Should the Intelligence Chief Share the Trump Whistleblower Complaint?

What’s the story?

• President Donald Trump’s alleged “promise” to a foreign leader prompted an American intelligence official to file a formal whistleblower complaint with the inspector general of the intelligence community.
• The Washington Post, which first broke the story, reported that “Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson determined that the complaint was credible and troubling enough to be considered a matter of ‘urgent concern,’ a legal threshold that requires notification of congressional oversight committees.”
• The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), however, informed Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, that the ODNI will not forward the whistleblower’s complaint to the committee, even though it’s required by law.
• During a closed-door session with the Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Atkinson told those present that he wasn’t allowed to provide details of the substance of the complaint.
• Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has said he will testify on Sept. 26 in an open session before the House intelligence Committee.

Who could the foreign leader(s) be?

The complaint was filed on August 12. White House records show the president had spoken to or interacted with five foreign leaders in the previous five weeks:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin
• North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un
•  The Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• The Prime Minister of Pakistan
• The Emir of Qatar

What are people saying?

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff:

• “We cannot get an answer to the question about whether the White House is also involved in preventing this information from coming to Congress,” Schiff said, adding: “We’re determined to do everything we can to determine what this urgent concern is to make sure that the national security is protected.”
• Schiff continued: “[Someone] is trying to manipulate the system to keep information about an urgent matter from the Congress. ... There certainly are a lot of indications that it was someone at a higher pay grade than the director of national intelligence.”

President Trump:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

“I obviously trust the judgment of our committee chair Adam Schiff, and he’s following this very closely with an expert eye on what the law is, what protections there are for whistleblowers, and where does it cross a line of a conversation that the President may have or commitment that he may make for our nation that the public should be aware of,” Pelosi said.

What do you think?

Should the intelligence community share the whistleblower complaint? What do you want your reps asking during next week’s hearing? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman