Acting DNI Cites Executive Privilege to Explain Why He Delayed Transmission of Whistleblower Complaint to Congress

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified to Congress Thursday that the whistleblower complaint against President Trump is “unprecedented” and “unique” in that it deals with presidential transcripts, which may be protected by executive privilege.

Maguire delayed transmitting the complaint to lawmakers because of his concerns about executive privilege, the intelligence chief told the House Intelligence Committee.

“I was endeavoring to get the information to you, Mr. Chairman, but I could not forward it, as a member of the executive branch, without executive privileges being addressed,” Maguire told Democratic committee chairman Adam Schiff. “And I felt that the White House counsel was doing the best they could in order to get that.”

“It took longer than I would have liked, that’s for sure,” he added. “But we came to the conclusion yesterday with the release of the transcripts, and because the transcripts were released, then no longer was there a situation of executive privilege, and I was then free to send both the Inspector General’s cover letter and the complaint to you.

The White House released a partial transcript this week of a July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which confirmed that he asked Zelensky to help investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, over allegations that the former vice president used his position to help a Ukrainian energy company avoid a corruption probe soon after Hunter was appointed to its board of directors.

Trump on Tuesday admitted to temporarily withholding nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine intended to ward off Russian aggression, but said he did so because he wished other countries to help with aid to Ukraine.

The anonymous member of the intelligence community who filed the whistleblower complaint said White House officials moved to “lock down” the transcript by placing it in a “standalone” computer system reserved for “codeword-level intelligence information, such as covert action.”

“At no time was there any intention on my part, sir, ever, to withhold the information from you, as the chair, this committee, or the Senate Intelligence Committee,” Maguire said.

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel reviewed the complaint and decided it was not a matter of “urgent concern” required to be submitted to Congress. However, the intelligence community inspector general disagreed with that assessment, calling the complaint a “serious or flagrant problem [or] abuse” amounting to a matter of “urgent concern” in an August letter to Maguire.

“I believe that it might be,” Maguire responded when asked whether this is the first whistleblower complaint ever withheld from Congress, albeit temporarily.

“I wish I had the confidence of knowing that but for this hearing … that we would have been provided that complaint, but I don’t know that we would have ever seen that complaint,” Schiff responded.