House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the intelligence community whistleblower wants to speak to his panel about a complaint that reportedly relates to President Trump’s communications with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The California Democrat announced Tuesday that the whistleblower’s attorney had contacted the committee seeking a meeting and they are trying to set up a meeting that does not run afoul of regulations on handling intelligence complaints.
“We have been informed by the whistleblower’s counsel that their client would like to speak to our committee and has requested guidance from the Acting DNI as to how to do so,” the California Democrat said in a tweet. “We‘re in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower’s testimony as soon as this week.”
We have been informed by the whistleblower’s counsel that their client would like to speak to our committee and has requested guidance from the Acting DNI as to how to do so.
We‘re in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower’s testimony as soon as this week.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 24, 2019
The whistleblower’s legal team has also reached out to the Senate Intelligence Committee for a counsel meeting, according to its vice chairman, Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the whistleblower’s legal team for comment.
So far, the Trump administration has refused to give Congress the whistleblower complaint, which the intelligence community inspector general found to be “credible” and “urgent.” Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has rejected assertions by Democrats that a whistleblower statute requires him to hand over the complaint, arguing, after receding guidance from the Justice Department and White House, that its contents lay outside of his jurisdiction.
Maguire is scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in a rare open session on Thursday. The Senate Intelligence Committee is also expected to interview Maguire in a closed session that day.
The standoff puts the whistleblower and the Trump administration in a precarious position. Under the Intelligence Community statute, a whistleblower is protected from retaliation, but only if he or she follows protocol when filing a complaint.
Democrats are raising the alarm about reports that say that in a July 25 phone call Trump pressured Zelensky to work with his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who did business in Ukraine while his father was vice president. In particular, they are concerned that Trump might have pressured a foreign country to boost himself personally and politically as Biden is vying for the Democratic presidential nomination. The controversy has also reenergized a push in the Democratic Party for impeachment.
Trump has admitted that he talked about Biden to Zelensky, but he argues his conversation was appropriate. Trump said earlier in the day that he will release the unredacted transcript of the phone call with Zelensky, but Democrats say that is not enough.
