Russiagate: Whistle Blown on Whistleblowers

The most significant news from the whistleblower saga is that Paul Sperry RCI has concluded that Eric Ciaramella, a "CIA analyst who at one point was detailed to the White House and is now back working at the CIA" is the "whistsleblower #1"  The Beltway's 'Whistleblower' Furor Obsesses Over One Name. 

But the name of a government official fitting that description — Eric Ciaramella — has been raised privately in impeachment depositions, according to officials with direct knowledge of the proceedings, as well as in at least one open hearing held by a House committee not involved in the impeachment inquiry. Fearing their anonymous  witness could be exposed, Democrats this week blocked Republicans from asking more questions about him and intend to redact his name from all deposition transcripts.

RealClearInvestigations is disclosing the name because of the public’s interest in learning details of an effort to remove a sitting president from office. Further, the official's status as a “whistleblower” is complicated by his being a hearsay reporter of accusations against the president, one who has “some indicia of an arguable political bias … in favor of a rival political candidate" -- as the Intelligence Community Inspector General phrased it circumspectly in originally fielding his complaint.

Federal documents reveal that the 33-year-old Ciaramella, a registered Democrat held over from the Obama White House, previously worked with former Vice President Joe Biden and former CIA Director John Brennan, a vocal critic of Trump who helped initiate the Russia “collusion” investigation of the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.

Apparently, it was his name that was floated in a the hearing, which prompted Adam Schiff to direct Vindman to not answer questions from the Republicans.

Ciaramella's name has been floated before (I can't find the reference), but there were plenty of people talking about him now. Ace, Paul Sperry/Real Clear Investigations: You Know That Guy You Thought Was the First Fake Whistleblower? Yeah, He's the First Fake Whistleblower. "Surprising few, Sperry reports the first fake whistleblower is Eric Ciarmella, who was evicted from the White House in 2017 for leaking to the press." Stephan Kruiser, PJ Media, Whaddya Know: Ukraine Whistleblower Is a Biden, Schiff, and DNC Errand Boy. Sundance at CTH, Mystery Revealed – CIA Gossiper Eric Ciaramella: Democrat, Former NSC Staff, Worked with Joe Biden and John Brennan…, Da Fed, Anti-Trump ‘Whistleblower’ Worked With DNC Operative Who Sought Dirt On Trump From Ukrainian Officials, Elizabeth Vaughn at Red State,   Rush Limbaugh: Everyone In Washington Knows The Whistleblower’s Name, EBL, Schifty Adam Schiff's Whistleblower Revealed? 😙♪♪♪

Stacy McCain focused on a personal connection, BREAKING: Suspected ‘Whistleblower’ Met With DNC’s Alexandra Chalupa, citing the Da Fed article:

. . . And Ciaramella worked with a Democratic National Committee operative who dug up dirt on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, inviting her into the White House for meetings, former White House colleagues said. The operative, Alexandra Chalupa, a Ukrainian-American who supported Hillary Clinton, led an effort to link the Republican campaign to the Russian government. “He knows her. He had her in the White House,” said one former co-worker, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
Documents confirm the DNC opposition researcher attended at least one White House meeting with Ciaramella in November 2015. She visited the White House with a number of Ukrainian officials lobbying the Obama administration for aid for Ukraine.
With Ciaramella’s name long under wraps, interest in the intelligence analyst has become so high that a handful of former colleagues have compiled a roughly 40-page research dossier on him. A classified version of the document is circulating on Capitol Hill, and briefings have been conducted based on it.

Alexandra Chalupa is a known associate of convicted-bomber-turned-“progressive”-activist Brett Kimberlin. That the CIA would employ someone with such lax judgment is frightening. Anyone who thinks protecting Ciaramella’s identity is about national security needs to wake the hell up. The fact that someone like this, who was already suspected of illegal leaks to the media, should have been entrusted with classified information — that, my friends, is a threat to national security.

And back to whistleblower #2, Lt. Col Michael Vindman, via Dr. John at Flopping Aces, The newest impeachment savior whistleblower

so Vindman advised Ukrainian officials about how to deal with Giuliani, who was (according to State Dept IG) serving as Acting Legal Advisor. What was Vindman's advice to Ukrainian officials? Did he have permission from his supervisors to advice Ukraine? Documents?? https://t.co/FdzGCZOwRL pic.twitter.com/stnTVcSIPg

— Stephen McIntyre (@ClimateAudit) October 29, 2019

Today, the WaPoo reports that White House lawyer moved transcript of Trump call to classified server after Ukraine adviser raised alarms. Vindman started making noises and threatening to go public with the Ukraine call, and they up the security, taking it out of his reach. Seems legit to me, when you actually have an inside guy threatening to leak? But they should have started by firing his ass.

So lets try some synthesis here. Vindman, by inference, was among the NSC staffers assigned to listen to the Trump/ZZ Top call and summarize it. Vindman is strongly pro-Ukraine, probably in part due to his birth there. That's not illegal, it may have even been considered part of his qualifications. Bu, my guess is that if/when DOJ digs into the role of the Ukrainians to boost Hillary and get Trump in 2016, they'll find multiple connections to Vindman. His policy goals are strongly at odds with Trumps, who while supporting Ukraine against Russia more than Obama ever did, views Ukraine, or at least the pre-Zelenski government, as a corrupt actor against him. Vindman definitely does not want Ukraine (or DOJ for that matter) looking into the Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election; that might ensnare too many of his buddies, and possibly himself. He lost the internal battle on how to characterize the call in the worst possible light for Trump, and he went looking for help. Denied by his chain of command, he told numerous friends, but most importantly anti-Trump CIA officer Eric Ciaramella, who did some skullduggery at the CIA, and failed to get it acted on because hearsay evidence was not permitted. He then went the his friends at Adam Schiff's camp, where they arranged for the DNI Joseph Maguire to change the whistleblower regulations to permit hearsay evidence in a whistleblower complaint and help draft the complaint. Which brings us to where we are today.

I'll save the rest of Russiagate for later. The coffee pot is empty, and it's time to get going.