A new complaint filed to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) alleges the anti-Trump whistleblower violated federal law by soliciting money via a GoFundMe page.
“We are requesting you investigate whether 18 USC 208, 18 USC 209, or any other criminal statute or regulation, has been violated by the federal employee you are protecting when they reportedly requested an investigation into a matter they had no direct personal knowledge of, and on account of which they were able to obtain sizeable gifts from unknown persons because of their official duty,” the complaint reads.
At the time of publication, the GoFundMe page raised roughly $227,000 from approximately 6,100 individuals. The GoFundMe page was started by Whistleblower Aid, a non-profit legal service that “helps patriotic government employees and brave, private-sector workers report and publicize their concerns — safely, lawfully, and responsibly.”
The complaint claims these donations constitute gifts to an intelligence official that would be restricted due to the individual’s official position. This would be a violation of 5 CFR 2635.203 and potentially other statutes which prohibit gift giving to federal officials.
“The complaint also raised the possibility that some of the donations may have come from prohibited sources, and asked the ICIG to look into whether any ‘foreign citizen or agent of a foreign government’ contributed,” Fox News said.
However, in the GoFundMe page’s description it claims, “donations will only be accepted from U.S. citizens.” Although, there is no way to tell how the page plans to regulate that. Many donations are from anonymous sources.
While the identity of the individual who submitted this complaint has yet to be released, Fox News reports the complainant holds a top-secret SCI security clearance and has served in the government.