The intelligence community whistleblower, identified as a CIA officer by the New York Times, initially took his allegations to the agency’s general counsel, only deciding to lodge his now-famous complaint when he realized that the general counsel had alerted the White House.

According to the Times, when the CIA officer went to general counsel Courtney Elwood shortly after President Donald Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, she looped in officials at the White House and and Department of Justice (including Attorney General William Barr).

Though Elwood’s actions are in keeping with policy, they underscore how exposed the CIA officer was without whistleblower protections and a White House at the very least aware of his allegations, if not his identity.

The CIA officer grew concerned that his allegations were not being taken seriously, so he lodged a formal complaint with the IG as well, becoming a full-blown whistleblower.

That complaint touched off a maelstrom of scandal, leading to revelations that Trump strong-armed Zelensky into manufacturing dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son and a resulting impeachment inquiry.