Members of Congress are wondering why a whistleblower complaint involving President Donald Trump wasn't shared with them.
Inspector General Michael Atkinson told the House Intelligence Committee he is not allowed to provide details of the complaint because he isn't authorized.
Late Thursday night, the Washington Post said the complaint reportedly involves Ukraine. More than two weeks prior to the complaint's filing, President Trump and the Ukrainian president spoke over the phone. House Democrats are already investigating that conversation and looking into if President Trump and his attorney used the Ukrainian government in order to benefit his reelection campaign.
On Wednesday, the Post reported the complaint had to do with a promise the president made to a foreign leader. But, they didn't say who the leader was or what "promise" the president made. The interaction prompted a U.S. intelligence official to file a formal whistleblower complaint.
In a tweet Thursday, President Trump responded by saying, "Is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially 'heavily populated' call."
The House Intelligence Committee released letters Thursday related to the whistleblower complaint. According to one letter, Atkinson investigated and found the disclosure to be credible and a matter of "urgent concern."
Under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, the director of national intelligence is required to forward complaints like this to the congressional intelligence committees. But acting Director Joseph Maguire never did that.
Maguire has defended his refusal to share details of the complaint with lawmakers, despite being subpoenaed to do so. In a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, his office's general counsel said the complaint involves "stakeholders within the Executive Branch" and therefore "did not relate to any 'intelligence activity' under the DNI's supervision."
On Thursday, Schiff told reporters the Justice Department was involved in the decision to withhold the information from Congress, but that he didn't know if the White House was involved.
Maguire has agreed to testify publicly before the House Intelligence Committee on Sept. 26.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
