This archive report was first published on 6 October 2019.
October 6, 2019, marked a significant development in the ongoing Trump-Ukraine scandal, as a second whistle-blower, an intelligence official with firsthand knowledge of President Trump's dealings with Ukraine, has come forward and been interviewed by the intelligence community's inspector general.
According to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, the new whistle-blower has already been interviewed by the inspector general's office but has not yet communicated with any congressional committees. The individual has the full legal protection afforded to those who raise alarms about wrongdoing in the executive branch.
Mark Zaid, a member of the legal team representing the whistle-blower, confirmed on Twitter that the firm was now representing a second whistle-blower. The team, which includes Andrew P. Bakaj and Charles McCullough III, specializes in representing whistle-blowers.
President Trump has attempted to undermine the credibility of the first whistle-blower, a C.I.A. officer who detailed the president's use of power to push Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals. The president claimed that the first whistle-blower was trading on secondhand information.
However, the new whistle-blower matches the description of the official The New York Times reported on last week, who was weighing whether to come forward after being interviewed by the inspector general to corroborate the allegations of the original whistle-blower.
