Whistleblower Complaint Filed Over Trump Phone Call

House Intelligence chief wants to see 'urgent' complaint
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2019 5:04 AM CDT
Updated Sep 19, 2019 6:43 AM CDT
Whistleblower Complains After Trump 'Promise' to Leader
President Trump boards Air Force One at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in San Diego, Calif.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A phone conversation between President Trump and a foreign leader alarmed an intelligence official so much that they filed a formal whistleblower complaint, sources tell the Washington Post. The sources say the complaint filed with the inspector general of the intelligence community involved a "promise" Trump made to the leader. House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff says the inspector general, Michael Atkinson, "determined that this complaint is both credible and urgent" and should, by law, be turned over to congressional intelligence committees. But he was overruled by acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who has refused to provide Schiff's committee with a copy of the complaint, NBC reports.

"The committee places the highest importance on the protection of whistleblowers and their complaints to Congress," Schiff said Wednesday evening. He said Maguire, who argues that the complaint doesn't need to be turned over to Congress because it involves the conduct of somebody outside the intelligence agencies, has agreed to testify before the committee next week. Atkinson is scheduled to appear before the committee in a closed-door session Thursday. The whistleblower's complaint was filed Aug. 12, but it's not clear which foreign leader it refers to. CNN reports that according to White House records, the five foreign leaders Trump spoke to in the five weeks before the complaint included Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. He also spoke to the Emir of Qatar and the prime ministers of Pakistan and the Netherlands. (More President Trump stories.)

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