On Tuesday, at a President Trump rally in Lexington Kentucky, Senator Rand Paul called on the media to “do [their] job” and print the name of the whistleblower. Paul also encouraged his fellow colleagues to subpoena Hunter Biden, Joe Bidens son, and subpoena the whistleblower. Later that night, Paul argued on Fox News that despite a warning from the whistleblower’s attorney, Andrew Bakaj, there was no law that said that he could not reveal the whistleblower’s identity.
Subpoena Them
I call on Congress to have the courage to immediately subpoena both Hunter Biden and the whistleblower!
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 5, 2019
At a Trump Rally in Kentucky, Senator Rand Paul stepped up to promote Trump’s campaign, as well as encouraging the media to disclose the name of the alleged whistleblower. “We also now know the name of the whistleblower,” said Paul. “I say tonight to the media, ‘Do your job and print his name!’ And I say this to my fellow colleagues in Congress, to every Republican in Washington, ‘Step up and subpoena Hunter Biden and subpoena the whistleblower!'” [1]
The Whistleblower’s Identity
Later on Tuesday evening, it was mentioned that it was illegal to reveal the whistleblower’s identity. “He didn’t want to break the law directly on national television, so he requested that you [the media] do it,” said Senator Angus King in an interview with CNN. [2] However, Paul argues that there is nothing statutorily keeping him from identifying the whistleblower.
“But the report was not correct in the sense that the statute says the inspector general can’t reveal the name,” Paul said in a “Special Report” on Fox News. “It says the president should enforce the law, but the person you quoted was disingenuous in what they were saying. The statute says the inspector general can’t reveal the name. There’s nothing that prevents me from saying it now other than that I want it to be more about the process and less about the person. But there’s no law that prevents me from mentioning the name of who’s been said to be the whistleblower.” [3]
Notes:
- ^Brown, Elizabeth Nolan. “Rand Paul Wants Whistleblower Outed. Libertarians Want the Old Rand Paul Back.” Reason.com, 5 Nov. 2019, reason.com/2019/11/05/rand-paul-wants-whistleblower-outed-libertarians-want-the-old-rand-paul-back. (go back ↩)
- ^Lemon, Jason. “Paul’s Call to Release Whistleblower’s Identity ‘Terribly Wrong’: Senator.” Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2019, www.newsweek.com/rand-pauls-call-release-whistleblowers-identity-terribly-wrong-harmful-country-senator-1469849. (go back ↩)
- ^Poor, Jeff. “Rand Paul: No Law Prevents Me from Mentioning the Name of Who’s Been Said to Be the ‘Whistleblower’ | Breitbart.” Breitbart, 6 Nov. 2019, www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/11/05/rand-paul-no-law-prevents-me-from-mentioning-the-name-of-whos-been-said-to-be-the-whistleblower. (go back ↩)
