JUST IN: Whistleblower Met With Schiff Staff Before Filing Report

The Democratic head of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, learned about the outlines of a C.I.A. officer’s concerns that President Trump had abused his power days before the officer filed a whistle-blower complaint, according to a spokesman and current and former American officials.

The early account by the future whistle-blower shows how determined he was to make known his allegations that Mr. Trump asked Ukraine’s government to interfere on his behalf in the 2020 election. It also explains how Mr. Schiff knew to press for the complaint when the Trump administration initially blocked lawmakers from seeing it.

The C.I.A. officer approached a House Intelligence Committee aide with his concerns about Mr. Trump only after he had had a colleague first convey them to the C.I.A.’s top lawyer. Concerned about how that initial avenue for airing his allegations through the C.I.A. was unfolding, the officer then approached the House aide. In both cases, the original accusation was vague.

The House staff member, following the committee’s procedures, suggested the officer find a lawyer to advise him and file a whistle-blower complaint. The aide shared some of what the officer conveyed to Mr. Schiff. The aide did not share the whistle-blower’s identity with Mr. Schiff, an official said.

“Like other whistle-blowers have done before and since under Republican and Democratic-controlled committees, the whistle-blower contacted the committee for guidance on how to report possible wrongdoing within the jurisdiction of the intelligence community,” Schiff spokesman Patrick Boland said.

President Trump excoriated Rep. Schiff at a press conference with the Finnish president on Wednesday after asked about it by Fox News reporter John Roberts.

Rush Transcript.

ROBERTS: Two questions to ask, maybe ask them separately to get a fresh answer out of each one. The three house intelligence, three house committees looking into the impeachment inquiry gave notice sending a subpoena to the White House for documents and other materials. Will you cooperate with those subpoenas?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well I always cooperate. This is a hoax. It greatest hoax, a continuation of what’s been playing out, John, since the last, since my a Election, I want to say. Probably, we’ll find out soon, probably even before my election.

This is a fraudulent crime on the American people, but we’ll work together. With shifty Schiff and Pelosi and all of them, and we’ll see what happens, because we did absolutely — I had a great call with the president of Ukraine. 100%. You have the transcript.

And then Schiff went up and got the chairman of the committee, got up and relayed a call that didn’t take place. Made up the language. Hard to believe.

Nobody’s ever seen this. I think he had some kind of mental breakdown but went up to the microphone and read a statement from the president of the United States as if I were on the call, ba you what happened is when he looked at the sheet, which was an exact transcript of my call, done by very talented people that do this, exact. Word for word.

He said, wow. He didn’t do anything wrong. So he made it up’s he went up to a microphone and in front of the American people and in Congress he went out and he, he gave a whole presentation of words that the president of the united States never said.

It has to be a criminal act. It has to be, and he should resign and some people even say it was treason, but it was a very sad thing. Just so you know, the call was perfect. The real call. The call I made. Many people were on the line.

I knew that, because usually when I spoke to foreign country leaders, you can name any one of them when I speak on the phone I know many people are listening from various intelligence agencies. My knowledge, I know all about it, and so this isn’t something like, oh, gee, I’m on the line. Let’s talk about a big secret.

This is many people on the line. I don’t even know how many. We’ll find out, I guess, but many people. Mike Pompeo was on the line. Didn’t say anything, because they listen for both knowledge and for security reasons and for lots of reasons, but the president of Ukraine at the United Nations yesterday and previous to that announced through his spokesperson, said there was absolutely no pressure put on him.

That was no quid pro quo at all, and if you look at this whistle-blower’s which I have a lot of respect for whistle-blowers but only when they’re real.

His report of the phone call was totally different than the fact. But what got them was they never thought I was going to release the call, because I don’t like doing that. I hope I don’t have to do it again. Release phone calls to foreign dignitaries, to foreign leaders. I don’t want to do that, John. I don’t want to do it again, but I did it with the permission of the Ukrainian government. We got permission. We called up their representatives and asked was it okay.

Otherwise I couldn’t have done and if I wouldn’t have done it I would have been exposed to a lie because the whistle-blower report did he say seven or eight time ice said quid pro quo. You’re going to do this or you won’t get money. In all fairness, Biden said it and he’s on tape. In all fairness, at least four United States senators, Democrats, that said it.

And they said it a lot stronger than even Schiff and his made-up story said it. Obama, when he was dealing with the president of Russia, not Putin, he said, hey, tell Vladimir I can do a lot more after the election. You remember that? You didn’t make a big deal out of that.

Everybody thought, isn’t that cute? Isn’t that cute? My talk and my response, Lindsey Graham said I never knew you were that nice. I can’t believe you were that nice. He said that loud and clear. It was perfect. It was perfect. Not a thing wrong with it.

To impeach a president over a fraud that was committed by other people that wanted to win an election in 2020, which they won’t, is incredible. This is the greatest hoax. Now, it’s gone or fon a long time. We had a Mueller collusion delusion. Okay? That went on for years.

And that’s finally done. No collusion, no obstruction, no nothing. It was a joke. And everyone knows it. And it was from day one.

Now, I get three days of peace and I’m walking into the united Nations going to meet with the biggest leaders in the world and I hear about the word impeachment. I said, what did I do now? And it was about a beautiful conversation that I had, and just remember this.

The Ukrainian new president, a fine man said, I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no pressure, and he said it a number of times. Okay. What’s your second question? You shouldn’t be asking two questions.

ROBERTS: A report came out before you walked out here a whistle-blower met with Adam Schiff.

TRUMP: I love that question. It shows Schiff is a fraud. I love that question.

ROBERTS: Can I finish asking?

TRUMP: There’s nothing to finish.

ROBERTS: The whistle-blower according to this report met with a member of Adam Schiff’s staff, got it right there. You know it?

TRUMP: I hate to say it’s the “New York Times.” I can’t believe they wrote it. Maybe getting better.

ROBERTS: Your a response that that happened and Schiff might have learned some of what the whistle-blower knew prior to –

TRUMP: I think it’s a scandal he knew before. Go further. I think he probably helped write it. That’s what the word is, and I give a lot of respect for the “New York Times” for putting it out. Just happened as I’m walking out handed it to me and I said to Mike, whoa. That’s something. Big stuff. That’s a big story.

He knew long before and helped write it, too. It’s a scam. It’s a scam. Just to finish on this, I appreciate it. I love that second question, by the way.

Should have asked it first. But — but let me just tell you, the whole thing is a scam. The Mueller deal was a scam. The Russian collusion was a scam. You can ask Putin.

Nobody’s been rougher on Russia than battle Trump. With that said, great to get along with Russia and we will get along with Russia because it’s smart. But nobody’s been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump.

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