Mystery whistle-blower in Donald Trump’s Ukraine scandal reportedly a CIA officer, as president complains about ‘spy’
- Trump wants to know source behind complaint against him, talks about how ‘spies and treason’ were handled ‘in the old days’
- US intelligence chief defends whistle-blower’s actions as he faces several hours of grilling by lawmakers
The whistle-blower whose complaint has shaken the foundations of Donald Trump’s presidency is a male officer of the Central Intelligence Agency who was seconded to the White House, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The man “was detailed to work at the White House at one point” but has since returned to the CIA, the Times said, citing three people familiar with his identity.
The nation’s spy chief told US lawmakers on Thursday that the whistle-blower had done “the right thing” and “followed the law every step of the way”, even as Trump lashed out over the complaint, saying passing along allegations that he had committed wrongdoing was tantamount to treason.
The complaint, which describes the US president using his powers to pressure the Ukraine government to find damaging information on Democratic political rival Joe Biden, suggested the whistle-blower was “an analyst by training and made clear he was steeped in details of American foreign policy toward Europe”, the newspaper said.
He also was clearly knowledgeable about Ukrainian politics and Washington’s relations with Kiev, which Trump is accused of manipulating to gain advantage in next year’s presidential election.
It was the first indication of the whistle-blower’s identity, other than previous statements saying it was either a man or a woman from the nearly million-strong intelligence community.