Donald Trump’s DNI scandal just exploded

| 9:10 pm EDT September 15, 2019
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This morning Palmer Report pointed out that, given the timing of the whistleblower report about Donald Trump leaking classified intel, Trump most likely ousted Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and his Deputy Sue Gordon out of fear that they might cooperate with the inevitable House investigation. Now it turns out Trump’s Acting DNI Joseph Maguire just sort of sold him out.

Joseph Maguire ended up as Acting Director of National Intelligence by default, after Coats and Gordon resigned, and the Senate wasn’t willing to confirm Trump’s nominee John Ratcliffe. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff has subpoenaed the whistleblower report from Maguire, and there will be a court battle over it as a result. Here’s the thing: Schiff went on CBS News today and said that Maguire told him he can’t turn over the report because a “higher authority” instructed him not to turn it over.

To be clear, there is only one “higher authority” in the United States government than the Director of National Intelligence, and that’s the President. In other words, Maguire is confirming that Donald Trump personally ordered him not to turn over this report. This is no surprise, of course. But it’s notable that Maguire admitted this, for two reasons.

First, the mere fact that Maguire is willing to finger Donald Trump is a big deal, because it suggests that Maguire isn’t willing to take the fall for Trump, if that’s what it comes down to. If and when the courts order Maguire to turn over the report, we suspect he will. Second, the court battle probably just became more simple for Adam Schiff, because now he has confirmation that Trump gave the order to try to suppress a whistleblower report about himself.