Ukraine Whistleblower Attorney: 60 Minutes ‘Misinterpreted’ Letter, ‘Literally Making Stuff Up’

Ukraine Whistleblower Attorney: 60 Minutes ‘Misinterpreted’ Letter, ‘Literally Making Stuff Up’

60 Minutes reported Sunday that the whistleblower of the phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received federal protection. The news program insisted it had a letter to prove it.

Mark Zaid, the lawyer representing the whistleblower, took 60 Minutes to the woodshed on Twitter over the report. He said the program “misinterpreted contents” of the letter.

60 Minutes retorted that it sticks by its report.

Zaid asked if 60 Minutes had a source besides the letter from the law firm because nothing has been set in stone. Zaid said that unless the program has another source then it is “literally making stuff up.”

NEWS ALERT: 60 Minutes completely misinterpreted contents of our letter, which is now published online at https://t.co/HjmBrEQLEi. Nor have we, as we stated earlier today, reached any agreement with Congress on contact with the whistleblower. Discussions remain ongoing. https://t.co/3XSwmtuRrn

— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 30, 2019

Is @60Minutes now asserting it has a source other than letter our legal team sent to @ODNIgov?

Because if it doesn’t, and I know it doesn’t, then it is literally making stuff up. That helps no one, especially the #whistleblower.

The media should always accurately report facts. https://t.co/aRRgzHpVAG

— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 30, 2019

Zaid’s law firm published the letter.

Lead Attorney for the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Andrew Bakaj wrote to DNI Director Joseph Maguire that the firm has “has serious concerns” over the whistleblower’s “personal safety.”

Bakaj thanked Maguire for the support given to the whistleblower. He did not specify the support or resources already given to the person.

He specifically mentioned one of Trump’s tweets demanding to know the identity of the whistleblower:

The events of the past week have heightened our concerns that our client’s identity will be disclosed publicly and that, as a result, our client will be put in harm’s way. On September 26, 2019, the President of the United States said the following:

I want to know who’s the person that gave the Whistleblower, who’s the person that gave the Whistleblower the information, because that’s close to a spy. You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? With spies and treason, right? We used to handle them a little differently than we do now.

The fact that the President’s statement was directed to “the person that gave the Whistleblower the information” does nothing to assuage our concerns for our client’s safety. Moreover, certain individuals have issued a $50,000 “bounty” for “any information” relating to our client’s identity. Unfortunately, we expect this situation to worsen, and to become even more dangerous for our client and any other whistleblowers, as Congress seeks to investigate this matter.

The letter does not mention the whistleblower has received any kind of federal protection. It only expresses concerns for the whistleblower’s safety.

[Featured image via YouTube]

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