NPR BREAKING NEWS: Whistleblower: Officials Told To 'Lock Down' All Records Of Ukraine Call.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Whistleblower: Officials Told To 'Lock Down' All Records Of Ukraine Call.

September 26, 201910:10 AM ET

BRIAN NAYLOR

Twitter

House intelligence committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., arrives for a news conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. His committee has released a whistleblower complaint raising concern about President Trump.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 11:58 a.m. ET

A government whistleblower received information from "multiple" government officials that President Trump "is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election."

An unclassified version of the whistleblower's complaint was made public Thursday by the House intelligence committee. It says that the president's lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, "is a central figure in this effort. Attorney General [William] Barr appears to be as well."

The complaint centers on Trump's July 25 call with the president of Ukraine, an account of which was released Wednesday by the White House.

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The whistleblower says that during the call, Trump "sought to pressure the Ukrainian leader to take actions to help the president's 2020 reelection bid."

The White House memorandum of the call shows that Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for "a favor" — to investigate political rival and former Vice President Joe Biden.

According to the whistleblower, White House officials were "deeply disturbed by what had transpired in the phone call."

The complainant said that afterward, "senior White House officials had intervened to lock down all records of the phone call," which the whistleblower says "underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call."

The whistleblower said this "was not the first time" that a presidential transcript was placed into a "codeword-level system solely for the purpose of protecting politically sensitive — rather than national security sensitive — information."

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Translation: White House officials handled materials related to the call differently from the way they usually do, adding additional security to restrict the circle of people who might be able to view them.

That is likely to raise questions about just what other information might be so protected relating to Trump's other conversations with foreign leaders.

POLITICS

READ: House Intel Releases Whistleblower Complaint On Trump-Ukraine Call

The White House issued a statement on Thursday calling this situation unremarkable.

"Nothing has changed with the release of this complaint, which is nothing more than a collection of third-hand accounts of events and cobbled-together press clippings — all of which shows nothing improper," the statement said.

At least one Republican lawmaker disagrees. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, who is not running for reelection next year, wrote this on Twitter:

"There is a lot in the whistleblower complaint that is concerning. We need to fully investigate all of the allegations addressed in the letter, and the first step is to talk to the whistleblower."

NPR BREAKING NEWS: READ: House Intel Releases Whistleblower Complaint On Trump-Ukraine Call.

President Trump speaks during a meeting at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday in New York City.

Evan Vucci/AP

Updated at 9:24 a.m. ET

A whistleblower filed a complaint on Aug. 12 about President Trump's conversation with a foreign leader, ultimately setting off a formal impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives.

The complaint cites "more than half a dozen officials" who gave an account of Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on July 25. The whistleblower, who admits not having been directly involved with the call, says the person was "deeply concerned" about a potential abuse of the law.

Read the complaint here. The intelligence community inspector general alerted acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire on Aug. 26. Read that letter here. Maguire is testifying before the House intelligence committee on Thursday.

BODY OF THE COMPLAINT IS BELOW:

August 12, 2019

The Honorable Richard Burr
Chairman

Select Committee on Intelligence
United States Senate

The Honorable Adam Schiff

Chairman

Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
United States House of Representatives

Dear Chairman Burr and Chairman Schiff:

I am reporting an ?urgent concern? in accordance with the procedures outlined in 50 U.S.C.
This letter is UNCLASSIFIED when separated from the attachment.

In the course of my of?cial duties, I have received information from multiple U.S.

Government of?cials that the President of the United States is using the power of his of?ce to
solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election. This interference includes,
among other things, pressuring a foreign country to investigate one of the President?s main
domestic political rivals. The President?s personal lawyer, Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, is a central
?gure in this effort. Attorney General Barr appears to be involved as well.

0 Over the past four months, more than half a dozen U.S. of?cials have informed me of
various facts related to this effort. The information provided herein was relayed to me in
the course of of?cial interagency business. It is routine for U.S. officials with
responsibility for a particular regional or functional portfolio to share such information
with one another in order to inform policymaking and analysis.

0 I was not a direct witness to most of the events described. However, I found my
colleagues" accounts of these events to be credible because, in almost all cases, multiple
of?cials recounted fact patterns that were consistent with one another. In addition, a
variety of information consistent with these private accounts has been reported publicly.

I am deeply concerned that the actions described below constitute ?a serious or ?agrant
problem, abuse, or violation of law or Executive Order? that ?does not include differences of
opinions concerning public policy matters,? consistent with the de?nition of an ?urgent concern?
in 50 U.S.C. I am therefore ful?lling my duty to report this information,
through proper legal channels, to the relevant authorities.

0 I am also concerned that these actions pose risks to U.S. national security and undermine
the U.S. Government?s efforts to deter and counter foreign interference in U.S. elections.

1
UNCLASSIFIED

NPR BREAKING NEWS: Pentagon Letter Undercuts Trump Assertion On Delaying Aid To Ukraine Over Corruption.

Heard on All Things Considered

DAVID WELNA

Twitter

Earlier this week, President Trump cited concerns about corruption as his rationale for blocking security assistance to Ukraine. But in a letter sent to four congressional committees in May of this year and obtained by NPR, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood informs lawmakers that he has "certified that the Government of Ukraine has taken substantial actions to make defense institutional reforms for the purposes of decreasing corruption [and] increasing accountability."

The certification was required by law for the release of $250 million in security assistance for Ukraine. That aid was blocked by the White House until Sept. 11 and has since been released. It must be spent before Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

(CLICK ON LINE BELOW TO READ THE LETTER.- DAVID.)

Read the letter here.

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