The FBI reached out to request an interview with the whistleblower at the center of the House-led impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
A source told Fox that no substantive discussions have taken place yet. It’s not clear what information the FBI is seeking. The WSJ also reported that the FBI has twice reached out to the person, while AP said the whistleblower is not the target of an investigation but is being regarded as a potential witness.
Republicans and Trump said that the identity of the whistleblower should be identified so as to reveal any biases or potential collusion. Democrats have said they do not need to hear from the person now that others have testified.
In September, the Justice Department confirmed that Brian Benczkowski, who is the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s criminal division, reviewed the whistleblower complaint and found there were no violations of campaign finance laws by Trump when he asked Zelensky for investigations.
On Nov. 12, a newly filed complaint to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) stated that the whistleblower might have violated federal law by indirectly soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars via GoFundMe, Fox reported.
According to the report, the ICIG complaint alleged the donations via GoFundMe were a “gift” to a federal employee and were made because of the person’s official “status, authority, or duties.” It also alleged that the whistleblower might be exploiting their access to confidential information.