A second intelligence official is weighing up whether to file a formal whistleblower complaint about President Trump's dealings with U...
A second intelligence official is weighing up whether to file a formal whistleblower complaint about President Trump's dealings with Ukraine, The New York Times reports.
The newspaper's bombshell report was published Friday night, with the claims coming from two inside people who have been briefed on the matter.
The pair say the official has more direct information about Trump's dealings with the Ukraine than the first whistleblower, whose complaint kick-started the current impeachment investigation.
The first whistleblower - known to be a CIA agent - lodged a formal complaint with Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson on August 12 regarding Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During that conversation, Trump asked Zelensky whether officials could look into why a Ukranian prosecutor was fired while they were investigating an energy company upon which Joe Biden's son, Hunter, served as a board member.
Detractors of the President have widely interpreted the call as an attempt to 'dig up dirt' on Joe Biden - who is likely to be his Democratic rival in the 2020 Election.
If a second intelligence official decides to lodge a complaint it could spell bad news for Trump and his allies, who have repeatedly called into question the credibility of the first whistleblower.
It has been reported that the original whistleblower only had second or third-hand information about the phone call.
Trump's supporters have also claimed the whistleblower may also harbor a political bias, following reports that they are a registered Democrat.
Earlier this week, there were further accusations that they had interactions with the Democratic head of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, before they officially lodged their whistleblower complaint on August 12.
According to Friday's report in The New York Times, the intelligence official who is now considering lodging a formal complaint has allegedly already been interviewed by Inspector General Michael Atkinson to verify statements made in the first complaint.
The news comes after a trio of House Democratic committees subpoenaed the White House for information about President Trump's July phone call with the president of Ukraine.
A four-page letter issued by three committee chairmen Friday evening demanded the White House hand over the information by October 18. In the letter, they cite Trump's comment in a press conference this week that 'I always cooperate,' although Trump today when asked about cooperating said he would do whatever White House lawyers tell him to do.
They told the recipient, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney that failure to comply 'shall constitute evidence of obstruction.' The letter was signed first by House Oversight Committee Rep. Elijah Cummings, who clashed with Trump over the president's criticism of his home town of Baltimore.
'We deeply regret that President Trump has put us—and the nation—in this position, but his actions have left us with no choice but to issue this subpoena,' they wrote.
The move came hours after the same chairmen demanded documentation from Vice President Mike Pence about his calls and meetings with the Ukrainian government – as President Trump fended off an impeachment inquiry.
Pence features prominently in a whistle-blower's complaint. The person, identified as a CIA officer, cites the sudden cancellation of a planned trip by Pence to attend the inauguration of President Volodymyr Zelenksy in Kiev as part of an alleged pressure tactic to benefit the Trump-Pence reelection campaign.
The inquiry was announced by the chairs of the House Oversight, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence committees, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
'Recently, public reports have raised questions about any role you may have played in conveying or reinforcing the President's stark message to the Ukrainian President,' the chairmen write in a joint letter.
'The reports include specific references to a member of your staff who may have participated directly in the July 25, 2019, call, documents you may have obtained or reviewed, including the record of the call, and your September 1, 2019, meeting with the Ukrainian President in Warsaw, during which you reportedly discussed the Administration's hold on U.S. security assistance to Ukraine,' they continue.
'The Committees are seeking the documents in the attached schedule in order to examine this sequence of events, including the Administration's attempts to press the Ukrainian President to open an investigation into former Vice President Biden or election interference in 2016, and the reasons behind the White House's decision to delay critical military assistance to Ukraine that was appropriated by Congress to counter Russian aggression,' they write.
They are seeking to get all the documents by October 15, although Democrats have gone to court to try to pry administration documents in other matters.
The Trump White House has been resisting requests for documents, and is arguing House Democrats must first take a vote on an impeachment inquiry.
They seek information on Pence's September 1 meeting with Zelensky, and say there are 'questions about any role you may have played in conveying or reinforcing the President's stark message to the Ukrainian President.'
Trump on Thursday publicly asked Ukraine and China to investigate Biden. He also said on Twitter he had an 'absolute right' to ask a foreign country to investigate anyone.
The letter cites a Washington Post report that Trump used Pence to 'pressure' Ukraine, but states that it 'remains unclear' to what extent he had knowledge of 'specific aspects' of the plan. It also cites reports that Pence's national security advisor, Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, was on the call where Trump pushed for a 'favor' from the Ukrainian president – investigating Biden as well as his theory of 2016 election hacking.
The letter came hours after Trump predicted he would prevail in the Senate if the House votes to advance articles of impeachment.
The opposition would have to meet the exceedingly high bar of getting a two-thirds Senate vote to remove Trump from office. Were that to happen, Pence would be next in the line of succession.
The letter also cites Pence's quote backing up the president. 'I think the American people have a right to know if the Vice President of the United States or his family profited from his position as Vice President during the last administration. That's about looking backwards and understanding what really happened,' Pence said Thursday.
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