Whistleblower Lawyers Condemn President Trump’s Retweeting of Article Containing Alleged Whistleblower’s Name

Today, Stephen M. Kohn, whistleblower attorney at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center issued the following statement in response to press reports that President Trump has retweeted information that would identify the Ukraine whistleblower.  

Kohn said: “According to reports in today’s newspapers President Trump has retweeted an article that identified the Ukraine whistleblower by name. If true, this would be a serious violation of law.” 
 
“We have published a series of articles outlining the importance of protecting the Ukraine whistleblower from retaliation in a non-partisan manner, the legal obligation to maintain the whistleblower’s confidentiality, and the requirement that President Trump ensure that whistleblower protections governing the intelligence community are strictly enforced.   We have also published a Q&A detailing the requirements to protect the identity of intelligence community whistleblowers.” 
 
“Retaliation against the Ukraine whistleblower is a serious criminal offense.  Any such retaliation would violate Title 18 of the United States Code Section 1513(e).  Whomever is responsible for retaliating against the whistleblower should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  If the Department of Justice is reluctant to enforce this law, there is nothing in the Constitution that would prevent a federal Grand Jury indicting any person who violates Section 1513(e).”
 
“Retaliation against the Ukraine whistleblower is unacceptable.  There must be accountability, even if the person breaking the law is the President of the United States.”
 

Contact Information

Ben Kostyack

Public Relations and Communications Coordinator

Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto

ben.kostyack@kkc.com