That’s A Wrap!
On Thursday, acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified before the House Intelligence Committee about a whistleblower complaint that has alleged that President Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
Committee members questioned Maguire for more than three hours. Many of the questions focused on process — how and why the whistleblower complaint was initially not turned over to Congress. There was also discussion of some of the allegations of the whistleblower’s letter itself, including whether the White House tried to hide records of the president’s conversation with Zelensky or asked for foreign assistance in a U.S. election. Maguire also testified that he doesn’t know who the whistleblower is but that he thinks he or she is acting in good faith.
This is a rapidly evolving story and there is still a lot we don’t know, including the identity of the whistleblower, but here are some headlines and key takeaways from the live blog crew:
- Micah: Whistleblower Complaint Says Trump Abused Office And Tried To Cover Up Ukraine Call
subhead: Also, the acting Director of National Intelligence testified. - Amelia: Maguire Defends His Handling Of An “Unprecedented” Complaint, But Won’t Say If He Talked to Trump
- Lee: Maguire Dodges The Most Important Questions: Is There Truth To The Whistleblower Complaint, And Did The President Try To Squelch That Complaint? Everything Else Is Commentary.
- Nathaniel: Democrats Stir The Pot In Hearing — And Maybe That’s All They Need To Do
- Chad: Whistleblower Complaint Makes The Maguire Hearing A Footnote On A Historic Day
- Chris: Democrats Try To Establish A Cover-Up, Save Substance Of The Complaint For Final Minutes
- Clare: Trump’s Director Of National Intelligence Grilled By Democrats Over ‘Unprecedented’ Whistleblower Complaint