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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2019)
A10 NATION East Oregonian Saturday, September 21, 2019 Trump defends himself against whistleblower complaint By MARY CLARE JALONICK AND LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended himself Fri- day against a whistleblow- er’s complaint including a reported private conversa- tion he had with a foreign leader. The complaint, which the administration has refused to let Congress see, is “serious” and “urgent,” the govern- ment’s intelligence watch- dog said. But Trump said he’s done nothing wrong. Some of the whistleblow- er’s allegations appear to center on Ukraine, accord- ing to The Washington Post and The New York Times. The newspapers cited anon- ymous sources familiar with the matter. The Associated Press has not confirmed the reports. In a tweet Friday, Trump did not reference Ukraine or any other country, but said “there was nothing said wrong.” He tweeted about “the perfectly fine and respectful conversation.” The standoff raises fresh questions about the extent to which Trump’s allies are protecting the Republican president from oversight and, specifically, whether his new acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, is working with the Justice Department to shield the president from the reach of Congress. It also plunged the Trump administration into an extraordinary showdown with Congress over access to the whistleblower’s com- plaint as lawmakers press their oversight of the execu- tive branch. The administration is keeping Congress from even learning what exactly the whistleblower is alleging, but the intelligence commu- nity’s inspector general said the matter involves the “most significant” responsibilities of intelligence leadership. A lawmaker said the complaint was “based on a series of events.” The inspector general appeared before the House intelligence committee behind closed doors Thurs- day but declined, under administration orders, to reveal to members the sub- stance of the complaint. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Ca- lif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Com- mittee, said he was prepared to go to court to try to force AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-California, speaks to reporters after the panel met be- hind closed doors with national intelligence inspector gen- eral Michael Atkinson about a whistleblower complaint, at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday. the Trump administration to open up about the complaint. “The inspector general has said this cannot wait,” said Schiff, describing the administration’s blockade as an unprecedented depar- ture from law. “There’s an urgency here that I think the courts will recognize.” Schiff said he, too, could not confirm whether news- paper reports were accu- rate because the administra- tion was claiming executive privilege in withholding the complaint. But letters from the inspector general to the committee released Thurs- day said it was an “urgent” matter of “serious or flagrant abuse” that must be shared with lawmakers. The letters also made it clear that Maguire consulted with the Justice Department in deciding not to trans- mit the complaint to Con- gress in a further departure from standard procedure. It’s unclear whether the White House was also involved, Schiff said. Because the administra- tion is claiming the infor- mation is privileged, Schiff said he believes the whis- tleblower’s complaint “likely involves the president or people around him.” Trump on Thursday dis- missed it all, noting that oth- ers would be aware of the call. “Is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially ‘heav- ily populated’ call.” House Democrats are fighting the administration separately for access to wit- nesses and documents in impeachment probes. Dem- ocrats are also looking into whether Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani traveled to Ukraine to pressure the government to aid the president’s reelec- tion effort by investigating the activities of potential rival Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who worked for a Ukrainian gas company. During an interview Thursday on CNN, Giuliani was asked whether he had asked Ukraine to look into Biden. Giuliani initially said, “No, actually I didn’t,” but seconds later he said, “Of course I did.” Giuliani told CNN that Trump was unaware of his actions. “I did what I did on my own,” Giuliani said. “I told him about it afterward.” Later, Giuliani tweeted, “A President telling a Pres- elect of a well known corrupt country he better investigate corruption that affects US is doing his job.” Among the materials Democrats have sought is a transcript of a phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zel- enskiy on July 25. This new situation, stem- ming from the whistleblow- er’s Aug. 12 complaint, has led to Democratic lawmak- ers’ public concern that gov- ernment intelligence agen- cies and the recently named acting director might be under pressure to withhold information from Congress. Trump named Maguire, a former Navy official, as act- ing intelligence director last month, after the departure of Director Dan Coats, a for- mer Republican senator who often clashed with the pres- ident, and the retirement of Sue Gordon, a career profes- sional in the No. 2 position. Maguire has refused to discuss details of the whis- tleblower complaint, but he has been subpoenaed by the House panel and is expected to testify publicly next Thursday. Maguire and the inspector general, Michael Atkinson, also are expected next week at the Senate intel- ligence committee. U.S., El Salvador sign migrant asylum deal, but details vague By COLLEEN LONG AND ASTRID GALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK — The United States on Friday signed an agreement to help make one of Central Ameri- ca’s most violent countries, El Salvador, a haven for migrants seeking asylum, but provided few details about how it will unfold. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and El Salvador’s foreign min- ister, Alexandra Hill Tinoco, signed the “cooperative asy- lum agreement” in a live- streamed press conference. They lauded the two countries for working together to stem migration to the U.S. but pro- vided few details about when the agreement takes effect, who is affected and how. Instead, McAleenan, who called the agreement “a big step forward,” and Hill Tinoco discussed U.S. assistance in making El Salvador a safer and more prosperous place for its citizens. 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