The top lawyer in the White House was personally involved in discussions about what to do with an Intelligence Community whistleblower complaint that President Trump’s spy chief has refused to hand over to Congress.
Soon after becoming aware of the complaint, White House counsel Pat Cipollone engaged in an effort to spot legal reasons to block the release of information that could inflict political damage on Trump, according to the Washington Post.
So far, acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who has also consulted with the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, has defied House Democrats’ demands for information about the complaint, arguing some of its contents lie outside his jurisdiction. He is scheduled to testify in an open session before the House Intelligence Committee next week, which may prompt the White House to assert executive privilege.
Maguire has particularly butted heads with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. In announcing a subpoena last Friday, the California Democrat publicly revealed the existence of the complaint, which reportedly relates to Trump pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson told lawmakers this week that he was forbidden by Maguire to disclose details about the complaint.
Schiff argued Maguire, who is only a month into his role as acting spy chief, is defying a statute requiring the complaint, deemed by Atkinson to be an “urgent concern,” and the inspector general’s analysis be delivered to the intelligence committees within seven days. Maguire’s general counsel, Jason Klitenic, has said the complaint does not meet the statute because it “involves confidential and potentially privileged matters” and lies outside the acting DNI’s jurisdiction because it involved an individual outside the Intelligence Community.
A source said consultations are ongoing and insisted, “At no time has Pat Cipollone personally directed the DNI to withhold information from Congress.”
