Republican Sen. Rand Paul, appearing with President Trump at a campaign rally Monday night, called on Republicans to “defend the president” against impeachment and demanded that lawmakers and the media reveal the identity of the whistleblower who launched the probe.
“President Trump has great courage, he faces down the fake media every day,” Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican, said next to the president at a rally in Lexington. “Congress needs to step up and have equal courage to defend the president.”
The anonymous whistleblower, reportedly a CIA employee who was working at the White House, complained that Mr. Trump allegedly pressured the president of Ukraine in a phone call in July to investigate Democratic front-runner Joseph R. Biden.
Noting that Mr. Biden’s son Hunter was paid $50,000 per month by a Ukrainian energy company, Mr. Paul said, “That’s the definition of corruption. We know he got it only because of his family connections.”
“We also now know the name of the whistleblower, and the whistleblower needs to come before Congress as a material witness because he worked for Joe Biden at the same time Hunter Biden was getting money from corrupt oligarchs,” Mr. Paul said.
Turning to the platform holding TV cameras, Mr. Paul went on, “I say to the media tonight, do your job and print his name.”
“And I say this to my fellow colleagues in Congress, to every Republican in Washington: Step up and subpoena Hunter Biden, and subpoena the whistleblower,” Mr. Paul said.
He said if Chairman Adam B. Schiff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence — Mr. Paul used the president’s nickname for him, “Shifty Schiff” — won’t allow Hunter Biden or the whistleblower to testify, “Every Republican in Congress should take a walk and say, ’This is a farce.’ “
The president clapped and nodded approvingly as Mr. Paul left the stage.
“That was excellent,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Paul. “He’s a warrior.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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