WASHINGTON Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday attempted to ask a question during the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump , but he was rebuffed by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, the presiding officer.

Pauls question would have named the alleged Ukraine whistleblower, but Roberts declined to read it to the chamber.

The presiding officer declines to read the question as submitted, Roberts said after reading the question silently.

Paul then stormed out of the chamber and held a press conference where he twice said the name of the alleged whistleblower whose identity has not been confirmed as well as another individual but insisted he was not outing anyone.

I think this is an important question, one that deserves to be asked, and makes no reference to anybody who may or may not be a whistleblower, Paul told reporters.

The whistleblower filed a complaint, which Congress publicly released in September , that alleged Trump used the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election, and said White House officials worked to cover up Trumps actions.

The veracity of the complaint does not rely on the identity of the whistleblower, since the complaints claims have since been corroborated by a range of firsthand accounts and evidence.

But the push to identify the whistleblower has continued anyway. Trump has said he deserves to meet [his] accuser, some Republicans have suggested calling the whistleblower as a witness and the White House tweeted around the time of Pauls question that Democrats werent answering the many questions and concerns about the alleged whistleblower and potential conflicts of interest.

Even oblique references like Pauls seek to reveal the identity of someone who followed a confidential process to share their concerns sending a message to other would-be whistleblowers that if they speak up, they risk harassment encouraged at the highest levels.