House launches Trump impeachment inquiry

You can follow our live coverage of the whistleblower’s complaint and the Acting Director of National Intelligence’s testimony here.

A whistleblower complaint, which includes allegations about President Trump’s conduct, was hand-delivered to Capitol Hill this afternoon for lawmakers to review.

Few details have been released about the complaint, which was reviewed by lawmakers in a secured room.

Here’s what we know and don’t so far about the complaint and the whistleblower:

Jay Sekulow, an attorney for President Trump, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo that there was no quid pro quo when it came to the July call between the President and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Sekulow made the comment tonight following the release of a White House transcript that shows Trump urging Zelensky to reopen an investigation into his potential 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

Watch for more:

CNN’s Anderson Cooper compared the ongoing controversy surrounding President Trump and the rough transcript of a call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky to a famous scene from “The Godfather.”

In the rough transcript from a call made in July, Trump repeatedly pushed for Zelensky to reopen an investigation of his potential 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, and asked the Ukrainian leader to work with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and Attorney General William Barr on the issue.

Cooper compared Giuliani to Robert Duvall’s character Tom Hagen, who is the godfather’s lawyer and consigliere. The specific comparison was made to when the godfather, played by Marlon Brando, sends Hagen to Los Angeles to persuade the head of a film studio to give his godson a role in a movie.

At the end of this scene from “The Godfather,” the head of the film studio wakes to find the severed head of his prized stallion in his bed.

Watch the moment:

The anonymous whistleblower, who filed a complaint with the intelligence community inspector general that includes allegations about President Trump’s conduct, will not appear before lawmakers Thursday, a source familiar with the situation told CNN. 

The whistleblower is also not scheduled to appear before Congress, the source added.

The source said that the process is underway to ensure the lawyers have access, if needed, to the relevant classified information.

What we know: The whistleblower has tentatively agreed to meet with Congressional lawmakers, according to correspondence obtained by CNN.

The whistleblower will only meet on the condition that Joseph Maguire, the acting director of the National Intelligence, approves appropriate security clearances for the individual’s legal counsel so that they can accompany their client, the correspondence added.

More than 200 lawmakers — almost entirely Democrats — are calling to start an impeachment inquiry, the first step in a lengthy and likely divisive process.

There are at least 215 House Democrats who’ve made public comments advocating at least for starting the impeachment inquiry process, according to a CNN count.

The total number of representatives who have called for an inquiry is 216. (Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, a former Republican who has since become an independent, has also called for proceedings.)

What you need to know: The number of House Democrats who at least support launching an impeachment inquiry is quickly approaching the 218 votes needed to impeach Trump in the House, though it is unknown if all those who are in favor of an impeachment inquiry will vote to do so.

The anonymous whistleblower who filed a complaint with the intelligence community inspector general, which includes allegations about President Trump’s conduct, has tentatively agreed to meet with Congressional lawmakers, according to correspondence obtained by CNN.

The whistleblower will only meet on the condition that Joseph Maguire, the acting director of the National Intelligence, approves appropriate security clearances for the individual’s legal counsel so that they can accompany their client, the correspondence added.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff wrote a letter to Maguire making the request today after the whistleblower’s lawyers agreed to meet with lawmakers if that condition is met and requested assistance in expediting approval from the acting DNI.

CNN reported Tuesday that the whistleblower’s legal counsel “wrote to the Acting Director of National Intelligence to request specific guidance as to the appropriate security practices to permit a meeting, if needed, with the Members of the Intelligence Oversight Committees.”

Schiff’s letter comes after the whistleblower’s legal counsel wrote to the committee today reiterating the conditions of a possible meeting between lawmakers and their client.

Senators and House members who had access to the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, to review the whistleblower complaint are finished for the night. 

The complaint has been described by Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley as “deeply disturbing.” Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, on the other hand, has read it and said she did “not support impeachment of President Trump.”

Several Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee told CNN they want quick action on an articles of impeachment resolution, hoping a vote could happen as soon as October.

The fear, Democrats say, is that the longer the Ukraine controversy lingers, the more likely it is to die down — and the public could lose interest. Some say that’s what happened with the Mueller report.

Members of the committee are strategizing with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about the time frame. It’s still unclear how quickly they will move because the Ukraine probe, which is being led by the House Intelligence Committee, could take time to unearth more documents and interview witnesses.

CNN reported earlier today that Pelosi wants a narrow inquiry focused on Ukraine.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, said she has read the whistleblower complaint and does “not support impeachment of President Trump.”

A White House official said the declassification of the whistleblower complaint is still underway. 

The official did not offer a timetable for when that process will be completed.

Here’s what we have learned so far about the whistleblower complaint from congressional sources:

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat on both the Judiciary and Intel committees, said that “it’s too early to tell” if the whistleblower complaint changes the calculus on impeachment. 

Swalwell cautioned that there is “an urgency here,” adding that if the President is working with the Ukrainians, then those are “potentially impeachable offenses.”

“He continues to run a lawless administration,” Swalwell said. 

He also thanked the whistleblower for coming forward through the proper channels, but said that this doesn’t mean he or she should step forward publicly. 

The House of Representatives voted tonight to approve a resolution calling on the Trump administration to release a whistleblower complaint to Congress that has ignited a backlash against the President, even though lawmakers have now been given access to the complaint in a secure location on Capitol Hill.

The vote was 421 to 0 with two lawmakers voting present.

House Democrats announced plans to vote on the resolution yesterday — the same day that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry — in the wake of outrage over reports that the President pressured a foreign leader in an effort to target a political rival. It was not clear until late today when the complaint would be transmitted to the Hill, if at all.

The whistleblower complaint about Trump’s communications with Ukraine was hand delivered this afternoon to Capitol Hill for lawmakers to review.

The Senate adopted by unanimous consent its own resolution yesterday authored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urging the administration to provide the full complaint to Congress.

Earlier today, ahead of the final vote on the resolution, the House adopted an amendment to its resolution offered by Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania to make it identical to the resolution passed the day before by the Senate.

Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, stopped to talk to reporters after leaving the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, saying “there’s obviously some very troubling things here.”

He also roundly criticized the “partisan tribalism” coming from both parties and President Trump as opposed to a slow, deliberative approach.

Sasse said Democrats prematurely used the term “impeach” and said Republicans “ought not just circle the wagons.”

Read his full remarks:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was “more worried about what happened” after reading the whistleblower complaint this afternoon.

Schumer made these comments after emerging from the Senate Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF.

Democrats reading the document say it backs up their commitment to their investigation. The move comes just hours after the White House released a rough transcript of a July 25 phone call that shows President Trump repeatedly pressed the leader of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

The conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is included in the whistleblower complaint, a source familiar with the situation said last week.

Trump has downplayed the significance of the complaint, claiming the whistleblower is partisan and his conversations with foreign leaders are “appropriate.”

During a news conference in New York, the President claimed the individual — who has not been identified — “didn’t have any first class or first rate or second tier information from what I understand.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he thought the Trump administration would only publish the US side of the call. 

Zelensky said he did not speak with President Trump before the release of the transcript from the July 25 call.

“I didn’t discuss it beforehand with Trump, we just shook hands yesterday,” Zelensky said. “I’m not against it… If a legal permission is required, I just don’t know the format.” 

Democratic Sen. Mike Quigley said he has reviewed the whistleblower complaint released this afternoon, calling it “deeply disturbing.”

Quigley, speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer this evening, said the complaint is “extraordinarily detailed” and “very, very well done.” 

The Illinois senator went on to say that he thinks the complaint “reinforces the concerns that what we previously learned and I think it is a blueprint for what we still need to know.”

“It lays out exactly what Congress needs to investigate,” Quigley said.

Watch here:

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters he prefers conversations with foreign leaders to remain private, but said he is “not afraid” if they become public.

He went on to say conversations might entail geopolitical topics and plans not intended for the public.

President Trump said the White House transcript that was released today was from the second call he had with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and that he would release the first phone call.

Trump also addressed why he released the transcript from July 25: