Former Trump administration official Fred Fleitz addressed the Ukraine whistleblower on Tuesday before this week's public impeachment hearings on Wednesday, saying it is unfair to President Trump that the unnamed official who has accused him of wrongdoing would not be called on as a witness.
"I think the American people expect a process that's fair. They expect due process. The person who originated this whole matter, the first witness, has to testify," Fleitz said on "The Story with Martha MacCallum."
"How can the president defend himself against some very serious charges when the main person who made these accusations, who began them, isn't even going to be called as a witness?" he asked.
Fleitz, the former chief of staff for then-National Security Adviser John Bolton, also reacted to reports that a newly filed complaint to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) alleges that the whistleblower -- whose allegations launched House Democrats' impeachment inquiry -- may have violated federal law by indirectly soliciting more than $250,000 from mostly anonymous sources via a GoFundMe page.
"This raises real concerns about government employees who are not allowed to accept gifts," Fleitz said. "And the standard for CIA employees is much higher. A federal employee could be taking bribes and say to the person who they want the bribe fund from, 'We'll give you this decision if you deposit money into my GoFundMe account.'"
The ICIG complaint, which was filed last week and obtained by Fox News, alleged that the donations from roughly 6,000 individuals "clearly constitute" gifts to a current intelligence official that may be restricted because of the employee's official position pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.203 and other statutes. To date, the GoFundMe has raised more than $227,000.
Fleitz warned of a "precedent" that the GoFundMe page could set and pointed out complications from potential foreign donors.
"But it's the precedent that a federal employee could do this," he said. "And what if this fund for the CIA officer had received donations from foreigners? What if the Russians submitted money to this fund?"
Fleitz also commented on a report from NBC News that Bolton recently said Trump was personally motivated in his foreign policy dealings with Turkey.
"I'll just say, I don't agree with these statements. And we don't know that Mr. Bolton said these things," Fleitz added.
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