BREAKING: Senate Intel panel opens bipartisan inquiry on Ukraine whistleblower via Isikoff
Even as the House is ramping up its investigation into the Trump administration’s dealings with Ukraine, the Senate Intelligence Committee has opened its own inquiry and is seeking a quick interview with the whistleblower who filed the initial complaint with the intelligence community’s inspector general, according to a letter obtained by Yahoo News.
A letter seeking to question the still-anonymous whistleblower was sent Tuesday to Andrew Bakaj, the lawyer who represents the official. It was signed by committee chair Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. — signifying that the panel is pursuing the politically explosive issue on a bipartisan basis.
“In order to ascertain the appropriate path forward for your client while protecting your client’s privacy, we are writing to request that you make your client available for a closed bipartisan interview with committee counsel no later than Friday, September 27, 2019 in a mutually agreeable location,” the Burr and Warner letter reads.
It was not immediately clear whether the whistleblower will comply, or whether the White House will agree to let the official be questioned. A committee spokeswoman declined comment. “Since you showed me the letter, I can confirm its authenticity,” said Bakaj’s law partner Mark Zaid, in an email to Yahoo news. “But I cannot comment on the substance at this time. The letter speaks for itself.”
The committee’s request for an interview increases pressure on the Trump White House over an issue that seems increasingly likely to trigger a formal impeachment inquiry in the House.
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