UPDATE: Whistleblower's lawyers say '60 Minutes' misinterpreted their letter on federal protection

Update:

According to Mark Zaid, one of the whistleblower’s lawyers, “60 Minutes” totally misinterpreted the letter and he/she is not under federal protection:

NEWS: Whistleblower attorney @MarkSZaidEsq says “@60Minutes completely misinterpreted the contents of our letter" when it reported tonight that the whistleblower is under federal protection out of fear for his/her safety. The letter in question is here:https://t.co/MTObxqITmJ

— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) September 30, 2019

Over to you, “60 Minutes”:

How did @ScottPelley and 60 Minutes possibly interpret a letter from the whistleblower's legal counsel expressing general safety concerns as the person being put "under federal protection"? https://t.co/jKX4FNRu4E

— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) September 30, 2019

Original post:

“60 Minutes” is reporting tonight that the whistleblower is under federal protection “because he or she fears for their safety”:

BREAKING: Tonight, “60 Minutes" has obtained a letter that indicates the government whistleblower who set off the impeachment inquiry of President Trump is under federal protection, because he or she fears for their safety, reports @ScottPelley https://t.co/RbqsYIAFXR

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) September 29, 2019

But one of the reasons cited for the federal protection, along with tweets about the case from the president, was a $50,000 bounty offered by Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman for the whistleblower’s identity:

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The bad news is that bounty is real. The good news is it's being offered by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl.

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 30, 2019

Here’s the excerpt from the attorney letter via CBS News:

So this Wohl-Burkman bounty is considered serious? We think not:

This person is not in any danger. This is part of a coordinated media strategy to prevent the anti-Trump leaker from being questioned or cross-examined or having his credibility questioned in any way. https://t.co/396JleTbWJ

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 30, 2019

And we’ve seen this before:

It’s the exact same initial strategy used by Democrat media and their allies to prevent questioning of Christine Blasey Ford and Stefan Halper. Leak accusations, leak credentials, claim any contact is dangerous abuse, all to prevent necessary scrutiny of fishy claims.

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 30, 2019

Remember how the very people who leaked Halper’s identity and role in the Russia hoax claimed he was in mortal danger? Deliberate. Remember Ford’s mortal fear of airplanes? Deliberate. The tactics come from the exact same media hoax playbook the Left always uses.

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 30, 2019

Up next:

The next play in the hoax playbook is to roll out more bogus intel community whistleblower reports to establish a pattern. The removal of the first-hand evidence requirement will give that effort a boost. Remember Swetnick, Avenatti, and Ramirez vs. Kavanaugh? Same tactics.

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 30, 2019

Did Dems think the whistleblower would really be able to remain anonymous throughout all this?

This is the Left’s favorite play, every time they meet resistance. Any opposition must be shut down due to “safety.” https://t.co/M7GSPFUh7u

— David Reaboi (@davereaboi) September 30, 2019

***

Editor’s note: We’ve updated this post and changed our headline from “$50,000 bounty offered by Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman for the identity of the whistleblower cited as one reason for federal protection” to “UPDATE: Whistleblower’s lawyers say ’60 Minutes’ misinterpreted their letter on federal protection.”