- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
Washington (CNN) - A communication between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and a world leader caused a whistleblower complaint that is now at the center of a dispute between the director of national intelligence and Congress, a source told CNN familiar with the case.
The concern was first revealed by The Washington Post, which reported that an American intelligence community official was so upset about a "promise" that Trump made to a foreign leader who filed a formal complaint of reporting irregularities before the inspector general of the intelligence community, citing two former American officials familiar with the matter. CNN has not independently confirmed the details of a "promise" made to the foreign leader.
The source who spoke with CNN did not reveal the foreign leader with whom Trump allegedly spoke.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. The White House has not responded to a request for comments from CNN.
The details of the complaint are shrouded in mystery, even when the fight between the House Intelligence Committee and the interim director of national intelligence has been brought to the forefront by committee chairman Adam Schiff. Although he is not aware of the details of the complaint, the California Democrat wrote in a letter to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence last week that, from what he has deduced, believes that “the misconduct in question involves the president of the United States and / or other senior officials of the White House or the Administration. ”
It is the first time that Trump's direct involvement in the complaint is reported, according to The Washington Post. The complaint was filed on August 12. White House records show that Trump had spoken or interacted with five foreign leaders in the previous five weeks, the newspaper reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin; North Korean leader Kim Jong Un; the prime minister of Pakistan; the prime minister of the Netherlands and the Emir of Qatar. However, it is not clear that the communication that inspired the complaint was with any of those leaders.
A lawyer representing the complainant declined to comment to the newspaper.
The complaint has led to a confrontation between Congress and the acting director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who has refused to hand it over to the Lower House Intelligence Commission. Maguire agreed to testify next week in an open session before the commission after refusing to meet Tuesday's deadline to submit the complaint of the complainant, which the inspector general of the intelligence community considered "credible and urgent."
Schiff announced Wednesday that Maguire will appear at 9 am on September 26. The California Democrat also announced that the intelligence inspector general will inform the commission on Thursday behind closed doors about how he handled the complaint.
On Tuesday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence sent letters to Schiff and the Republican representative Devin Nunes of California, saying that not only Maguire refused to provide the requested information, since the complaint “does not meet the definition of 'urgent concern '”, But also that it would not appear before the commission as scheduled because“ it is not available with such short notice ”.
But by Wednesday, the two sides seemed to have reached a compromise, if only at the time of the hearing, setting the stage for what could be a contentious public hearing. Maguire is likely to be questioned by lawmakers concerned that the administration has violated the protections of the complainants and whether President Donald Trump or senior White House officials were involved in the case.
Schiff said Monday that he does not know the exact nature of the complaint, as he has not yet received the details of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, nor does he know the identity of the complainant. He has argued that Maguire has taken unprecedented measures to retain information from Congress.
According to the letter from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence sent to Schiff on Tuesday, obtained by CNN, the complaint does not involve anyone in the intelligence community but rather "stakeholders within the Executive Branch." As a result, his lawyer argues, the complaint is not of "urgent concern" for the office.
The office wrote that it plans to work with the House of Representatives Intelligence Commission, but since members of the executive branch are involved, there are "confidential and potentially privileged matters" that "will necessarily require appropriate consultations."
In response, Schiff said in a statement on Tuesday: “The IC IG determined that the complaint is credible and urgent, so the commission must act quickly. The position of the commission is clear: the interim ID can file the complaint as required by law, or you will be asked to appear before the commission to tell the public why you are not following the clear letter of the law, even if the White House or the secretary of Justice are ordering you to do so, to file the complaint in response to the citation of the citation, so I hope it will appear on Thursday, under citation if necessary. ”
While Schiff seemed willing to work with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on the date of the Maguire hearing, he said the complaint should still be submitted to Congress.
“The IC IG determined that this complaint is credible and urgent, and that it must be transmitted to Congress under the clear letter of the law. The committee attaches the greatest importance to the protection of whistleblowers and their complaints to Congress, ”he said Wednesday.
Schiff demands that Maguire submit the “determination of the inspector general of community intelligence” and all records related to the participation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in this matter, including all correspondence with other actors of the Executive Branch like the White House, ”according to the press release last week from the congressman's office.
Schiff also argued that Maguire had acted outside the authority of his office in consulting with the Department of Justice on the complaint, as it involved "another entity within the Executive Branch in handling a complaint of complainants."
Schiff declined to say if he has been contacted by the complainant or his legal representation, saying he would not want to put them in danger.
A source familiar with the case told CNN that the Complaint Protection Act of the Intelligence Community probably offers only one real way forward: bypass the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and deliver the complaint directly to the commission.
That route can also be complicated, the source warned, noting that it could pose classification problems linked to the transmission of the material.
Alex Marquardt and Manu Raju of CNN contributed to this report.