After publicly professing his staunch support for keeping secret the whistleblower who initiated the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) raised the stakes by claiming the individual’s life could be at risk “in this day and age.”
In an interview with WVNN’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Jones advised that the Senate had entered the “early stages” of procedural planning regarding article of impeachment potentially coming up from the House of Representatives.
He then transitioned into speaking about the whistleblower.
“The one thing I’ve been disturbed about… is all of this drum-beating about trying to have the whistleblower that filed the complaint identified and testify publicly,” Jones said. “I think that is a very, very, very bad precedent if that was to happen.”
“I am probably the only member of the U.S. Senate, maybe the only member in Congress to handle whistleblower cases,” he added. “I’ve represented whistleblowers, but I’ve also defended whistleblower cases. And I know the importance of trying to ferret out information through a whistleblower — an unknown, anonymous complaint that is nothing more, that complaint is nothing more than a roadmap.”
“And it is the House’s job in their investigation, and ultimately over in the Senate if it comes this way, to see if the dots were connected and if they are, they’ll take appropriate action,” Jones continued. “If the dots aren’t connected, or they don’t rise in a certain way, then they’ll take appropriate action that way. But the whistleblower is absolutely — this is a red-herring, and I’m very concerned because I’ve got to be honest with you, I’ve seen so many things. People’s lives could be in jeopardy in this day and age. It has gotten so ugly out there with some things. I worry about that.”
Alabama’s junior senator then concluded that he is “keeping up with it” and “keeping an absolute open mind to follow my oath in the Constitution.”
The issue at the center of the current impeachment inquiry pertains to Trump asking the Ukrainian president to look into potential corruption related to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings in that country and whether former Vice President Joe Biden was complicit.
Jones has endorsed the elder Biden, an old friend of his, for president. Jones has vowed to back whomever the Democrats ultimately nominate against Trump in 2020, no matter how radical that individual is.
Alabama’s Democratic senator has been quick to come to Biden’s defense this campaign cycle, including asserting that Biden does not have “senior moments” but instead simply “Joe Biden moments.”
Additionally, Jones pushed back on Congressman Bradley Byrne’s (AL-01) call for an investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and how Joe Biden was involved.
Jones also defended former VP Biden earlier this year when he came under fire for remarks about former segregationist Democratic senators, as well as deeming sexual misconduct allegations against Joe Biden as distractions from beating Trump in 2020.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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