This archive report was first published on 22 September 2019.
On September 22, 2019, a bombshell whistleblower complaint was filed, alleging that President Trump had used the presidency to gain political advantage. This is the latest in a series of credible accusations against Trump, who has been accused of using the presidency to enrich himself, protect himself from law enforcement, and punish perceived adversaries.
At the center of the controversy is a whistleblower complaint that has been withheld from Congress, despite a federal law requiring the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, to relay the matter to Congress within one week. The law is clear, but Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have both suggested that there might be situations involving classified information where a president should not follow the statute.
Jeffrey Smith, the C.I.A.'s general counsel under Clinton, believes that there should still be ways to allow oversight, especially if the core issue is a commitment that the president has made to a foreign power. He cited a time when he was at the C.I.A. and a matter came up that did not technically require reporting to Congress but still raised troubling questions. After some soul-searching within the agency, it provided a briefing to the 'gang of eight' congressional leaders, and Smith believes that the same would be appropriate today.
As the whistleblower's complaint will inevitably leak, the Trump administration's recalcitrance will only make it more newsworthy. When historians review Trump's term, they will likely see a pattern of combat between an out-of-control president and various U.S. institutions, including the courts, the Civil Service, law enforcement, the intelligence community, the House, and the news media.
