President Trump's Whistleblower Accuser to Come Forward, but Only in Writing

The whistleblower who first raised concerns about President Trump's July phone call with the president of Ukraine now says he'll answer questions from Republicans. 

But so far, the whistleblower is not willing to release his identity. The whistleblower's attorney says he will give written responses to written questions under oath and penalty of perjury.

Republicans say it's not enough. They want the whistleblower to appear in person.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, says the whistleblower needs to be held accountable for igniting the impeachment process.

"I think the American people have a right to know who the individual is who started this whole thing," he said.

The president says revealing the whistleblower's identity would be bad for Democrats. "The whistleblower gave false stories. Some people would call it a fraud," said Trump. 

But the whistleblower's attorney says his client needs to remain anonymous for safety reasons, saying there have already been death threats.

The president still maintains that his phone call with the Ukrainian president was appropriate.

Democrats, meanwhile, are gearing up to make the impeachment process more transparent.

After only closed-door interviews so far, House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) says the investigating committees will begin to release transcripts of those interviews as early as this week.

Still, Democrats aren't just opening up the doors for full disclosure. They're actually planning another week of closed-door interviews before moving into open hearings.

Republicans contend the whole procedure is nothing more than a show, aimed at influencing the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) said the current process is more partisan than previous impeachment inquiries.
 
"Under Clinton and Nixon, there was a bi-partisan negotiation to at least have fair rules. They don't want fair rules. They just want to hurt President Trump's chances to win re-election," he said.

Private depositions scheduled for this week include Energy Secretary Rick Perry and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. It's not clear if they will show.