UNDER SCRUTINY

Whistleblower Complaint Involves ‘Promise’ Between Trump and Foreign Leader: Report

The intelligence community’s inspector general reportedly found the complaint troubling enough to notify congressional oversight committees.

A whistleblower complaint that has caused a standoff between Congress and the U.S. intelligence community reportedly involves President Trump and a foreign leader, The Washington Post reports. The communications also reportedly involve a “promise” that an intelligence official found concerning enough to file a formal whistleblower complaint with intel’s inspector general. It’s reportedly not clear who the foreign leader involved in the interaction was.

Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson determined the complaint to be credible and troubling enough to alert the congressional oversight committees. However, Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Joseph Maguire did not transmit the complaint to Congress within seven days—as required by law—after reportedly seeking legal guidance from Justice Department officials. Atkinson notified the House and Senate intelligence committees about the complaint instead, without revealing its substance.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) has since demanded the full complaint be disclosed, but Maguire reportedly argued the complaint was outside of his jurisdiction. Recent communications between the offices of the DNI and House Intel reportedly pointed to the White House without directly implicating Trump and disclosed the complaint “involves confidential and potentially privileged communications.” Atkinson is scheduled to appear before House Intel on Thursday in a closed session, and Maguire agreed to testify before the committee next week. The White House, the Office of the DNI, and a lawyer representing the whistleblower have not commented on the matter.