Acting DNI Joseph Maguire Denies Washington Post Report on Him Threatening to Resign
Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire reportedly threatened to resign in response to concerns that the White House would attempt to stonewall his congressional testimony regarding a whistleblower who recently came forward against President Donald Trump.
A Washington Post report published on Wednesday, which Maguire denies, cited current and former officials who purported that the director told the White House that he will not use executive privilege to suppress information while speaking before Congress in open and closed testimonies.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham denied the Post‘s reporting, as she took to Twitter shortly after the paper broke the story to state, “This is actually not true. And we would have gone on the record to say that if the @washingtonpost had given us more than 6 minutes (literally) to respond.”
This is actually not true. And we would have gone on the record to say that if the @washingtonpost had given us more than 6 minutes (literally) to respond. https://t.co/5EBnBlShbK
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) September 25, 2019
Maguire, who took over the cabinet-level intelligence position after ex-DNI Dan Coats retired in mid-August, released a statement of his own denying that he ever threatened to step down: “At no time have I considered resigning my position since assuming this role on Aug. 16, 2019. I have never quit anything in my life, and I am not going to start now.”
The Post‘s report also noted that the top intelligence official has been stuck in an awkward position as the White House battles Congress over transparency issues related to the whistleblower complaint. Specifically, Maguire has taken issue with White House counsel Pat Cipollone urging him to withhold information from Congress by claiming the whistleblower matter was outside of his jurisdiction. Some Democratic lawmakers have accused Maguire of blocking them from viewing the whistleblower’s complaint.
On Tuesday, Maguire commented on the complaint by insisting that he has “upheld my responsibility to follow the law every step of the way.”
“I am committed to protecting whistleblowers and ensuring every complaint is handled appropriately,” wrote Maguire in an official statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Administration and Congress to find a resolution regarding this important matter.”
The White House is now prepping the release of the complaint to Congress, as well as an inspector general report conducted in response to the whistleblower coming forward. Both of these documents are a main focus of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) official impeachment inquiry. On Wednesday, Trump also allowed the declassification and release of a document detailing his July phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which he urged the newly-elected world leader to do him a “favor” by launching an investigation into leading 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
[featured image via Al Drago/Getty Images]
