WASHINGTON — The White House learned that a C.I.A. officer had lodged allegations against President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine even as the officer’s whistle-blower complaint was moving through a process meant to protect him against reprisals, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The whistleblower who submitted a complaint on possible abuses of power by President Trump originally reported the matter to the CIA general counsel, according to a report from the New York Times.

The CIA lawyer, Courtney Simmons Elwood, then shared the report with the White House and the Department of Justice, following standard procedure with regard to complaints of this type. The whistleblower remained anonymous throughout the process.

The whistleblower whose complaint alleged that President Trump tried to get Ukraine to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden is a CIA officer, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing three people familiar with his identity.

The officer was reportedly working in the White House at one point and has returned to the intelligence agency, according to the newspaper.

The Times reported that not much else is known about the whistleblower.