DENIED

Rand Paul’s Whistleblower-Naming Question Rejected by Chief Justice Roberts

The senator then held a presser where he named someone widely accused by pro-Trump media of being the whistleblower—and claimed anonymity protections do not apply here.

After Chief Justice John Roberts rejected Sen. Rand Paul’s impeachment hearing question naming the alleged Ukraine whistleblower, the Republican senator held his own press conference reportedly naming the individual and arguing that whistleblower anonymity protections are not applicable in this case.

The senator then reportedly accused the alleged whistleblower of conspiring with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) in an effort to take down President Trump. Paul claimed in a Twitter thread on Thursday: “My question is not about a ‘whistleblower’ as I have no independent information on his identity.”

Paul had openly expressed frustration Wednesday after Chief Justice John Roberts made clear he would not read the senator’s question explicitly naming the alleged whistleblower, CNN reported. Roberts, in his role, reads each question submitted by senators during the Q&A period of the Senate trial. The senator reportedly claimed Thursday that he is “the biggest defender of the whistleblower statute,” but did not provide any evidence for such a boast, BuzzFeed News reported. “My question is not about the whistleblower. My question is about two friends,” he was quoted as saying.