LT. COL. VINDMAN: Yes, I did -- my core function is to coordinate U.S. Government policy, inter-agency policy and I spoke with two individuals with regards to providing some sort of readout of the call.

NUNES: Two individuals that were not in the White House?

LT. COL. VINDMAN: Not in the White House. Cleared U.S. Government officials with appropriate need to know.

NUNES: And what agencies were these officials with?

LT. COL. VINDMAN: Department of State, Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent, who was responsible for the portfolio, Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. And an individual from the office of -- individual in the intelligence community.

NUNES: As you know, the intelligence community has 17 different agencies. What agency was this individual from?

SCHIFF: If I could interject here, we don't want to use these proceedings --

NUNES: It's our time.

SCHIFF: We need to protect the whistle-blower. Please stop. I want to make sure that there's no effort to out the whistle-blower through the use of these proceedings. If the witness has a good faith belief that this may reveal the identity of the whistle-blower, that is not the purpose that we are here for and I want to advise the witness accordingly.

NUNES: Mr. Vindman, you testified in your deposition that you did not know the whistle-blower.

LT. COL. VINDMAN: Ranking member, it's Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, please.

NUNES: Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, you testified in the deposition that you did not know who the whistle-blower was or is?

LT. COL. VINDMAN: I do not know who the whistle-blower is, that is correct.

NUNES: How is it possible for you to name these people and then out the whistle-blower?

LT. COL. VINDMAN: Per the advice of my counsel, I've been advised not to answer specific questions about members of the intelligence community.

NUNES: Are you aware that this is the Intelligence Committee that's conducting an impeachment hearing?

LT. COL. VINDMAN: Of course I am.

NUNES: Wouldn't the appropriate place for you to come to to testify would be the Intelligence Committee about someone within the intelligence community?

LT. COL. VINDMAN: Ranking member, per the advice of my counsel and the instructions from the chairman, I've been advised not to provide any specifics on who I've spoken to inside the intelligence community. What I can offer is that these were properly cleared individuals -- or it was a properly cleared individual with a need-to-know.

NUNES: Well, this is -- I mean, really you can plead the 5th, but you're here to answer questions and you're here under subpoena. So you can either answer the question or you can plead the 5th.

COUNSEL FOR LT. COL. VINDMAN: Excuse me. On behalf of my client, we are following the rule of the committee, the rule of the chair with regard to this issue, and this does not call for an answer that is invoking the 5th or any theoretical issue like that. We're following the ruling of the chair.

NUNES: Counselor, what ruling is that?

SCHIFF: If I could interject, counsel is correct. The whistle-blower has the right, statutory right to anonymity. These proceedings would not be used to out the whistle-blower.

COUNSEL FOR LT. COL. VINDMAN: And I've advised my client accordingly, and he's going to follow the ruling of the chair. If there's an alternative or you want to work something out with the chair, that's up to you, Mr. Nunes.

NUNES: We've attempted to subpoena the whistle-blower to sit for a deposition. The chair has tabled that motion and has been unwilling to recognize those motions over the last few days of this impeachment inquisition process.