Adam Schiff got Acting DNI Joseph Maguire to admit that Trump’s claim that the whistleblower is a political hack is not true.
Here was the exchange:
Schiff: Director, you don’t believe the whistleblower is a political hack, do you?
Maguire: I don’t know who the whistleblower is, Mr. Chairman. I’ve done my utmost to make sure to protect his anonymity.
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Schiff: That doesn’t sound much of a defense of a whistleblower, someone who did everything right. You don’t believe the whistleblower is a political hack, do you?
Maguire: I believe as I said before, Mr. Chairman, I believe the whistleblower is operating in good faith and followed the law.
Schiff: They couldn’t be in good faith if they were acting as a political hack, could they?
Maguire: Mr. Chairman, my job is to support and lead the entire intelligence community. That individual works for me. Therefore it is my job to make sure that I support and defend that person.
Schiff: You don’t have any reason to accuse them of disloyalty to our country or suggest they’re beholden to some other country?
Maguire: Sir, absolutely not. I believe that the whistleblower followed the steps every step of the way, however, the statute was one in this situation, involving the president of the United States who is not in the intelligence community or matters underneath my supervisor, did not meet the criteria for urgent concern.
Video:
Adam Schiff got the acting DNI to admit that the #whistleblowercomplaint is not a political hack. pic.twitter.com/6QfLMtJa5m
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 26, 2019
The exchange shows why it is important for lawyers to do the questioning of Trump officials. Adam Schiff is a former prosecutor. He knew exactly where he was going, and understood how to get Mcguire to answer his question. It took some tooth pulling because Mcguire is only an acting director, and he clearly is trying not to say anything that will cost him his job.
Trump has been claiming that the whistleblower is political hack, but even his own DNI admitted to the country that the president’s claims aren’t true, and that unlike Trump, the whistleblower is following the law.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
