Ivanka Trump isn’t on the same page as her father when it comes to his crusade to unmask the whistleblower.
In an interview with the Associated Press Friday during a three-day visit to Morocco, the senior Trump adviser and first daughter said that unlike her father, she finds the identity of the whistleblower whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry “not particularly relevant.”
While the President has urged the still-anonymous whistleblower to “come forward,” his daughter argued that the whistleblower’s motives were more important. The AP reported that she declined to comment on any potential motives.
“The whistleblower shouldn’t be a substantive part of the conversation,” Ivanka Trump said, adding that she believes that the whistleblower “did not have firsthand information.”
Although she deviated from her father on the relevancy of the whistleblower’s identity, Trump said that she agrees with her father’s view that the impeachment inquiry is about “overturning the results of the 2016 election.”
“Basically since the election this has been the experience that our administration and our family has been having,” Ivanka Trump said, arguing that “it’s really been like this” from when her father entered the presidential race. “Rather than wait, under a year, until the people can decide for themselves based on his record and based on his accomplishments, this new effort has, has commenced.”
When pressed on President Trump’s Ukraine quid pro quo, Ivanka Trump dodged the question by mentioning the White House-released memo of the now-infamous call between her father and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was part of an effort to dig up false allegations against POTUS’ political rivals.
“The president put forth a transcript. So everything is in the transcript,” Trump said, while claiming that she hasn’t been reading transcripts of depositions current and former administration officials in the ongoing impeachment inquiry.
In the past week, President Trump and his allies have not only amplified their calls to expose the whistleblower’s identity, but also to demand that the person testify publicly as well. On Thursday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said that Republicans plan to request that the House Intelligence Committee call the whistleblower to testify publicly. Earlier this week, Trump urged White House reporters to investigate and release the person’s identity. During a campaign rally in Kentucky Monday evening, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) backed Trump’s whistleblower crusade. Donald Trump Jr. joined the GOP chorus Wednesday by promoting an attempt to name the government official.
On Wednesday, the whistleblower’s lawyers Andrew Bakaj and Mark Zaid said that they refuse to confirm or deny any alleged names floated by Trump allies and conservative media. Last weekend, Zaid said that his client has offered to answer Republicans’ questions under oath.
Read Ivanka Trump’s interview with the Associated Press here.
