Pelosi urges Trump administration to release whistleblower complaint

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged the Trump administration on Friday to release a whistleblower complaint from someone in the intelligence community that reportedly details a troubling “promise” the president made to a foreign leader, saying the complaint raises “grave, urgent concerns for our national security.”

“We must be sure that the President and his Administration are conducting our national security and foreign policy in the best interest of the American people, not the President’s personal interest,” Pelosi said in a statement.{mosads}

“The President and Acting [Director of National Intelligence’s] stonewalling must end immediately, and the whistleblower must be provided with every protection guaranteed by the law to defend the integrity of our government and ensure accountability and trust.”

The whistleblower complaint has been the subject of intense speculation in Washington after it was initially reported Wednesday evening. The Washington Post and The New York Times later reported that the complaint specifically centered around Ukraine.

Pelosi did not mention Ukraine or other reported details in her statement Thursday but said if Trump “has done what has been alleged, then he is stepping into a dangerous minefield with serious repercussions for his Administration and our democracy.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Thursday the panel is considering taking legal action to gain access to the whistleblower information if necessary. Pelosi praised Schiff’s commitment to launching a probe into the controversy.

“Chairman Adam Schiff and the Intelligence Committee are to be commended for their strong leadership to ensure Congress is provided all the information so that we can fulfill our responsibility to protect the American people and our national security,” Pelosi said.

“We will continue to follow the facts and explore every possible option to ensure the American people get the truth. We would hope that Republicans would join us in supporting the Constitution.”

Trump has repeatedly denied misconduct during his calls with foreign leaders, blasting the whistleblower complaint on Friday as “partisan” and “ridiculous,” though he said he did not know who filed the complaint.

“The Radical Left Democrats and their Fake News Media partners, headed up again by Little Adam Schiff, and batting Zero for 21 against me, are at it again!” he tweeted earlier in the day.

“They think I may have had a ‘dicey’ conversation with a certain foreign leader based on a ‘highly partisan’ whistleblowers statement,” he added. “Strange that with so many other people hearing or knowing of the perfectly fine and respectful conversation, that they would not have also come forward. Do you know the reason why they did not? Because there was nothing said wrong, it was pitch perfect!”

The president argued that the target of controversy is misplaced and should be focused on former Vice President Joe Biden’s alleged ties to Ukraine.

“It doesn’t matter what I discussed, but I’ll tell you this, somebody ought to look into Joe Biden’s statement,” he told reporters during a meeting with the Australian prime minister.

The president’s remarks came a day after his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN that he had asked Ukraine to look into Biden, who is the current front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Updated at 2:45 p.m.