First it was a Fox News guest. Then it was a Fox News contributor. And now a Fox News host has named the alleged whistleblower at the heart of the Trump impeachment inquiry—albeit only during his non-Fox radio show.
During Tuesday evening’s broadcast of The Mark Levin Show on Westwood One radio, host Mark Levin—who also hosts a weekend Fox News program—repeatedly named the person right-wing media has identified as the whistleblower, calling on the person to come on his show to prove he isn’t.
“He’s not a whistleblower,” Levin yelled. “And if it's not, he’s welcome to come on this program and say so.”
Levin, a fierce Trump defender, went on to grouse about mainstream media outlets refusing to print the alleged whistleblower’s name. He also appeared to take some veiled shots at Fox News, which has reportedly directed its staff to refrain from mentioning the person’s identity seeing as the network has not “independently confirmed [the] name or identification of the anonymous whistleblower.”
“The New York Times won’t print his name,” Levin huffed. “The Washington Post won't print his name. Cable TV, you’re not allowed to mention his name."
“The left-wing fascistic media won’t mention his name,” the radio talker continued. “Why? Because you see his background, you figure out his connections, you see what's been going on with all of them, and their whole house of cards comes tumbling down.”
Levin’s on-air naming of the alleged whistleblower comes on the heels of Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway dropping that same name during Sunday’s broadcast of Fox News’ MediaBuzz, much to host Howard Kurtz’s chagrin. And Hemingway’s incident came a few days after conservative radio host Lars Larson said the name during a weekday Fox News segment.
Those close to President Trump, meanwhile, are worried that it’s only a matter of time before the president publicly utters or tweets out the name—especially if he continues to hear it from his favorite media figures.
And this isn’t the first time that Levin has thumbed his nose at Fox News internal policy. Earlier this month, following a report that he violated the network’s rarely enforced ban on participating in political campaigns, the right-wing talker insisted he didn’t break any rules before declaring that “no corporations” could prevent him from supporting candidates.
