He described his experience, which included death threats that upended his life and required the CIA to provide him with round-the-clock protection, in interviews over the past two months. The Washington Post is granting him anonymity because of the ongoing concerns for his safety and has confirmed his account with more than a half dozen former senior officials.

His story mirrors those of dozens of other bureaucrats, diplomats, intelligence analysts, FBI agents, politicians and military officers who stood up to what they saw as efforts by Trump to subvert the country's democracy. Some of these officials were fired or resigned in protest. Others sought to temper Trump's demands without alienating him and, in the process, protect themselves and their institutions from retribution.

Trump has routinely described these people as participants in a "deep state" conspiracy to destroy the country and rob his voters of their voice. If elected next month to a second term, he's vowed to purge them from government.