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)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/lawsuit-1.jpg8001200Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-11-03 17:43:292019-11-03 17:40:56Whistleblower’s Attorney Threatens Legal Action Against Journalists for Outing Their Client
. . .CBS News is reporting that Tim Morrison, the National Security Council’s Senior Director for European Affairs, testified before Congress on Thursday that he heard nothing illegal on the phone call between President Donald J. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Morrison also reportedly testified that the transcript released by the White House was accurate.
Morrison also testified that the memorandum of the call released by the White House is accurate to his recollection and he does not know the WB's identity. Story soon.
. . .“I want to be clear, I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed,” former NSC Senior Director for European Affairs Tim Morrison testified today, according to Sean Davis.
“My recollection is that Ambassador Sondland’s proposal to [Ukrainian National Security Advisor Andriy] Yermak was that it could be sufficient if the new Ukrainian prosecutor general — not President Zelensky — would commit to pursue the Burisma investigation, Morrison testified according to the Federalist. (Read more from “NSC Official Testifies He Heard Nothing Illegal on Trump-Zelensky Call” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/gavel-3576955_960_720.jpg528960Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-10-31 17:27:182019-10-31 17:24:17NSC Official Testifies He Heard Nothing Illegal on Trump-Zelensky Call
Everything Trump’s defenders feared about the whistleblower is true! According to a report from RealClear Investigations, the whistleblower is 33-year-old Eric Ciaramella.
Ciaramella is a holdover from the Obama administration and a registered Democrat. He’s been accused of leaking like crazy. He worked with Joe Biden, he’s a vocal critic of President Trump, and he invited a DNC operative inside the White House to attend meetings. He also helped instigate the investigation into Russia collusion. So, of course, Democrats believe his second-hand complaint about President Trump’s phone conversation with Ukranian President Zelensky over the actual transcript of the call itself.
(Via RealClear Investigations)
“He was accused of working against Trump and leaking against Trump,” said a former NSC official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
Also, Ciaramella huddled for “guidance” with the staff of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, including former colleagues also held over from the Obama era whom Schiff’s office had recently recruited from the NSC. (Schiff is the lead prosecutor in the impeachment inquiry.)
(Read more from “Report: Ukraine Whistleblower Revealed” HERE)
By Townhall. The National Security Council’s top Ukraine expert, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of the Army, who heard President Donald Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, plans to provide details of the call to impeachment investigators on Tuesday, the New York Times reported. Vindman will be the first White House official who listened in on the conversation to testify before investigators.
According to his written statement, he was in the Situation Room with other colleagues from the NSC and the office of the Vice President when the call took place. He said he had concerns about the call and reported them to the NSC’s lead counsel once it concluded.
“I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine,” Vindman said in his opening statement. “I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.” (Read more from “Top Ukraine Expert on National Security Council Plans to Testify” HERE)
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White House Official Who Listened to Trump Call Set to Back up Many of Whistleblower’s Claims: Report
By Daily Caller. An official on the National Security Council will tell lawmakers Tuesday he reported concerns about President Donald Trump’s position toward Ukraine to a top White House lawyer, according to a draft of his statement.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, will be the first White House official appearing for a Democrat-led impeachment inquiry of Trump who listened in on the president’s July 25 phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president.
Vindman will say he was “worried” about the pressure Trump put on Zelensky to open investigations into Burisma Holdings, an energy company linked to Hunter Biden, according to his opening statement, which The NYT first reported.
Vindman, an Army officer who served in the Iraq War, will also tell lawmakers that he raised concerns twice with John Eisenberg, the top lawyer on the National Security Council. (Read more from “White House Official Who Listened to Trump Call Set to Back up Many of Whistleblower’s Claims: Report” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/President-Donald-J.-Trump-and-Vice-President-Mike-Pence-Receiving-an-Emergency-Preparedness-Update.jpg454680Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-10-28 20:45:092019-10-28 20:44:39Top Ukraine Expert on National Security Council Plans to Testify; Official Set To Back Up Many Of Whistleblower’s Claims
By The Blaze. [New Ukraine whistleblower, Andrii Telizhenko] was an adviser to former Ukrainian chief prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was ousted during an investigation into Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company where former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, sat on the board. The Obama administration claims that the Ukrainian prosecutor was fired over alleged corruption. Biden even bragged, with cameras rolling, that he threatened to withhold a billion dollars in U.S. aid to Ukraine “if the prosecutor is not fired.”
According to Telizhenko, however, Shokin was fired because a George Soros funded non-governmental organization (NGO) wanted him gone. (Read more from “NEW WHISTLEBLOWER: George Soros Behind DNC Pressure to Fire Ukraine Prosecutor at Center of Impeachment Inquiry” HERE)
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One Person Is Missing in the Democrats’ Impeachment Inquiry: The Whistleblower
By Reuters. Democratic lawmakers leading an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump have heard days of testimony from a parade of senior government officials. But they have yet to hear from the whistleblower who sparked the probe – and may never do.
In the end, it may not matter, some Democratic lawmakers said, because the other officials who have testified, Trump’s own statements, a trove of texts between top U.S. diplomats, and other White House documents have largely substantiated the whistleblower’s complaint that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden.
Talks between lawyers for the whistleblower and representatives of the House of Representatives and Senate committees that want to question the intelligence official have all but deadlocked, three sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters. (Read more from “One Person Is Missing in the Democrats’ Impeachment Inquiry: The Whistleblower” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/1024px-George_Soros_-_Festival_Economia_2012_01.jpg6431024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-10-21 20:24:442019-10-26 19:24:32NEW WHISTLEBLOWER: George Soros Behind DNC Pressure to Fire Ukraine Prosecutor at Center of Impeachment Inquiry; Where Is The Original Whistleblower?
In a newly reported development that further complicates the Democrats’ Ukraine corruption investigation, a State Department witness told congressional investigators this week that in early 2015 he warned about the problematic optics of the vice president’s son, Hunter Biden, serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father was tasked with overseeing Ukraine-U.S. relations. The career State Department official told investigators his warning was rebuffed by Biden’s office. Months later, Biden would pressure the Ukraine — by withholding a billion dollars in aid — to fire the prosecutor who had looked into the company employing Hunter.
Citing sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, The Washington Post reported Friday that George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state and career State Department official, “testified Tuesday that he worried that Hunter Biden’s position at the firm Burisma Holdings would complicate efforts by U.S. diplomats to convey to Ukrainian officials the importance of avoiding conflicts of interest.”
The sources told the Post that Kent “had concerns that Ukrainian officials would view Hunter Biden as a conduit for currying influence with his father, said the people.”
Kent reportedly told congressional investigators that Biden’s office dismissed his warning about the potentially problematic situation by saying the vice president did not have the “bandwidth” to address the Hunter-Burisma question because he was dealing with his other son, Beau, battling cancer.
“Kent, who also testified about how Trump’s associates raised unfounded allegations about the former ambassador to Ukraine, is the first known example of a career diplomat who raised concerns internally in the Obama administration about Hunter Biden’s board position,” the Post reports, noting that the paper “has previously reported that there had been discussions among Biden’s advisers about whether his son’s Ukraine work would be perceived as a conflict of interest, and that one former adviser had been concerned enough to mention it to Biden, though the conversation was brief.” (Read more from “Impeachment Witness Warned About Biden-Ukraine Problem in 2015 – Biden’s Office Dismissed Claim” HERE)
By Breitbart. CNN claimed Thursday that the White House “admits to quid pro quo with Ukraine.”
That appeared to be the opposite, in fact, of what happened during a press conference with acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
Mulvaney told reporters that there had been no quid pro quo, as described by those pursuing his impeachment — that President Donald Trump had not withheld aid from Ukraine until it agreed to investigate his potential 2020 presidential rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
What Mulvaney actually said was that the Trump administration had initially withheld funding from Ukraine for a variety of reasons, including the fact that Europe was not providing enough funding for military aid. Another reason, he said, was suspicion of past corruption in Ukraine — which included Ukraine’s possible role in interfering in the 2016 presidential election, including its possible possession of a Democratic National Committee server. (Read more from “CNN Leads Hysteria with False Claim” HERE)
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Ex-Ukraine Envoy Testifies: ‘I Was Never Asked to Do Anything’ Wrong
By Breitbart. Former U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker on Wednesday reportedly told impeachment investigators that he was “never asked to do anything” wrong, including by President Donald Trump.
Democrats and the mainstream media had argued that Volker was a major player in Trump’s efforts to push Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son in exchange for aid even after the former envoy defended the former vice president from the corruption allegations levied against him.
Volker made an unexpected return to the Capitol on Wednesday after testifying behind closed doors in the House Democrats’ impeachment probe on October 3. . .
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, indicated that Volker went back to the Capitol Wednesday to “review” his October 3 testimony.
“I was never asked to do anything that I thought was wrong, including by the [U.S.] president,” Volker testified on Wednesday, CBS News learned from unnamed sources. (Read more from “Ex-Ukraine Envoy Testifies: ‘I Was Never Asked to Do Anything’ Wrong” HERE)
The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel isn’t having any of the Democrats’ nonsense on this impeachment push. Yes, the Democrats have executed the final stages of their three-year plan: impeaching Donald Trump. It’s an inquiry. It’s nothing official…yet. But they’re doing their best to muddy the waters in the hopes that the damage being inflicted could impact the 2020 race by making the president’s already shoddy approval numbers (though I’m skeptical of those polls) even more dirty, making the unpalatable man even more distasteful with voters. Fine—but the allegations against Trump regarding this call he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are straight trash. . .
You don’t need to be an investigative reporter to see that the Democrats have nothing here. That’s why this entire inquiry is being done in secret. And the only saving grace that keeps this impeachment drum going is that the liberal media takes everything Schiff and others say as gospel. So, Strassel does what she does best; gut the Democratic narrative—brutally. She goes line-by-line giving the GOP, Trump supporters, and anyone else who is skeptical of the impeachment push a go-to sheet in exposing this smoke and mirrors show (via WSJ):
Motive matters, but what matters more is the accuracy of the complaint itself. The real news of the past few weeks has been the steady accumulation of evidence that its central claim is totally wrong.
Which shouldn’t be surprising, given how many facts the complaint mangled about the call. It alleged, for instance, that Mr. Trump asked Ukraine to “locate and turn over servers.” He didn’t. It claims Mr. Trump “praised” a prosecutor named Yuriy Lutsenko and suggested the Ukrainian president “keep him in his position.” That didn’t happen either. There’s more, and when the whistleblower can’t get the facts of the call right, it’s no surprise he got his conclusion wrong too.
There is simply no evidence of what House Democrats have made the central claim of their impeachment inquiry: that Mr. Trump engaged in a “quid pro quo” by withholding aid to Ukraine unless it “opened an investigation” into former Vice President Joe Biden.
(Read more from “WSJ Columnist Wrecks the Democrats’ Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Claims” HERE)
By Townhall. CNN’s Anderson Cooper got right to the point when he had the chance to question former Vice President Joe Biden at Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate on Ukraine.
“If it’s not okay for a president’s family to be involved in foreign businesses, why was it okay for your son when you were vice president?” Cooper asked Biden.
“Look, my son did nothing wrong,” Biden said. “I did nothing wrong. I carried out the policy of the United States government in rooting out corruption in Ukraine. That’s what we should be focusing on.” . . .
The former VP strayed a bit, before somehow finding a way to invoke the first president of the United States. George Washington, Biden said, worried about foreign interference in our elections. . .
“The president and his thugs have proven they are flat lying,” Biden said, adding we have to focus on “Trump’s corruption.” (Read more from “Dem Debate: Biden Confronted About Ukraine Scandal” HERE)
Sanders promises new jobs for ‘tens of millions of Americans’ during Democratic debate
By Fox News. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., stood by his claim that he would provide jobs for every single American, purportedly ending unemployment in the United States.
His comments came during the fourth Democratic debate on Tuesday when CNN anchor Erin Burnett asked him about his jobs guarantee.
“You say your federal jobs guarantee is part of the answer to the threat of automation, that tens of millions of Americans could end up losing their jobs. Are you promising that you will have a job for every single one of those Americans?” she asked.
“Damn right we will,” Sanders quickly responded. Sanders initially made a jobs guarantee when he released his version of the “Green New Deal” in August. (Read more from “Sanders Promises New Jobs for ‘Tens of Millions of Americans’ During Democratic Debate” HERE)
Andrew Yang Forces Democratic Debate on Universal Basic Income, His Plan to Send Every Adult a $1k Check
By Washington Examiner. Andrew Yang forced a discussion at Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate on his proposal for a Universal Basic Income, a plan to send every adult a government check.
Yang, the former entrepreneur running on the platform of implementing a UBI, as it’s known, kicked off a debate about the idea among the candidates when he attacked rival candidate Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan for a federal jobs program. Yang argued it was impractical and not what most voters truly wanted.
“I am for the spirit of a federal jobs guarantee, but you have to look at how it would actually materialize in practice. What are the jobs? Who manages you? What if you don’t like your job?” the former tech executive said, asserting that most Americans don’t want to work for the federal government. “Saying that that is the vision of the economy the 21st-century economy to me is not a vision that most Americans would embrace.”
He added that a federal jobs guarantee “does not take into account the work of people like my wife who is at home with our two boys, one of whom is autistic.”
Yang’s proposal would give $1,000 cash monthly without any conditions, which he dubs a “freedom dividend.” He argues that the payment would be productive than federally supported jobs. “We know this in Ohio: If you rely up on the federal government to target its resources, you end up with failed retraining programs and jobs that no one wants,” he said. (Read more from “Andrew Yang Forces Democratic Debate on Universal Basic Income, His Plan to Send Every Adult a $1K Check” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/1280px-CNN_headquarters_in_New_York_City_IMG_3707-1.jpg9601280Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-10-15 20:08:342019-10-19 23:15:08Dem Debate: Biden Confronted About Ukraine Scandal; Sanders Promises Millions of New Jobs; Yang to Legalize Heroin, Give Everyone $1,000 a Month For No Reason (VIDEO)
In a recent interview, Hunter Biden said that he probably wouldn’t have been asked to be on the board of a Ukrainian energy company if not for his vice presidential father.
During the exclusive interview with ABC News, aired on Tuesday morning, Biden was asked about his involvement with the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, which is the driving factor behind House Democrats’ ongoing efforts to impeach President Trump.
“If your last name wasn’t Biden,” ABC anchor Amy Robach asked, “do you think you would’ve been asked to be on the board of Burisma?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. Probably not,” Biden responded. “I don’t think that there’s a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn’t Biden.”
The younger Biden has faced criticism that he was asked to be on the board despite a notable lack of experience in the energy industry. Biden responded to those claims elsewhere in the interview, where he pointed to his experience as a board member at Amtrak, the quasi-public American train company, among other ventures.
“I was vice chairman of the board of Amtrak for five years,” Biden said when Robach asked about his qualifications. “I was the chairman of the board of the U.N. World Food Program. I was a lawyer for Boies Schiller Flexner, one of the most prestigious law firms in the world.”
The former vice president’s son also took issue with the amount of public scrutiny aimed at his business endeavors when Robach brought up the $50,000 he made per month while working for Burisma.
“Look, I’m a private citizen; one thing that I don’t have to do is sit here and open my kimono as it relates to how much money I make or make or did or didn’t,” Biden said. “But it’s all been reported.”
Robach also asked the younger Biden whether or not he ever thought that taking the position at Burisma was a bad idea, given his father’s position.
“I’m a human, and you know what? Did I make a mistake? Well, maybe in the grand scheme of things, yeah,” he said. “But did I make a mistake based upon some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.” (For more from the author of “Hunter Biden Admits He ‘Probably’ Wouldn’t Have Been on Burisma’s Board If Not for His Father” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Joe_Biden_sworn_in_1-20-09_hires_090120-N-0696M-204a-2.jpg11171675Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-10-15 19:06:532019-10-15 19:04:20WATCH: Hunter Biden Admits He ‘Probably’ Wouldn’t Have Been on Burisma’s Board If Not for His Father
