Jordan calls out Schiff in impeachment hearing: 'Nobody believes you' on the whistleblower

During a Tuesday public impeachment hearing of the House Intelligence Committee as part of Democrats' ongoing impeachment efforts against President Donald Trump, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, called out House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for his claim that he doesn't know the identity of the so-called whistleblower.

The exchange between the two lawmakers occurred during a line of questioning when Jordan was trying to figure out whom the witness, Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, told about the July 25 phone call between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. After being prompted by Vindman's attorney, Schiff warned members of the panel not to try to "out the whistleblower."

Jordan responded that he didn't see how his line of questioning could be seen as outing the employee's identity.

"The witness has testified in his deposition that he doesn't know who the whistleblower is," Jordan explained. "You have said — even though no one believes you — you have said you don't know who the whistleblower is, so how is this outing the whistleblower to find out who this individual is?"

Schiff responded, "This is your time for questioning; you can use it any way you like, but your questions should be addressed to the witness, and your questions should not be addressed to trying to out the whistleblower."

Last week, Schiff — who has previously come under fire for misleading the public about his office's contact with the employee — was criticized for simultaneously saying that efforts to publicly identify the employee would result in repercussions while claiming to not know the employee's identity.

Elsewhere in the line of questioning, Jordan asked if Vindman had ever leaked information. The NSC staffer called the idea "preposterous," saying, "I never did; never would."

The full hearing is available here.

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