Ivanka Trump said the Ukraine whistleblower's identity isn't 'relevant,' setting her against her brother Donald Jr. who is obsessed with naming them

Her position differs from that of her father, who has called for the whistleblower to be named, and her brother, Donald Trump Jr.
Earlier this week, Trump Jr tweeted the name of an official who far-right activists and conservative websites have alleged is the whistleblower.
Business Insider has not been able to verify the alleged identity, and is not repeating it in this article.
The whistleblower who raised alarm about President Trump's behavior towards Ukraine is granted anonymity under federal law.
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Ivanka Trump has taken a different position to her father President Donald Trump and brother Donald Trump Jr over publicly naming an official whose whistleblower complaint about the president sparked an impeachment probe.

In an interview with the Associated Press published Thursday, Ivanka, who serves as an unpaid adviser in her father's administration, remarked that the identity of the official is "not particularly relevant."

"The whistleblower shouldn't be a substantive part of the conversation," she told the AP, saying the person "did not have firsthand information."

Of the whistleblower's identity, she added that, "to me, it's not particularly relevant aside from what the motivation behind all of this was."

Under federal law, it is illegal to disclose the identity of the official who complained that President Trump may have abused his office by pressuring the Ukrainian government to open an investigation into Joe Biden, a domestic political rival of Trump.

Ivanka Trump speaks to open a meeting of the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF), in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on the White House complex, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ASSOCIATED PRESS

The identity of the whistleblower has become the focus of allies of the president seeking to defend him against an impeachment probe launched by House Democrats in response to the complaint.

Trump has himself called on the media to name the official, and conservative and far-right media outlets and activists have circulated the name of a CIA official who they claim is the whistleblower, and is engaged in a partisan plot to unseat the president.

No convincing evidence has emerged demonstrating that the official named is the whistleblower, but on Wednesday the president's son lent his support to those claiming to have unmasked the whistleblower by tweeting the official's name.

BuzzFeed News added that the individual has long featured in right-wing conspiracy theories about Ukraine.

Business Insider has not been able to verify the alleged identity, and is not repeating it in this article.

Donald Trump Ivanka AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Ivanka Trump has previously sought to soften the image of the Trump presidency , while her brother in contrast has used his Twitter account to amplify the conspiracy theories of the pro-Trump far right.

There is some evidence though that the White House in fact doesn't want the official to be named, and attacks on the media for refusing to publish the name are part of a political ploy.

Republicans close to the White House told the AP that the refusal to name the official makes it easier for the president to undermine the official's credibility, and enables him to attack the media for colluding with a "deep state" plot to unseat him in refusing to disclose the identity.

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Ivanka Trump said the Ukraine whistleblower's identity isn't 'relevant,' setting her against her brother Donald Jr. who is obsessed with naming them

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