Political observers say president Trump’s call for the whistleblower’s identity to be made public goes against the very reason for why U.S. whistleblower laws exist in the first place. The lawyer for the whistleblower who raised alarms about the president’s dealings with Ukraine and touched off the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry says the person is willing to answer written questions. But Trump and his GOP allies are demanding the whistleblower’s identity be revealed. Retired Ripon College political science professor Marty Farrell says whistleblower laws exist to protect the identity and careers of people who bring forward accusations of wrongdoing by government officials. “The whole point of the whistleblower laws is to allow somebody to bring forward wrongdoing they have seen without being punished for it,” Farrell told WFDL news. Lawmakers in both parties have historically backed those protections.
