President Trump retweeted a link to an article on Thursday night that named the alleged Ukraine whistleblower.
Why it matters: It appears to be the first time Trump has actively promoted the name, despite the fact that the president's allies, including his son, Donald Trump Jr., have repeatedly done so online.
- Some conservative media outlets have published the alleged name, but most major outlets have refrained from doing so.
- A group of Senate Republicans told Politico last month that they did not support naming the whistleblower over fears that doing so might break the law.
- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called on the media to print the name at a rally in November as President Trump stood alongside him.
What happened: Trump retweeted an official account for his 2020 campaign, which shared a tweet aimed at Mark Zaid, the whistleblower's lawyer.
- "It's pretty simple. The CIA 'whistleblower' is not a real whistleblower!" the tweet read.
- It included a link to Washington Examiner item which had the alleged whistleblower's name in the headline.
Go deeper: The GOP's war over naming the Ukraine whistleblower
