The Washington Post reports that on a phone call between Trump and a foreign leader, a promise was made that so alarmed a DNI whistleblower that they felt compelled to tell the Inspector General.
September 18, 2019

If the bombshell report dropped by The Washington Post is to be believed, the whistleblower who went to the Inspector General has a really big story to tell, and it's one that leads straight back to Donald Trump.

Just to review, this is an issue because whatever the whistleblower told the Inspector General was a matter of "urgent concern," requiring IG Atkinson to notify Adam Schiff, as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Schiff then requested the report, and acting DNI Joseph Maguire refused, so Schiff subpoenaed him. As it stands now, there is a briefing by Atkinson scheduled for Thursday, and Maguire is set to testify at a hearing set for a week from Thursday.

Which brings us to the details. WaPo:

Trump’s interaction with the foreign leader included a “promise” that was regarded as so troubling that it prompted an official in the U.S. intelligence community to file a formal whistleblower complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, said the former officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

It was not immediately clear which foreign leader Trump was speaking with or what he pledged to deliver, but his direct involvement in the matter has not been previously disclosed. It raises new questions about the president’s handling of sensitive information and may further strain his relationship with U.S. spy agencies. One former official said the communication was a phone call.

We don't know what was promised, nor to whom it was promised. Speculation is rampant. But there is a limited universe of foreign leaders to choose from. According to logs and reports, it could be a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on July 31, initiated by the White House. Or it could be the prime minister of Pakistan, the prime minister of the Netherlands, and the emir of Qatar, all of whom were at the White House during that time frame.

There will be more on this story as details emerge. I expect Trump to rage tweet all day since he has no public events on his calendar Thursday.

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