Second Whistle-Blower Comes Forward, Has ‘First-Hand Knowledge’ Of Alleged Wrongdoing In Ukraine Scandal

On Friday evening, reports suggested a second whistle-blower was likely to file a formal complaint in the Ukraine scandal at the heart of the impeachment probe into Donald Trump.

Fast forward 36 hours and ABC says the attorney representing the CIA official behind the original complaint is now representing a second whistle-blower who has spoken to intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson. On Friday, Atkinson briefed lawmakers for the second time in a month.

The Times said the prospective second whistle-blower was among those interviewed by Atkinson during his efforts to corroborate the original complaint. Mark Zaid, the attorney, is not sure whether his new client is the same person the Times was referring to.

Read more: Trump May Face Second Formal Whistle-Blower Complaint

Zaid told George Stephanopoulos that the second official (also from the intelligence community) has first-hand knowledge of some of the allegations contained in the original complaint.

If that’s true, it would negate Trump’s criticism that allegations of wrongdoing are based solely on the accounts of someone with second- and third-hand information.

Really, though, that’s largely irrelevant now, considering both the transcript of the president’s call with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and the text messages turned over to Congress on Thursday, back up the allegations in the complaint.

“Zaid says both officials have full protection of the law intended to protect whistleblowers from being fired in retaliation”, ABC notes, adding that “while this second official has spoken with the IG… this person has not communicated yet with the congressional committees conducting the investigation”.

NEWS UPDATE: I can confirm this report of a second #whistleblower being represented by our legal team. They also made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against. This WBer has first hand knowledge. https://t.co/zYkUYgJ0mE

— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) October 6, 2019

Trump says he’s ready.

“Word is… another ‘Whistleblower’ is coming in from the Deep State”, the president said Saturday, during an all-day tweet-a-thon. “Meet with Shifty. Keep them coming!”