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| Trump-Ukraine scandal: whistleblower complaint 'unprecedented', says intelligence chief – live | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Nancy Pelosi has started her weekly press conference by directly addressing the release of the whistleblower complaint. | |
| Recounting the whistleblower’s allegations that the White House tried to keep details of the Ukraine call from becoming public, the House speaker said, “This is a cover up.” | |
| Pelosi also explained her thinking behind deciding to launch a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump. “Last week we saw something that removed all doubt as to whether we should move forward,” she said. | |
| “When people say to me ‘what changed your mind?’ I didn’t change my mind. I have always been on the course of finding the facts.” | |
| Republicans on the House intelligence committee have repeatedly criticized Adam Schiff for exaggerating the White House memo on Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president. | |
| The Democratic chairman said this in his opening statement to underscore his argument that Trump’s actions were similar to those of a mob boss: “In essence, what the President Trump communicates is this: We’ve been very good to your country. Very good. ... I have a favor I want from you though.” | |
| Republicans chastised Schiff for not quoting directly from the memo, but it’s worth noting that the memo is not a verbatim transcript of the conversation. | |
| Reacting to the release of the whistleblower complaint, Democratic presidential candidates are calling for the House to immediately launch impeachment proceedings against Trump. | |
| Donald Trump believes he is above the law—and he will continue to commit crimes from the White House until we hold him accountable. The House needs to vote on articles of impeachment—and when it comes to the Senate, I will do what the Constitution requires. | |
| The House should cancel its break and start impeachment proceedings now. As the whistleblower made clear: Every day Trump is in office, our democracy is less safe. We can’t wait to act. | |
| Donald Trump has abused his office to benefit himself. Congress must immediately cancel its recess and begin impeachment proceedings to hold him accountable. The future of our democracy depends on it. #WhistleblowerComplaint | |
| Maguire appeared to implicitly criticize the actions of Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer who has been deeply involved in encouraging Ukraine to open an investigation into Joe Biden. | |
| Rep. Quigley gets Maguire to say that he has a problem with civilians conducting sensitive foreign policy/national security missions.This is a veiled criticism of Rudy Giuliani's role in the Ukraine matter. | |
| But when specifically asked about Giuliani’s role in this scandal, Maguire referred questions on the matter to the White House. | |
| Maguire expressed discomfort with appearing before the House intelligence committee, saying he only chose to testify because of a request from Trump. | |
| “I did not ask to be sitting here,” the acting director of national intelligence told the House committee. | |
| Maguire gave an emphatic “no” when asked if Trump had requested to know the identity of the whistleblower. | |
| The acting director of national intelligence previously said he would not divulge details of his conversations with Trump, but he made an exception to clarify that the president had not asked for the whistleblower’s name. | |
| Maguire denied that he ever threatened to resign if the White House placed confines on his testimony, contradicting a Washington Post report that he had. | |
| Maguire put out a statement similarly denying the story yesterday. | |
| Maguire told the House intelligence committee that the White House did not direct him to hold back the whistleblower complaint from Congress. | |
| Maguire: "The White House did not -- did not direct me to withhold the information. Neither did the Office of Legal Counsel ... The question came down to urgent concern, a legal definition, it doesn't mean, is it important? Is it timely? Urgent concern meant the criteria." | |
| Maguire is emphasizing that the whistleblower complaint represented an “unprecedented” situation because it dealt directly with the president, who can exert executive privilege – which is why he did not immediately hand it over to Congress. | |
| For those watching at home, here's what the debate is about: The acting DNI is saying that this whistleblower report is unprecedented because it is abt POTUS, who is not in his chain of command. He chose to seek advice about whether he was required to give it to Congress.1/ | |
| Dems are saying it should have automatically been forwarded, in accordance with the statute that says it "shall" be provided to Congress.The fact that the report was not immediately forwarded to Congress is also unprecedented, per acting DNI.2/ | |
| Under questioning from representative André Carson, Maguire acknowledged that his decision to hold back the whistleblower complaint from intelligence committees was “unprecedented.” | Under questioning from representative André Carson, Maguire acknowledged that his decision to hold back the whistleblower complaint from intelligence committees was “unprecedented.” |
| HUGE MOMENT.Rep. Carson: This is likely the first whistleblower complaint held from Congress. Is it?Acting DNI Maguire: "I believe it might be...It is unprecedented." | HUGE MOMENT.Rep. Carson: This is likely the first whistleblower complaint held from Congress. Is it?Acting DNI Maguire: "I believe it might be...It is unprecedented." |
| But Maguire pushed back against questions from Adam Schiff that implied he had mishandled the complaint. | But Maguire pushed back against questions from Adam Schiff that implied he had mishandled the complaint. |
| Maguire’s appearance before the House intelligence committee has so far centered on the handling of the whistleblower complaint, rather than the content of the complaint. | Maguire’s appearance before the House intelligence committee has so far centered on the handling of the whistleblower complaint, rather than the content of the complaint. |
| Democrats on the panel have pushed the acting director of national intelligence to specify the timeline by which he consulted with the White House and Justice Department on whether the complaint could interfere with executive privilege. | Democrats on the panel have pushed the acting director of national intelligence to specify the timeline by which he consulted with the White House and Justice Department on whether the complaint could interfere with executive privilege. |
| There has so far been little attention given to the extraordinary content of the complaint, which alleges that White House officials launched a cover-up to keep information about Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president from becoming public. | There has so far been little attention given to the extraordinary content of the complaint, which alleges that White House officials launched a cover-up to keep information about Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president from becoming public. |
| But with Maguire’s assurance that the whistleblower would be allowed to testify once certain concerns are straightened out, the content of the complaint could be the focus of a separate hearing in the future. | But with Maguire’s assurance that the whistleblower would be allowed to testify once certain concerns are straightened out, the content of the complaint could be the focus of a separate hearing in the future. |
| From the Ukrainian side, the whistleblower complaint corroborates some of the extraordinary claims of how Donald Trump put pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden’s family and the fallout from that campaign in Kyiv. | From the Ukrainian side, the whistleblower complaint corroborates some of the extraordinary claims of how Donald Trump put pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden’s family and the fallout from that campaign in Kyiv. |
| A key claim showed how Trump’s attempts to apply pressure on Zelenskiy extended beyond just withholding nearly $400m in military and other aid to Ukraine. According to the report, Trump also directed vice-president Mike Pence to cancel travel to Ukraine to attend Zelenskiy’s inauguration in May and “made clear” to other officials he did not want to meet with Zelenskiy until he saw how the Ukrainian president chose to act in office. Zelenskiy has been eager to meet one-on-one with Trump and this week invited Trump to Ukraine for what would be the first visit by a US president to the country since 2008. | A key claim showed how Trump’s attempts to apply pressure on Zelenskiy extended beyond just withholding nearly $400m in military and other aid to Ukraine. According to the report, Trump also directed vice-president Mike Pence to cancel travel to Ukraine to attend Zelenskiy’s inauguration in May and “made clear” to other officials he did not want to meet with Zelenskiy until he saw how the Ukrainian president chose to act in office. Zelenskiy has been eager to meet one-on-one with Trump and this week invited Trump to Ukraine for what would be the first visit by a US president to the country since 2008. |
| US diplomats charged with aiding Ukraine’s reform process and facilitating negotiations over the conflict with Russia were also sucked in. The whistleblower reported that Kurt Volker, a special envoy to Ukraine, as well as US ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, met with Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian political figures the day after the call to help them “navigate” the demands made by Trump. Volker has been a key intermediary between Ukraine and Russia in managing the conflict in eastern Ukraine and his work has largely risen above partisan politics to focus on peace and security issues. | US diplomats charged with aiding Ukraine’s reform process and facilitating negotiations over the conflict with Russia were also sucked in. The whistleblower reported that Kurt Volker, a special envoy to Ukraine, as well as US ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, met with Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian political figures the day after the call to help them “navigate” the demands made by Trump. Volker has been a key intermediary between Ukraine and Russia in managing the conflict in eastern Ukraine and his work has largely risen above partisan politics to focus on peace and security issues. |
| The report also sheds more light on Giuliani’s lobbying efforts in Ukraine, including his attempts to reach not only Zelenskiy and Ukrainian diplomats, but also officials like the chief of staff, Andiry Bohdan, and the acting chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivan Bakanov, both of whom are longtime confidants of the Ukrainian president. In the whistleblower complaint, Giuiliani’s meeting with Zelenskiy aide Andriy Yermak was described as a “direct follow-up” to Trump’s call with Zelenskiy. | The report also sheds more light on Giuliani’s lobbying efforts in Ukraine, including his attempts to reach not only Zelenskiy and Ukrainian diplomats, but also officials like the chief of staff, Andiry Bohdan, and the acting chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivan Bakanov, both of whom are longtime confidants of the Ukrainian president. In the whistleblower complaint, Giuiliani’s meeting with Zelenskiy aide Andriy Yermak was described as a “direct follow-up” to Trump’s call with Zelenskiy. |
| Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has issued a statement calling on Congress to “thoroughly investigate” the White House cover-up of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, as alleged in the whistleblower complaint. | Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has issued a statement calling on Congress to “thoroughly investigate” the White House cover-up of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, as alleged in the whistleblower complaint. |
| Sanders said: “This whistleblower complaint is only the tip of an iceberg of corrupt, illegal and immoral behavior by this president. What the House must do is thoroughly investigate Trump’s cover-up of this call and his other attempts to use government resources to help his re-election campaign. The public deserves to have full transparency regarding Trump’s abuse of office.” | Sanders said: “This whistleblower complaint is only the tip of an iceberg of corrupt, illegal and immoral behavior by this president. What the House must do is thoroughly investigate Trump’s cover-up of this call and his other attempts to use government resources to help his re-election campaign. The public deserves to have full transparency regarding Trump’s abuse of office.” |
| Representative Mike Turner, a Republican of Ohio, said that he thought the conversation between Trump and the Ukrainian president was “not okay.” | Representative Mike Turner, a Republican of Ohio, said that he thought the conversation between Trump and the Ukrainian president was “not okay.” |
| GOP Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio): "I want to say to the president: This is not okay. That conversation is not okay." | GOP Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio): "I want to say to the president: This is not okay. That conversation is not okay." |
| Representative Teri Sewell, a Democrat of Alabama, warned that the handling of this whistleblower complaint could have a “chilling effect” on government officials coming forward with allegations in the future. | Representative Teri Sewell, a Democrat of Alabama, warned that the handling of this whistleblower complaint could have a “chilling effect” on government officials coming forward with allegations in the future. |
| Sewell asked for confirmation that the whistleblower would be allowed to testify before Congress with the full protections against retaliation. | Sewell asked for confirmation that the whistleblower would be allowed to testify before Congress with the full protections against retaliation. |
| Noting that he does not know the whistleblower’s identity, Maguire said he was working through the necessary precautions to allow that to happen. | Noting that he does not know the whistleblower’s identity, Maguire said he was working through the necessary precautions to allow that to happen. |
| Asked directly by Adam Schiff whether the whistleblower would be allowed to testify once those concerns are straightened out, Maguire gave a definitive answer of “yes.” | Asked directly by Adam Schiff whether the whistleblower would be allowed to testify once those concerns are straightened out, Maguire gave a definitive answer of “yes.” |
| Maguire dodged a question about whether he discussed the whistleblower complaint with Trump, saying his conversations with the president were “privileged”. | Maguire dodged a question about whether he discussed the whistleblower complaint with Trump, saying his conversations with the president were “privileged”. |
| The acting director of national intelligence expressed concern that disclosing details of his conversations with Trump would “destroy my relationship with the president in intelligence matters.” | The acting director of national intelligence expressed concern that disclosing details of his conversations with Trump would “destroy my relationship with the president in intelligence matters.” |
| But Maguire clarified that the White House did not instruct him to assert executive privilege about his conversations with Trump. | But Maguire clarified that the White House did not instruct him to assert executive privilege about his conversations with Trump. |
| Nunes wrapped up his questioning of Maguire by warning the intelligence chief to “be careful” about what he says to the committee. | Nunes wrapped up his questioning of Maguire by warning the intelligence chief to “be careful” about what he says to the committee. |
| Nunes railing on leaks to the media of Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders. “Be careful what you say because they are going to use your words against you,” Nunes warns Maguire | Nunes railing on leaks to the media of Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders. “Be careful what you say because they are going to use your words against you,” Nunes warns Maguire |
| Nunes appears to be getting increasingly frustrated with Maguire. The Republican congressman began his questioning appearing quite deferential to the acting director of national intelligence, but that seems to be going to the wayside as Maguire has not aided his line of questioning apparently meant to convey Trump as a victim of an elaborate hoax. | Nunes appears to be getting increasingly frustrated with Maguire. The Republican congressman began his questioning appearing quite deferential to the acting director of national intelligence, but that seems to be going to the wayside as Maguire has not aided his line of questioning apparently meant to convey Trump as a victim of an elaborate hoax. |
| Nunes pushed Maguire on whether it was unprecedented how many of Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders had been leaked to the press. As the leader of the intelligence community, Maguire referred that political question to the White House. | Nunes pushed Maguire on whether it was unprecedented how many of Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders had been leaked to the press. As the leader of the intelligence community, Maguire referred that political question to the White House. |
| But in responding to Nunes, Maguire confirmed that about a dozen people had listened in on Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president. That could be a critical piece of information for Democrats’ investigation moving forward. | But in responding to Nunes, Maguire confirmed that about a dozen people had listened in on Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president. That could be a critical piece of information for Democrats’ investigation moving forward. |