The nation's top intelligence official has refused to comply with a House Intelligence Committee subpoena to provide the contents of a whistleblower complaint that a government watchdog deemed "urgent" and credible, Chairman Adam Schiff said late Tuesday, again warning that the agency may be acting to conceal high-level wrongdoing by President Donald Trump or his immediate advisers.
"The Committee's position is clear – the acting DNI can either provide the complaint as required under the law, or he will be required to come before the committee to tell the public why he is not following the clear letter of the law, including whether the White House or the attorney general are directing him to do so," Schiff said.
"He has yet to provide the complaint in response to the committee's subpoena, so I expect him to appear on Thursday, under subpoena if necessary,” he added.
Schiff sounded an alarm last week after acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire intervened to block Congress from receiving the contents of the still-secret whistleblower complaint. Maguire, according to Schiff, diverted it to the Justice Department and told the committee he would refuse to share it because it involved someone outside the intelligence community and might involve matters of confidentiality and privilege.
Schiff ripped Maguire for breaching a law that requires him to share with Congress any whistleblower complaint deemed urgent by the intelligence community's inspector general. And he said the confluence of factors led him to believe the complaint involved Trump or other senior executive branch officials.
Schiff issued a subpoena for the contents of the whistleblower complaint late Friday but warned Maguire he'd issue a subpoena for his testimony if he didn't receive the complaint by early Tuesday at the close of business.
A senior intelligence official told POLITICO last week that Maguire had complied with whistleblower statutes. Maguire's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Schiff's latest statement.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine