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)
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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.

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