Published 15:26 IST, September 27th 2019
White House and DoJ found out about whistleblower around the same time
The White House & Department of Justice realized a CIA official's concerns about Trump around the same time when the individual lodged a whistleblower complaint
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According to a US official, The White House and Department of Justice realized a CIA official's concerns about US President Donald Trump simultaneously when the individual lodged a whistleblower complaint which has since become the main focus of an impeachment inquiry. The intelligence official formally lodged a complaint about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine with the CIA which then alerted the White House and Justice Department. The intelligence official raised another issue with the intelligence community's inspector general, a process that permitted the individual with more legal protections. The complaint of the inspector general which focused on Trump's dealings with Ukraine remained private. The information about the whistleblower was already making its way through the administration on August 14. The White House counsel John Eisenberg and a CIA official circumspect the head of DOJ's national security division about the original complaint to the CIA.
The administration blocks Congress from sifting through the complaint
The national security division is headed by John Demers who went to the White House the next day to investigate the materials associated with the call. He immediately alerted the people within the justice department but it was not clear specifically who he told. Demers had talks with other Justice Department officials about how to deal with the CIA complaint according to a person familiar with the matter. It was during that time when the Justice Department also received a notification from the intelligence community’s inspector general about a whistleblower complaint. The timeline raises questions about how the White House and the Justice Department dealt with the complaint. The administration initially blocked Congress from sifting through the complaint referring to presidential privilege and released an edited version of the report to lawmakers this week after the impeachment inquiry had begun.
The complaint accuses the White House of requesting to block the details of the call
The complaint was released by The White House intelligence committee on Thursday. The nine-page letter details come with a July 25 phone call in which Trump forces Ukraine's President to help investigate the baseless corruption charges against Democratic rival Joe Biden. The complaint also accuses the White House of requesting to block the details of the call by moving it onto a very secure and classified computerized system. The complaint also contains information about the interactions between Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, and Ukrainian officials. A person who well knows the matter with sufficient knowledge of the case confirmed that the whistleblower was a CIA officer. Mark Zaid, the whistleblower's attorney said putting up the details about the individual places the person in a dangerous situation both professionally and personally. The questions were referred to the inspector general by the CIA.
(With AP inputs)
11:44 IST, September 27th 2019