Rand Paul: Nothing to Stop Me From Naming Whistleblower

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., insisted in an interview Tuesday he could expose the name of the whistleblower behind the impeachment inquiry at any time — including at that moment on live TV — and there is nothing in the nation's laws to stop him.

But, Paul, who backs Trump's call for the whistleblower to be made public, did not reveal the man's name while talking with Fox News' Bret Baier.

Paul also rejected an argument from the whistleblower's attorney, Andrew Bakaj, who said on Twitter revealing the name could endanger his client's safety. 

"I don't wish harm on anyone," Paul told Baier. "I have been the victim of political violence not once but twice. I was at the ballfield when Steve Scalise was almost killed, and a staff member 10 feet from me was shot. and I had six of my ribs broken by a hater of President Trump. I don't want political violence." 

Meanwhile, a 2014 statute says the inspector general cannot reveal the name of a whistleblower, but not a senator like him, Paul said.

"There is nothing that prevents me from saying it now, but I want it to be more about the process and less about the person," Paul said, adding he knows who the person is and he thinks Trump has the right, under the Constitution, to face his accuser.

Paul added he knows he can say the man's name in a speech on the Senate floor, or "right now."

"Nothing stops me," he said. "There is no law that stops me from doing it."

He did give some hints, though, because he wants the whistleblower to act as a witness. 

"I do think that this individual is a material witness to the potential Biden corruption," Paul said. "He was there under Joe Biden. He was there when Joe Biden was trying to fire the prosecutor that was investigating Hunter Biden. This person was a Ukrainian expert on the desk at that time."

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