Trump Quotes Radio Sputnik Host Kiriakou on Ukraine Call Whistleblower

MOSCOW (Sputnik) US President Donald Trump quoted Radio Sputnik host John Kiriakou's opinion on an unnamed official who blew the whistle on the president's call with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.

"I don’t think it’s a Whistleblower at all. I think this is an anonymous source for the Democratic Staff in the House of Representatives. This is an insult to real Whistleblowers. Actual Whistleblowers go on to have their whole lives upended." John Kiriakou @TuckerCarlson," Trump tweeted.

Kiriakou is a former CIA officer who drew public attention to the use of waterboarding by the agency, was later convicted over disclosing classified information and served his sentence from 2013 to 2015. Trump tweeted the statement Kiriakou made as a guest on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Wednesday.

On 24 September, Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump’s 25 July phone call with Zelensky. Media reports suggested that Trump may have asked the Ukrainian president to launch a probe into a son of former US Vice President and 2020 presidential hopeful Joe Biden. The inquiry was initiated after a whistleblower sent a complaint to the Congress, saying that Trump threatened to withdraw military aid to Ukraine if Kiev failed to probe the Bidens.