Tags: Politics

Fact check: adam schiffs fact-challengedclaims that the whistleblower has a right to anonymity published by Oan

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Posted on 2019-11-20

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“I am concerned about a bad-faith effort to out a whistleblower who has a statutory right to remain anonymous.”

— Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) in a closed-door deposition of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman Oct. 29 2019

“The whistleblower has a right to anonymity. There are public reports that the life of the whistleblower has been threatened. We do not want this committee used or this testimony used to try to exact political retribution against the whistleblower.”

— Schiff in a closed-door deposition of National Security Council official Tim Morrison Oct. 31 2019

“The whistleblower has the right a statutory right to anonymity. These proceedings will not be used to out the whistleblower.”

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— Schiff in a public hearing with Vindman Nov. 19 2019

Does the whistleblower who filed a complaint about President Trump have a “statutory right” to remain anonymous as Schiff claims?

It’s not a right spelled out in any statute. But national security experts warn that disclosing the whistleblower’s identity could expose him to danger and retribution and chill whistleblowing in general.

The Facts

d at least twice that the whistleblower has a “statutory right” to anonymity.

Neither the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998 (ICWPA) nor any related statutes have language guaranteeing anonymity for whistleblowers. These laws in conjunction with Presidential Policy Directive 19 and Intelligence Community Directive 120 provide protections from work-related retaliation. Intelligence community whistleblowers can’t be demoted fired or reassigned for legally reporting their concerns; their pay can’t be cut; they can’t be sent in for psychiatric exams; and their security clearance level can’t be touched.

“Nothing in the ICWPA expressly protects the anonymity of a complainant or provides sanctions for someone who discloses it ” Stephen I. Vladeck a professor at the University of Texas School of Law and an expert on national security law previously told The Fact Checker.