CONGRESS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UKRAINE/WHISTLEBLOWER: “Congress is in a sharply escalating standoff with the Trump administration over its refusal to share a whistle-blower complaint with lawmakers that is said to be at least in part about President Trump’s communications with Ukraine. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, has accused the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, of violating the law by refusing to turn over the information to his panel, which conducts oversight of the intelligence community. But the Justice Department has said Mr. Maguire can lawfully keep it secret, according to his lawyer. Details about the complaint have nevertheless started trickling out, suggesting that it may center on efforts by Mr. Trump to use his official powers, like the ability to delay military aid, to coerce Ukraine into opening a criminal investigation into former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.”
–Charlie Savage, “Intelligence Whistle-Blower Law, Explained,” The New York Times online, September 20, 2019