The New York Times – Opinion – They are not partisans but stewards of our constitutional democracy. By Allison Stanger. Dr. Stanger is the author of “Whistleblowers: Honesty in America From Washington to Trump.”
“In accusing the intelligence community whistle-blower of partisanship and treason, President Trump has redefined whistle-blowing to serve his private interests rather than the rule of law. In the American tradition, whistle-blowers expose illegal or unconstitutional acts that the powerful want to keep secret. That the current game-changing official intelligence community whistle-blower complaint has reached the American people is a miracle for which we should be grateful. Americans must focus on the content of the whistle-blower complaint, which the White House has not denied. The president has obvious reasons to spin the complaint, but genuine whistle-blowers are not partisans. They are stewards of our constitutional democracy. Whistle-blower protection is as old as the Republic itself. The Continental Congress passed the world’s first whistle-blower protection legislation in 1778 in an effort to keep American elites honest. The current whistle-blower complaint shines light on an attempted cover-up and an intelligence community that sees the president advancing the Trump brand at the expense of American national security. But the whistle-blower is just the tip of the iceberg. In Mr. Trump’s presidency, there have been unprecedented disclosures from the intelligence community on his behavior. While overturning longstanding intelligence community norms, Mr. Trump has repeatedly charged it with partisanship. But members of the intelligence community swear allegiance to the Constitution, not the president. They serve their country regardless of the party in the White House…”