Concerned about the country? Preet Bharara and Anne Milgram will make sense of the breaking news story about President Trump’s promise to an unknown foreign leader that prompted a whistleblower complaint that involves Ukraine. To listen, become a member of the CAFE Insider and join the conversation about issues central to our democracy. Thank you for supporting our work!
No sign of the news cycle slowing down, and we’re on top of it. Let’s dive in!
On Thursday evening, The Washington Post reported that a whistleblower complaint that Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson has assessed as “credible” and “urgent” — but that the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) won’t disclose to the House Intelligence Committee — centers around Ukraine and a “promise” that President Trump made to an unknown foreign leader.
President Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky two weeks before the complaint was filed. ABC News, citing “multiple sources familiar with the matter,” confirmed that Trump’s conversation with the foreign leader involved Ukraine, noting that a readout of the call released by the White House said that Trump congratulated Zelensky on his recent election and “the two also spoke about ‘investigations into corruption cases that have hampered interaction between Ukraine and the U.S.A.’”
Earlier this month three House Committees launched an investigation into reports that for nearly two years, the President and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, have pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for politically motivated reasons. The Committees also intend to investigate whether recent reports that the Trump administration is threatening to withhold security assistance from Ukraine are linked to Trump’s alleged efforts to coerce Ukraine’s President to launch these investigations. In May, Giuliani told the New York Times that there was “nothing illegal” about his actions on behalf of the President, adding that they were “meddling” in an investigation and not an election, which they “have a right to do.”
In a follow-up on Thursday afternoon, The New York Times reported that the whistleblower complaint “was related to a series of actions that goes beyond any single discussion with a foreign leader.”
Earlier this week, General Counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Jason Klitenic had sent a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff stating that despite Schiff’s subpoena, Acting DNI Joseph Maguire would not testify nor immediately provide the whistleblower complaint to the Committee. In a turn of events on Wednesday, Schiff announced that Maguire had agreed to testify on the matter before the Committee on September 26.
The extent to which Maguire will answer the lawmakers’ questions remains to be seen. Klitenic’s stated rationale for DNI’s initial refusal to comply with Schiff’s subpoena was that the complaint did not qualify as an “urgent concern” pursuant to the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3033(k)(5)(C), because the complaint concerned “conduct by someone outside the Intelligence Community and did not relate to any intelligence activity under the DNI’ s supervision.” Klitenic further wrote that the complaint “involves confidential and potentially privileged matters relating to the interests of other stakeholders within the Executive Branch” and that the DNI would “necessarily require appropriate consultations.”
Robert Litt, who served as DNI’s general counsel wrote in Lawfare that Klitenic’s correspondence was “likely to have been written in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC),” and that “it’s not clear how much of [the] analysis was ODNI’s and how much was OLC’s.” Meanwhile, Julia Ainsley of NBC News tweeted: “A DOJ official says it was the Office of Legal Counsel that advised DNI not to disclose the whistleblower complaint to Congress. No word yet whether Barr was directly involved.” And CNN has similarly reported that the White House and the Justice Department have advised DNI that the complaint is “outside intelligence activities as covered by laws governing intelligence whistleblowers.”
Read the Inspector General Michael Atkinson’s letters to the House Intel Committee.
This is a developing story that will be covered in-depth on Monday’s episode of the CAFE Insider podcast. To listen, sign up for a 2-week free trial, and join the conversation.
Manhattan D.A. subpoenaed Trump’s taxes
The New York Times reported on Monday that prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office subpoenaed Trump’s long-time accounting firm, Mazars USA, last month, demanding eight years of Trump’s and the Trump Organization’s federal and state tax returns. The subpoena was issued soon after the Office opened a criminal investigation into the role the President and his family business played in hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. Prosecutors are looking into whether the Trump Organization falsely accounted for the reimbursements to Michael Cohen, the President’s former personal attorney—who allegedly delivered the payment to Daniels at Trump’s behest—as a legal expense. On Thursday, Trump’s legal team filed a suit in federal court against Mazars and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance to block the release of the tax returns, arguing that a sitting President is immune from criminal investigation.
Lewandowski under oath
In Corey Lewandowski’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday—the first hearing as part of the inquiry into impeaching Trump —the former Trump campaign manager publicly admitted that he lied to the media. Lawmakers pointed out that Lewandowski told Special Counsel Robert Mueller under the oath that Trump had instructed him twice to tell then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to curtail Mueller’s investigation of Trump, and Lewandowski failed to do so. However, in an interview on MSNBC in February, Lewandowski said: “I don’t ever remember the President ever asking me to get involved with Jeff Sessions or the Department of Justice in any way, shape or form ever.” Pressed by House Judiciary Committee majority counsel Barry Berke to reconcile his contradictory statements, Lewandowski answered: “I have no obligation to be honest with the media because they’re just as dishonest as anyone else.”
On the evening before the Committee’s hearing, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to Chairman Nadler stating the White House was claiming immunity over Rick Dearborn, the former Trump campaign adviser and ex-White House deputy chief of staff, and Rob Porter, the former White House secretary, preventing them from testifying.
Bolton’s replacement
President Trump named Robert C. O’Brien, the State Department’s Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, as his new national security adviser on Wednesday following John Bolton’s abrupt departure last week. In contrast to Bolton’s unilateralist approach to foreign policy, O’Brien has emphasized the importance of U.S. alliances and American global leadership in his past writing. O’Brien is a founding partner of the Los Angeles-based law firm Larson O’Brien, and served as a national security adviser to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Calls for Kavanaugh’s impeachment
New details revealed by The New York Times about sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his time as a Yale undergrad student have raised a host of questions about the sufficiency of the FBI’s 2018 investigation into his alleged misconduct and the appropriate response to the possibility that Kavanaugh lied during his confirmation hearings. Some lawmakers, including several 2020 presidential hopefuls, are now calling for an impeachment inquiry. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley introduced a resolution on Tuesday asking the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether Kavanaugh should be impeached. However, Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler has dismissed the idea, telling WNYC “we have our hands full with impeaching the President right now and that’s going to take up our limited resources and time for a while.”
Revoking California’s waiver
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Trump announced that he was revoking California’s authority to set its own vehicle emission standards in an attempt to curb the State’s influence over the car industry. California’s authority is derived from a waiver under the Clean Air Act that allows it to set more stringent standards than the federal government’s. California’s standards have been adopted by more than a dozen states and are the de-facto nationwide standard. Trump alleged that having a single federal emissions standard that is significantly lower than the one set by the Obama administration would decrease car prices and improve vehicle safety. In response, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the State would sue the Trump administration if it go through with the plan to revoke the waiver.
Ed Buck’s arrest
Prominent Democratic donor and LGBTQ activist Ed Buck was arrested Tuesday night after a man overdosed on methamphetamines at his Los Angeles apartment last week. Buck, who is charged with felony counts of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamines, and maintaining a drug house, faces a maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison if convicted. Prosecutors say Buck injected a 37-year-old man with methamphetamine on September 11, and while the man survived, two other men have died from overdoses at Buck’s apartment in the past two years.
Further reading
“DOJ and FBI review draft report on surveillance and Trump campaign investigation,” CNN, 9/13/2019
“DOJ cites Dems’ mixed-up impeachment messages to undercut House probe,” Politico, 9/13/2019 (DOJ’s court filing)
“Judge grills prosecutors and considers tossing guilty verdicts in Mueller-tied lobbying case,” CNN, 9/12/2019
“Justice Dept. to Honor Team That Worked on Kavanaugh Confirmation Process,” The New York Times, 9/12/19
“Elaine Chao Investigated by House Panel for Possible Conflicts,” The New York Times, 9/16/19
“Appeals court revives foreign corruption suit against Trump,” Politico, 9/13/2019
“Purdue Pharma, drugmaker accused of fueling the opioid epidemic, files for bankruptcy,” The Washington Post, 9/15/2019
“NY finds $1B in hidden transfers by family behind OxyContin,” The AP, 9/13/2019
“Appeals court rules parents of slain DNC staffer can sue Fox News,” PBS Newshour, 9/13/2019
Stay Informed,
Adrienne Cobb & the CAFE team: Tamara Sepper, Carla Pierini, Julia Doyle, Calvin Lord, David Kurlander, and Aaron Dalton
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