Whistleblower’s Attorney Threatens Legal Action Against Journalists for Outing Their Client

The Ukrainian whistleblower’s legal team has repeatedly maintained the notion that their client’s anonymity is important and is protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989.

According to the legal team’s statement released on Thursday, the government isn’t the only party responsible for protecting the whistleblower’s identity. The media has a responsibility as well. Should a journalist or media outlet publish the whistleblower’s name, they could face legal recourse:

Accordingly, we neither confirm nor deny the identity of the Intelligence Community Whistleblower. Our client is legally entitled to anonymity. Disclosure of the name of any person who may be suspected to be the whistleblower places that individual and their family in great physical danger. Any physical harm the individual and/or their family suffers as a result of disclosure means that the individuals and publications reporting such names will be personally liable for that harm. Such behavior is at the pinnacle of irresponsibility and is intentionally reckless.

Although the attorneys, Andrew Bakaj and Mark Zaid, haven’t explicitly said they would file lawsuits, they haven’t ruled it out either. (Read more from “Whistleblower’s Attorney Threatens Legal Action Against Journalists for Outing Their Client” HERE)

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