Ex-DNI Official: Never Seen A Complaint That ‘So Clearly’ Outlines A ‘Coverup’

The Liberty Crossing Building, home to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in McLean, Virginia, April 24, 2015. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The former director of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was alarmed at the allegations laid out in the whistleblower complaint released Thursday morning.

During a panel discussion on CNN on Thursday, ex-DNI official Shawn Turner said he’d never seen anything like what was laid out in the complaint — the document now at the center of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

“I saw lots of IG reports, I’ve never seen a whistleblower complaint that so clearly lays out a coverup as I see here,” Turner said. “During my four years at ODNI, the IG never forwarded an urgent report to Congress. So this really speaks to how serious this is.”

The complaint was finally released on Thursday morning after days of back-and-forth between Congress and the White House after the director of national intelligence refused to release the document to Congress. The allegations in the complaint center on President Trump’s behavior during a phone call with the Ukrainian president, in which he attempted to pressure the leader into investigating fabricated allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for crucial military funding.

The House Intelligence Committee is holding a hearing on Thursday morning, featuring the testimony from the acting director of the DNI.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Well. No responses. I guess it sort of goes without saying. :wink:

  2. Still waiting on those script pages.

  3. The cover up seems to have been lead by the AG. That is a giant concern. He needs to leave by the end of the day, and we need an investigation to get rid of all the DOJ people who participated sooner than later.

  4. And “White House Lawyers”

    Now it’s just a question of which of them is willing to avoid the worst yet to come.

  5. I can’t believe how obvious and brazen it was. I guess Barr figured the power of the presidency protected him, and Trump figured the DOJ protected him, and Giuliani just danced around on the precipice like Gollum with the Ring because he’s too addled to even have a sense of danger.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

26 more replies

Participants

Avatar for discobot Avatar for fgs Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for eduardoinohio Avatar for invitedguest Avatar for ronbyers Avatar for blaneyboy324 Avatar for noonm Avatar for read2much Avatar for pike_bishop Avatar for karlwlewis Avatar for lanabill Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for bunnyvelour

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: