Virginia’s U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter today to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard raising serious concerns about the handling of an urgent whistleblower complaint and the unprecedented withholding of an underlying intelligence report from congressional oversight committees.
In their letter, Warner and Himes noted that the Intelligence Community Inspector General transmitted the whistleblower complaint to Congress more than nine months after it was filed, citing delays within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The lawmakers also highlighted that, despite clear statutory requirements, the whistleblower has still not received required guidance on how to securely communicate with Congress.
The lawmakers further raised concerns about access to the underlying intelligence report, writing: “Furthermore, upon reviewing the complaint, members of the Gang of Eight requested to view the underlying intelligence report referenced in the complaint itself. We were subsequently informed by your office that the IC is unable to provide the unredacted underlying intelligence report ‘due to the assertion of executive privilege.’ This response and assertion of privilege over this type of intelligence report is unprecedented. The request and provision of intelligence reports have been longstanding practice between the IC and its congressional oversight committees.”
Warner and Himes added, “Moreover, it is not clear how this intelligence report could implicate executive privilege, which typically protects the deliberation and communications of the President and his senior advisors. We are aware of recent press reporting that alleges the underlying intelligence involves discussions about the President’s son-in-law, Mr. Jared Kushner, but since the underlying intelligence report has not been made available to Congress and because the complaint itself was heavily redacted, we cannot confirm the accuracy of such allegations. However, we would note that if these reports were true, Mr. Kushner is not serving as a senior administration official and so there is no colorable argument that executive privilege could apply in this instance. Moreover, as you are well aware, the names of U.S. persons are routinely masked in disseminated intelligence reporting.”
They also questioned the basis for the privilege claim, asking whether “the President assert[ed] executive privilege over the underlying intelligence report,” and, “if so, when did he assert such privilege and on what basis.” If the President did not assert privilege, they requested clarity on “who asserted the privilege, when was it asserted, and what was the basis for that assertion.”
The letter concludes with a request that, if no valid claim of privilege exists, the relevant agency “provide the requested report to the Gang of 8 immediately,” and that the complainant be given “security guidance… so that the complainant is able to meet with the appropriate committees as afforded by the law.”
