Elmer Fudd – Kill the Rabbit
Whistleblower Act
The “Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989” was passed by Congress to protect Federal Government employees. It protects employees who find that their agency is committing fraud, waste, abuse, illegality or corruption. The law established the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency to investigate charges made by whistleblowers, and to protect them from retaliation.
The Act established procedures for a “whistleblower” to use to raise their concerns. The primary role of the Protection Act is to prevent supervisors from taking action against the whistleblower.
The Phone Call
The “whistleblower” reported information he/she heard that went on during a Presidential phone call. He/she did not have first-hand information. The report outlined a “pathway” to the first hand information though, a trail the Inspector General and later the House Intelligence Committee used to discover the facts.
The current impeachment investigation began with the “whistleblower” report. It was delivered to the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community, and the House Intelligence Committee. The report outlined potential illegal acts by the President of the United States in a conversation with the President of Ukraine. It also listed actions taken by members of the National Security Council and the White House Counsel to hide those actions.
According to depositions released by the Committee, and a redacted “transcript” released by the White House, the Whistleblower’s story is true. President Trump asked Ukrainian President Zelensky “…for a favor, though,” after Zelensky requested money already earmarked for Ukrainian defense. The favor: Ukraine was to announce that they were investigating Democrats from the 2016 election, and Trump’s current political rival, Joe Biden.
Ignore the Facts
Every aspect of the whistleblower’s report has been verified from transcripts and first-hand testimony. In fact, multiple witnesses have made it clear that the President’s “ask for a favor” was more than just a single request in a phone conversation. Mr. Trump’s representatives have pressured the Ukraine government for months on multiple fronts.
Mr. Trump’s defenders are ignoring the facts. Instead, they are screaming about the process. They demanded that the committee have open sessions, and even declared the without them, the entire investigative process is invalid. Last week, the House of Representatives passed a formal resolution of impeachment inquiry. It included open hearings and unprecedented opportunities for the President’s representatives to participate. The Republican defenders said it still wasn’t enough.
They are searching for a distraction, for a false narrative to alter the course of events. The goal: if they can somehow make the facts not matter, then they can discredit the impeachment process.
Change the Subject
The Republicans started with Trumpian name-calling. “Shifty” Schiff was the President’s attempt to “brand” the Democratic Chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Mr. Trump has even called for Schiff to be prosecuted for “misrepresenting” the President’s conversation in an open hearing earlier this year. But the Republicans have been unable to make anything “stick” on Mr. Schiff, and the Committee’s investigation moves on.
So Republicans need a new “bone” to chew. And the one they’ve chosen is the whistleblower. They hope that if they can find out who he/she is, then they can discredit him/her, and discredit the entire investigation.
This isn’t a new tactic: it’s the same trick they tried with the Mueller investigation. In fact, the entire “CrowdStrike” conspiracy theory (that the theft of Democratic emails in 2016 was done from Ukraine, not Russia, and at the behest of US intelligence) is a fiction created to discredit Mueller. They argue that if the investigation of the Trump campaign was instigated by a US intelligence operation, rather than the Russians, then the entire Mueller Report is invalid.
On the Altar
So if Republicans can discredit the “whistleblower” they think they can discredit the impeachment inquiry, regardless of the facts. They want his/her name, they want to investigate his/her contacts, and family, and political affiliations. Did he/she work for Democrats; are they registered to vote as a Democrat, can they establish some aura of bias? Wreck the whistleblower’s life – regardless of the truth, or what protection the law says he/she should have.
It’s already happening. Republican Senator Rand Paul, in a Trump Rally last night, said he knows who the whistleblower is. He pointed to the media, demanded that they “…do your job and print his name”. The partisan crowd followed up with chants of “do your job, do your job:” so much for whistleblower protection.
Alt-right media already has a name – and they are doing everything they can to discredit the individual. Whether that really is the whistleblower, or someone who conveniently fits the “profile” the Trump support team wants, is not clear.
What is clear is that Republicans are willing to violate the “Protection Act,” and even destroy the whistleblower’s career and life, to change the subject. They will sacrifice his/her to distract from the real issue: that the President of the United States has committed impeachable offenses.
The stakes are high. The Whistleblower needs to be sacrificed on the altar of Trumpism:
The cry is going out: kill the Whistleblower.
