by Steven Nelson
\nWashington Examiner<\/p>\n
The whistleblower\u00a0whose complaint<\/a>\u00a0launched impeachment proceedings against President Trump is unlikely to testify to Congress, as talks have ceased between his legal team and committee leaders.<\/p>\n House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who has overseen depositions in Democrats’ impeachment proceeding, was initially eager for the whistleblower to testify before citing concern about the person being identified.<\/p>\n Republicans accuse Schiff, a California Democrat, of changing course to prevent inquiries into his staff’s dealings with the whistleblower before he filed his Aug. 12 complaint to the Intelligence Community inspector general.<\/p>\n A source familiar with the discussions told the\u00a0Washington Examiner<\/i> that talks halted over potential testimony from the whistleblower and there is no discussion of testimony from a second whistleblower, who supported the first’s claims.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no indication that either of the original whistleblowers will be called to testify or appear before the Senate or House Intelligence committees. There is no further discussion ongoing between the legal team and the committees,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n The whistleblower is a career CIA officer with expertise in Ukraine policy who served on the White House National Security Council during the Obama administration, when 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was “point man” for Ukraine, and during the early months of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Schiff spokesman Patrick Boland did not respond to requests for comment. \u201cI\u2019m not aware of any discussions\u201d on having the whistleblower testify, said a House Republican source familiar with the inquiry.<\/p>\n On Thursday, the House passed a resolution establishing a framework for Trump impeachment proceedings, belatedly granting Republicans the ability to subpoena witnesses, but only if Schiff and fellow Democrats on the Intelligence Committee agree.<\/p>\n Mark Zaid, who along with Andrew Bakaj is an attorney for both the original whistleblower and the second whistleblower, told the\u00a0Washington Examiner<\/i>\u00a0the legal team was willing to work with lawmakers so long as anonymity is ensured. \u201cWe remain committed to cooperating with any congressional oversight committee’s requests so long as it properly protects and ensures the anonymity of our clients,\u201d Zaid said.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Zaid and Bakaj\u00a0declined to confirm or deny in a statement<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Washington Examiner<\/i>\u00a0that Eric Ciaramella, 33, a career CIA analyst and former Ukraine director on the NSC, was the whistleblower after a report by RealClearInvestigations.<\/p>\n Schiff said last month that the whistleblower had indicated a willingness to talk and that he \u201clook[ed] forward to the whistleblower\u2019s testimony as soon as this week.\u201d On Sept. 25, he declared in a\u00a0statement<\/a>, \u201cWe need to speak with the whistleblower.\u201d<\/p>\n