Democrats say whistleblower deposition no longer central to impeachment investigation: report

House Democrats say there is ample evidence to move forward in the impeachment inquiry without asking for testimony from the whistleblower, The Washington Post reported.

Several House Democrats said Thursday that obtaining testimony from the whistleblower, whose report started the impeachment inquiry, has become less of a priority as senior Trump administration officials have supplied enough information on Trump’s controversial interactions with Ukraine, according to the newspaper.  

{mosads}“I think it’s quite clear we have a surfeit of evidence that corroborates in full every aspect of what happened and the policy they were pursuing,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who sits on the Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, told the Post.

A person familiar with conversations between the whistleblower and the House investigators told the Post there are no current efforts to have the whistleblower testify.

The Hill reached out to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) office for comment.

Republicans have long sought out the whistleblower’s identity, requesting he or she provide a public testimony to “fully assess the sources and credibility” of the person, a letter GOP members sent Wednesday said. The Post has only identified the whistleblower as a male CIA officer.

One of the whistleblower’s lawyers Mark Zaid told the Post their identity “is completely irrelevant as the complaint is now public and the primary actors at senior levels are being interviewed by members of the House from both political parties.”

The calls to interrogate the whistleblower align with the GOP intention to disparage the impeachment inquiry. President Trump himself has called for the whistleblower’s identification, saying, “I deserve to meet my accuser.”

GOP lawmakers have taken steps to speak out against the process of the impeachment inquiry this week, with House GOP lawmakers storming the room where testimony took place. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also introduced a resolution denouncing how the House has run the inquiry.

The whistleblower’s report released in September prompted Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to launch an impeachment inquiry. The report detailed a late July call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump asked the president to investigate the alleged corruption of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. As of now, there has been no evidence to back these corruption claims.