America’s First Daughter and senior adviser to the president Ivanka Trump has allegedly recommended that her father not reveal the name of the whistleblower whose complaint prompted the impeachment inquiry against him, as the POTUS is said to have known the name of the person for weeks, The Daily Beast reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Ivanka Trump has previously publicly stated that the identity of the whistleblower was not particularly relevant to the impeachment inquiry, as the individual was “a third party who was not privy to the call and did not have firsthand information”.
“That is what was the catalyst for all of this discussion. But to me, it’s not particularly relevant aside from what the motivation behind all of this was”, Ivanka Trump said during her visit to Morocco last week.
Donald Trump and some top Republicans, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, have repeatedly stated that the identity of the whistleblower is known to the US media and thus should be revealed, insisting that this would serve to help the public and allow the president to confront his accuser.
According to the media outlet, Trump was not receiving information about the individual, who is claimed to have previously worked with former Vice President Joe Biden, via official channels, but rather through conversations with other officials and by extensively reading media sources.
One source reportedly told The Daily Beast that the US president would reveal the name of the individual in time, as he would receive “more cover from others”, but for now he was repeatedly advised against doing so.
Moments ago back at the White House, a reporter asked if @potus if he was thinking of tweeting the name of the whistleblower.
— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) November 3, 2019
He didn't say no: "Well, I'll tell you what, there have been stories written about a certain individual, a male, & they say he's the whistleblower..."
In the meantime, netizens have been eagerly speculating about the whistleblower’s identity following Donald Trump’s calls to reveal his name, suggesting that it could be Eric Ciaramella, who was serving as the Ukraine desk officer prior to Catherine Croft and who now acts as a deputy national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia on the National Intelligence Council, according to the Washington Examiner. Surprisingly, it was Ciaramella whose name former National Security Council official Fiona Hill could not remember during her testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee, according to the released transcript.
It’s Eric Ciaramella
— Zeus (@cypherhalo) November 13, 2019
I’m a nobody on Twitter and I know his name. Of course Trump knows Eric Ciamerellas name. Stop clutching pearls.
— Max (@FriarMaximus) November 13, 2019
I’m spreading it in public, Eric Cairamella
— RJustesen (@RJustesen) November 13, 2019
I’m spreading it in public, Eric Cairamella
— RJustesen (@RJustesen) November 13, 2019
The whistleblower’s complaint claimed that Donald Trump had abused his presidential powers during his 25 July phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky by trying to pressure him into launching an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s activity in Ukraine in exchange for military aid. The allegations were vehemently denied by Trump and Zelensky, with the US president releasing a transcript of the conversation following the launch of the impeachment probe.
