This archive report was first published on 20 September 2019.
Published on September 20, 2019, a week-long standoff between House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has centered around a whistle-blower's complaint.
According to Schiff, Maguire told him that he had been instructed not to give the complaint to Congress, citing privileged information involving the president or those close to him.
However, Schiff has maintained that none of the previous directors of national intelligence had ever refused to provide a whistle-blower complaint to Congress, a position created in 2004.
On September 13, 2019, the House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to compel Maguire to appear before the panel, which he initially refused but later relented on Wednesday.
Maguire and Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, are at odds over how the complaint should be handled, with Atkinson indicating that the matter should be investigated and briefed to Congress.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate intelligence panel, respectively, have also called for both Maguire and Atkinson to brief them early next week to 'clear this issue up.'
Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, emphasized that the law is 'very clear' that the whistle-blower complaint must be handed over to Congress, with the director of national intelligence having a 'ministerial responsibility' to share the information.
