first televised, public hearing of two witnesses in front of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
According to The Hill, Zaid dialed in on a repeated accusation from GOP lawmakers and from President Donald Trump that the whistleblower — the person whose official complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry in the first place — is invalid as he or she only has second-hand information about the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zaid hit the Republicans for their insistence during the Wednesday hearing that the whistleblower’s information was nothing more than hearsay and therefore not enough to impeach the president. Zaid asked why Republicans were so anxious to call the anonymous whistleblower to testify — therefore revealing his or her identity — if hearsay apparently isn’t strong enough to make a case against Trump.
“I watched today’s hearing & repeatedly heard Members criticize & belittle significance of hearsay info. Yet same Members pushed to subpoena #whistleblower who they complain only has second hand info. #hypocrisy,” Zaid tweeted.
Zaid concluded his tweet by accusing GOP lawmakers of only wanted to reveal the identity of the anonymous person for darker reasons.
“Only reason is to intimidate & harm. #ProtectTheWhistleblower,” the end of his tweet read.
As U.S. diplomats William Taylor and George Kent were questioned for nearly six hours on Wednesday in front of live cameras, Republican members of the committee consistently pointed out during their speaking time that secondhand knowledge of the phone call between the two leaders didn’t provide proper evidence of any wrongdoing by Trump.
Critics of the president, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, believe the president misused his position of power to initiate a quid pro quo exchange involving hundreds of millions in U.S. military aide for information on former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who was on the board of a Ukrainian oil company while his father was serving in the White House.
The whistleblower was one of the top persons on a Republican wish list of witnesses that was ultimately rejected by Schiff. Trump and his Republican allies argue that revealing the identity of the whistleblower would allow the president to face his accuser.
Rep. @DevinNunes: "The whistleblower was acknowledged to have a bias against President Trump and his attorney touted a coup against the President and called for his impeachment just weeks after the election." #ImpeachmentHearings pic.twitter.com/3u9Gz2KwZt
— The Hill (@thehill) November 13, 2019
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, ranking Republican on the House Intel Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, claimed that the entire impeachment investigation is nothing more than a “coup” against the president, echoing a similar accusation by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who called it a “calculated coup” by Schiff and House Democrats.
