ALBANY – New York on Wednesday became the first state to offer whistleblowers an anonymous electronic platform to submit tips about government misconduct.

Through a new online portal, the state attorney general's office will oversee shielded communications with whistleblowers who submit allegations of illegal or fraudulent behavior. The system is run through the downloadable TOR browser, which protects a person's identity and location.

"Our advanced Whistleblower Portal will help to attract, engage and protect whistleblowers, and in turn enhance fairness and the rule of law in our society," state Attorney General Letitia James said in a release. "At a time when some are leveling threats against those who seek to call out corruption, New York will stand up for all those who fight for transparency and justice."

Individuals who submit information will use unique codes to communicate with members of the attorney general's team. The portal website also includes a disclaimer that while the whistleblower's identity will be protected, the information shared may not remain secret.

A spokesperson for the attorney general said the browser prevents officials from knowing a person's name or location unless they submit a document or other evidence that may somehow identify them. They contend the complaints filed through the portal also would not be subject to disclosure under the state's Freedom of Information Law due to law enforcement and privacy exemptions.

However, any law enforcement exception blocking the public disclosure of a complaint could be voided in cases where an investigation is closed or leads to an arrest. The privacy exception also may not apply to complaints that target agencies or corporations, rather than individuals.

Whistleblower protection has been hotly debated in and out of Washington over the past several weeks as the House of Representatives launched a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump based on the contents of a whistleblower's complaint.

The complaint, from an unidentified CIA intelligence officer, repeated second-hand information that Trump asked the president of Ukraine in a July phone call to investigate a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. The claim was later supported by an edited transcript of the call released by the White House last week.

Over the past week, Trump has castigated the whistleblower on Twitter, at one point claiming that intelligence officials had secretly changed a rule that had required all information submitted in whistleblower complaints to be witnessed first-hand. That has never been a legal mandate.

"Like every American, I deserve to meet my accuser, especially when this accuser, the so-called 'Whistleblower,' represented a perfect conversation with a foreign leader in a totally inaccurate and fraudulent way," Trump tweeted Sunday.

The president clarified Wednesday that whistleblowers should be protected "if the whistleblower is legitimate."

In New York, whistleblowers can also submit complaints to the attorney general's office through an online form or traditional mail or e-mail.