A whistleblower complaint alleging Donald Trump sought to pressure the president of Ukraine in an official government call to investigate a key political rival has been made public, just days after the House opened a formal impeachment hearing against the president over those claims.
A redacted version of the document – which Democrats have described as “explosive” and “deeply disturbing” – was made public Thursday morning, and claims that the White House may have regularly moved records of the president’s calls into a keyword classified database for political reasons, instead of serious national security concerns.
Acting national intelligence director Joseph Maguire has testified to the House Intelligence Committee about his handling of the complaint, and has called the situation “unprecedented”.
In case you missed our write up on the latest comments out of Ukraine:
Joe Biden's son Hunter 'did not violate anything', says Ukraine prosecutor at heart of Trump scandal
A top former Ukrainian prosecutor says Hunter Biden, son of Democratic 2020 frontrunner Joe Biden, broke no Ukrainian laws in his business dealings in the former Soviet country.With the hearing now over, here are some key highlights from this morning's testimony from the acting director of national security.
•Mr Maguire called the case they were discussing was "unique and unprecedented" compared to other whistleblower complaints he has known before. Because of that unique nature, Mr Maguire said he did not immediately hand over the complaint to Congress.
•Democrats, meanwhile, questioned the motive behind that decision anyhow. Mr Maguire said that the complaint details were credible — but refused to say that the issue should be investigated.
•Mr Maguire admitted that the text supplied by the White House was consistent to the information in the whistleblower complaint.
•The acting spy chief said that the conversation between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian president was the type of conversation that is "typically subject to executive privilege."
From the final moments of the hearing this morning:
"This is democracy. This is democracy," Mr Schiff says concluding the open testimony regarding the whistleblower allegations.
Mr Schiff was making the point that Mr Trump breaking the law and using the force of the American government to pressure the Ukrainian president is not the Democracy envisioned by America's founding fathers.
But, the messy nature of what is taking place now in Congress is, in fact, democracy, he said.
Mr Maguire says that the complaint does not involve "election interference".
As he makes this claim, Mr Schiff cuts him off and says that the conversation itself was about "election interference".
"Chairman the horse has left the barn," Mr Maguire says amid questioning about his decision not to disclose the complaint earlier — noting that the committee now has the whistleblower complaint, the readout of the phone call, and other documents.
Reaction to the whistleblower complaint from senator John Cornyn — a top Republican in the Senate.
He does not mention that the complaint hews very closely to the readout of the call between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian president, which the White House provided.
The Washington Post reports that the former top prosecutor in Ukraine — whose allegations were a main concern of dirt digging efforts by Rudy Giuliani — says Hunter Biden did not break Ukrainian laws.
"From the perspective of Ukrainian legislation, he did not violate anything," Yuri Lutsenko told that newspaper in his first interview since the whistleblower complaint was disclosed publicly.
A recent comment from a former aid to John McCain and Mitt Romney, puts the broader perspective on the House's decision to move forward on impeachment into focus.
The Senate likely won't vote to remove Mr Trump, but Republicans refusing to vote the president out could have major impacts, Mike Murphy tells MSNBC.
"I'm telling you -- these Senate Republicans, should the Democrats vote impeachment… are going to be pinned down to a yes-no answer,” Mr Murphy said. “And if they provide cover for Donald Trump for this, a clear violation of his role as president, we’re going to lose Colorado with Cory Gardner. We’re going to lose Maine with Susan Collins. We’re going to lose Arizona with Martha McSally. And the Democrats will put the Senate very much in play.”
Mr Maguire, responding to Democratic congressman Joaquin Castro, says that the whistleblower complaint and the readout of the call provided by the White House are very similar.
The statement comes just after congressman Mike Turner, a Republican, said they are markedly different.
"The whistleblower's complaint is in alignment with what was released yesterday by the president," Mr Maguire says.
Senator Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor this morning:
Ms Pelosi has concluded her press conference, and walked out to shouted questions on whether she is considering establishing a select committee for the impeachment inquiry.
She did not answer.
Ms Pelosi notes that the latest scandal broke publically on 17 September — a day known as "Constitution Day" in the United States, when the country celebrates the document that she says Mr Trump betrayed.
Ms Pelosi says that Mr Trump believes that his "lawlessness" is "a virtue".
"We are at a different level of lawlessness that is self-evident to the American people," Ms Pelosi says.
"Speak truth. But know truth. And believe me I am very prayerful about this. This is a heavy decision to go down this path. For some people it was easier, they thought these transgressions to be more self evident. I thought we needed more facts", Ms Pelosi says.
"It is not the role of the president to shake down" foreign leaders for political purposes, Ms Pelosi says.
"My understanding is it may have happened before," Ms Pelosi says, after calling White House efforts to keep the call records secret.
"The president has been engaged in a cover up all along. Why else would he be obstructing the courts as they have ruled in our favour to release the information" from Deutsche Bank, she says, while also mentioning tax records and other documents sought by Democrats.
Ms Pelosi says that the director of national intelligence "broke the law" by not handing over the whistleblower report immediately.
Mr Maguire, earlier today, called his decision not to hand the report over immediately "unprecedented".
"The very idea that the subject of the complaint is who he went to ... is wrong," she says, noting Mr Maguire apparently discussed the whistleblower report.
Ms Pelosi, during her weekly press briefing, has responded to allegations in the whistleblower complaint that the White House sought to place the transcript of the phone call in question on a highly classified server.
"This is a cover up. This is a cover up," Ms Pelosi says.
