Mark Zaid, the national security lawyer who is currently representing the whistleblower behind a bombshell complaint about President Donald Trump’s call with Ukraine, said on Sunday morning that he is now representing a second whistleblower.
ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos first reported on the new development and said that the second whistleblower, a member of the intelligence community, has “first-hand” information on Trump’s Ukraine scandal outlined in the first whistleblower’s complaint.
According to Stephanopoulos, the second whistleblower has spoken with Intelligence Inspector General Michael Atkinson about the allegations.
Zaid confirmed the report shortly afterward.
“I can confirm this report of a second #whistleblower being represented by our legal team,” he tweeted. “They also made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against.”
He also confirmed that the second whistleblower does, in fact, have first hand knowledge of the situation.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham brushed off the news.
“It doesn’t matter how many people decide to call themselves whistleblowers about the same telephone call—a call the President already made public—it doesn’t change the fact that he has done nothing wrong,” she said in a statement.
On Saturday, the New York Times reported on the existence of a second whistleblower who was considering coming forward with a formal complaint.
“The first so-called second hand information ‘Whistleblower’ got my phone conversation almost completely wrong, so now word is they are going to the bench and another ‘Whistleblower’ is coming in from the Deep State, also with second hand info,” Trump tweeted on Saturday night, falsely stating that the new whistleblower’s information is second-hand.
The first so-called second hand information “Whistleblower” got my phone conversation almost completely wrong, so now word is they are going to the bench and another “Whistleblower” is coming in from the Deep State, also with second hand info. Meet with Shifty. Keep them coming!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 6, 2019
Trump and his allies have tried to undermine the first whistleblower’s credibility on the basis that he or she did only had “second-hand” knowledge. However, first-hand knowledge is not a requirement to file a whistleblower complaint.
Watch Stephanopoulos below:
.@ABC EXCLUSIVE: Attorney representing whistleblower who sounded the alarm on Pres. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine tells @ABC News he is now representing a second whistleblower who has first-hand knowledge of events.@GStephanopoulos reports: https://t.co/nfsdovQMbq pic.twitter.com/LDeYL3dL26
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 6, 2019
