President Trump weighed on the report that a whistleblower complaint was filed by an unnamed official within the intelligence community because Trump reportedly made a “promise” with a foreign leader.
Specific details of the conversation in question are unknown at this point, including who the conversation was with, however the complaint was deemed “credible and urgent” by intelligence community Inspector General Michael Atkinson. Atkinson’s determination of the complaint crossed a legal threshold that required him to notify congressional oversight committees.
….Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially “heavily populated” call. I would only do what is right anyway, and only do good for the USA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2019
“Another Fake News story out there – It never ends! Virtually anytime I speak on the phone to a foreign leader, I understand that there may be many people listening from various U.S. agencies, not to mention those from the other country itself. No problem!” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. “….Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially “heavily populated” call. I would only do what is right anyway, and only do good for the USA!”
The president then tweeted “Presidential Harassment,” however it was not a part of the original thread.
Atkinson testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday morning after the report became public the day before. The chairman of the committee, Adam Schiff, revealed that acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has agreed to testify in an open setting next week, despite him having previously resisted a subpoena to turn over the complaint.
“The IC IG determined that this complaint is both credible and urgent, and that it should be transmitted to Congress under the clear letter of the law. The Committee places the highest importance on the protection of whistleblowers and their complaints to Congress,” Schiff said.
