Reuters
President Trump.
- The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) added fuel this week to suggestions that a whistleblower complaint it is shielding from Congress involves President Donald Trump or senior White House officials.
- The Intelligence Community Inspector General (IC IG) concluded this month that the complaint is credible and a matter of "urgent concern." Federal law requires the ODNI to forward such complaints to the intelligence committees.
- But in a letter to House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff on Tuesday, the ODNI's general counsel, Jason Klitenic, said that after consulting with the Justice Department, the agency decided the complaint doesn't meet the definition of "urgent concern" under the law.
- In addition to flagging the complaint with the Justice Department - which is unusual in and of itself - Maguire also refused to comment on whether the White House was involved in the decision to withhold the complaint.
- Schiff said on CBS
News ' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Maguire said he was not turning over the complaint even though federal law mandates it is "because he is being instructed not to" and is "answering to a higher authority." - Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) dropped a big hint this week that a whistleblower complaint it's withholding from Congress involves President Donald Trump or senior administration officials.
The complaint was filed in mid-August by someone whose identity is being protected by the Intelligence Community Inspector General (IC IG). The IC IG concluded this month that the complaint is credible and a matter of "urgent concern."
Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, subpoenaed Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, to turn over the complaint last week, noting that Maguire was required to turn the document over to Congress under federal law but had not done so.
But in a letter to Schiff on Tuesday, the ODNI's general counsel said the agency overruled the IC IG and determined the complaint doesn't meet the definition of "urgent concern" under the law. The definition concerns serious allegations related to "the funding, administration or operation of an intelligence activity within the responsibility and authority" of the DNI, ODNI general counsel Jason Klitenic wrote in the letter.
"This complaint, however, concerned conduct by someone outside the Intelligence Community and did not relate to any 'intelligence activity' under the DNI's supervision," Klitenic continued. For that reason, after consulting with the Justice Department, the agency concluded it was not required to forward the complaint to the intelligence committees.
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Schiff said Tuesday that Klitenic's letter adds to concerns that the ODNI is acting to shield Trump or someone in his inner circle from public scrutiny.
In addition to flagging the complaint with the Justice Department - which is unusual in and of itself for matters like these - Maguire also refused to comment on whether the White House was involved in the decision to withhold the complaint from the House intel committee, and whether it relates to any matters being investigated by the panel.
Schiff said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Maguire said he was not turning over the complaint even though federal law mandates it is "because he is being instructed not to" and is "answering to a higher authority" on the matter.
"This involved a higher authority, someone above the DNI," Schiff said. "Well, there are only a few people above the DNI."
Schiff said this week that since Maguire is refusing to turn over the complaint, he must appear before the committee on Thursday to further explain his decision.
But Klitenic said in his letter to Schiff that the agency believes it would be "premature" for Maguire to testify before the committee on Thursday. He added that Maguire isn't available on such short notice and is still weighing how to respond to Schiff's demand.