The whistleblower who filed an explosive complaint against Trump is reportedly a CIA officer once assigned to the White House

The whistleblower who filed an explosive national security complaint against President Donald Trump is a CIA officer who was assigned to the White House, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The whistleblower complaint, which was released to the public on Thursday morning, claims that Trump is "using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election."

The complaint detailed concerns that in a July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump undermined national security by pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate the son of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden after withholding a nearly $400 million military-aid package.

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire said in Thursday testimony before Congress that the whistleblower had followed exactly the right legal procedure in coming forward, and that his complaint was "in alignment" with a memo of Trump and Zelensky's call the White House released on Wednesday.

In the call, Trump emphasized how many aid the US had given Ukraine, saying, "we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time" before asking Zelensky for "a favor" by investigating Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm hired by the Democratic National Committee, and Biden's son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukranian oil and gas company.

The Times reported that the whistleblower, whose name is still unknown, is a "CIA officer who was detailed to work at the White House at one point" and since gone back to his post at the Agency.

They said that based on the complaint, he is likely extremely knowledgeable about eastern European and Ukrainian politics and could have a legal background as well.

Almost immediately, The Times came under scrutiny for revealing more details about the whistleblower's identity. The whistleblower's attorney Andrew Bakaj told The Times, "any decision to report any perceived identifying information of the whistle-blower is deeply concerning and reckless, as it can place the individual in harm's way."

In a statement, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet that the whistleblower's "role and place in the government is crucial to understanding one of the most important issues facing the country — whether the president of the United States abused power and whether the White House covered it up."