The identity of the White House whistleblower may be revealed due to the efforts of a Republican congressional staffer.
"A top aide to Rep. Devin Nunes has been providing conservative politicians and journalists with information—and misinformation—about the anonymous whistleblower who triggered the biggest crisis of Donald Trump’s presidency," The Daily Beast reported Monday, citing "two knowledgeable sources."
"Derek Harvey, who works for Nunes, the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, has provided notes for House Republicans identifying the whistleblower’s name ahead of the high-profile depositions of Trump administration appointees and civil servants in the impeachment inquiry. The purpose of the notes, one source said, is to get the whistleblower’s name into the record of the proceedings, which committee chairman Adam Schiff has pledged to eventually release. In other words: it’s an attempt to out the anonymous official who helped trigger the impeachment inquiry," The Beast explained.
"The whistleblower is not Harvey’s only target. Another is a staffer for the House intelligence committee Democrats whom The Daily Beast has agreed not to name due to concerns about reprisals against the staffer. Harvey, both sources said, has spread a false story alleging that the whistleblower contacted the staffer ahead of raising internal alarm about President Trump’s July 25th phone call attempting to get a “favor” from Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky to damage Trump’s rival Joe Biden. In right-wing circles, contact with Schiff is meant to discredit the whistleblower as partisan," The Beast reported.
The Beast got one official to give a quote on Harvey's actions.
“We are aware of these unsupported and false attacks on a respected member of our staff,” the official said. “It is completely inappropriate, and we have previously urged the Republican leadership to address this situation.”
The Beast noted Harvey's extensive resume.
"There is no reasonable definition of a Deep State that excludes Derek Harvey from elite membership," The Beast noted.
The publication's editor-in-chief, Noah Schactman, offered more on Twitter:
Read the full report.