Roberts reportedly blocked Rand Paul's questions mentioning alleged whistleblower's name
Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday thwarted several attempts by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to submit a question naming the alleged whistleblower whose complaint about President Trump's interactions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spurred the impeachment inquiry, three people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
Senators were given the opportunity to submit questions to the House impeachment managers and Trump's legal team, with Roberts screening the questions before reading them out loud. Paul drafted a query that included the alleged whistleblower's name, but Roberts declined to read it, two officials told the Post. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters there are Republicans "who have an interest in questions related to the whistleblower. But I suspect that won't happen. I don't think that happens. And I guess I would hope it doesn't."
For months, Paul — who is one of the loudest voices during discussions about Americans' privacy rights — has been trying to get people to publicly say the name of the whistleblower. He hinted on Wednesday that he's not giving up, telling reporters, "it may happen tomorrow."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Ukraine, US and Russia: do rare trilateral talks mean peace is possible?Rush to meet signals potential agreement but scepticism of Russian motives remain
-
Syria’s Islamic State problemIn The Spotlight Fragile security in prison camps leads to escape of IS fighters
-
Quiz of The Week: 17 – 23 JanuaryQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
