House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes. Thomson Reuters

The whistleblower whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is offering to answer written questions from House Republicans.

Mark Zaid, the whistleblower’s lawyer, said a request was made to Rep. Devin Nunes, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, on Saturday night.

On Twitter, Zaid wrote that the GOP’s messaging led by Trump had focused on unmasking the person’s identity, a move Zaid said would jeopardize the safety of the official and of the person’s family.

„Being a whistleblower is not a partisan job nor is impeachment an objective,“ Zaid wrote. „That is not our role.“

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The whistleblower whose complaint sparked House Democrats‘ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is now offering to answer written questions from House Republicans under oath.

Mark Zaid, the attorney for two whistleblowers who sounded the alarm on Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president, said a request was sent Saturday night to Rep. Devin Nunes, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.

On Twitter, Zaid wrote that it was an opportunity for the GOP to ask the whistleblower direct questions without risking a leak of the person’s identity, which Zaid said would jeopardize the safety of the person and the person’s family. If the House Republicans on the Intelligence Committee decide to take this route, it would allow them to sidestep the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington upon his return from New York, U.S., November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas Reuters

Zaid noted that GOP messaging concerning the whistleblower, and that led by Trump, had focused on questioning the person’s identity and seeking to unveil it. Zaid wrote that it had been a long-standing policy of the House Intelligence Committee to protect the identities of whistleblowers.

He also said that a request for anonymity was honored during his efforts to work with the GOP on the Benghazi investigation and that „countless“ complaints to the Office of the Inspector General were filed anonymously and based on hearsay.

„Being a whistleblower is not a partisan job nor is impeachment an objective,“ Zaid wrote. „That is not our role.“

Zaid said both the Senate and House intelligence committees had been offered to ask the whistleblower questions in writing under oath and penalty of perjury and that any questions meant to obtain identifying information would not be answered. He said answers would be given in a timely manner.