Thread by @kurteichenwald

1. We are at the tipping point for American democracy, one that - because of the long list of legal outrages by the Trump Administration - is not being fully recognized for its overwhelming significance. Unlike the law-breaking by Treasury, the illegal acts by @ODNIgov have...

@ODNIgov 2...placed this country at a crossroads, where the intelligence agencies can be set loose for any action - as they did in the events that led to the Church Commission in the 1970s - so long as they feed into the political wishes and benefits of the party in power....

@ODNIgov 3...this is far more significant than Trump, although through their feeble and ignorant response to this threat to the American populace, @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler and all the other dems are allowing the shores of our democracy to be eroded...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler 4...I am going to slow walk this so everyone can understand. These are the things you must know:

The Inspector General Act of 1978 established a mechanism of independent review for addressing wrongdoing and abuse in federal agencies. This was a response to....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler 5...the array of abuses of power exposed during the Watergate hearings. This was expanded through the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998, which created a mechanism for intelligence agency whistleblowers to confidentially report wrongdoing. The rules...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler 6...are ABSOLUTELY clear, and were designed to both protect the whistleblower and ensure political calculations cannot enter into the system. As a result, intelligence officers are required to report wrongdoing they detect - required - but know they have protection from...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler 7...political consequences, at least in theory. (They are still allowed to sue in the event that they are punished or harmed for reporting, which is exactly what happened to this whistleblower's lawyer when he was in the CIA)

The process is simple: The whistleblower report...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler 8...goes to the inspector general. The inspector general then determines if it is "credible and urgent." If the IG shrugs and says "not important" we have the first protection valve: The whistleblower is allowed to go directly to the intelligence committees and report.

In THIS..

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler 9...case, the IG found the report to be credible and urgent. From there, the rules are quite clear: The IG gives the report to the @ODNIgov which in turn MUST (according to the DNI's own written words) turn it over to the intelligence committees. There is NO authority to...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler 10..consult @TheJusticeDept or @WhiteHouse. In fact, the very specifics of the law are intended to PREVENT that for the purpose of protecting the whistleblower and keeping the entire process out of politics.

There. Is. No. Other. Choice. Refusal to turn it over is illegal....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse 11...I supposed, in this day and age, the @ODNIgov could argue that he is allowed to share it with @TheJusticeDept or @WhiteHouse since the law doesnt specifically say he cant - although it is clearly intended to be prohibited....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse 12...but there is absolutely no choice in whether or not to turn it over to Congress.

In other words, the @ODNIgov is breaking the law. It is not even debatable....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse 13...This can ONLY be addressed with the strongest possible response: @RepAdamSchiff and @TheDemocrats must have @ODNIgov Joseph Maguire arrested by the House Sergeant at Arms and placed in a cell pending trial before the House on inherent contempt charges. Failure to do so....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 14...is the ultimate declaration that the law is nothing, that anyone in the executive can break the law and - so long as it is breaking the law in a way that protects the president - get away with it.

Stop calling for impeachment. Truthfully....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 15...that is less significant at this point than the @ODNIgov knowingly and willfully breaking the law without consequences - placing every intelligence whistleblower at risk from now on.

Of course, there is the presumption that Trump would immediately pardon. Great!...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 16...THEN the president's use of pardon power - while lawful in and of itself - is an overt act of a conspiracy to violate the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998. ABSOLUTELY that demands impeachment proceedings, even without having the report in hand...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 17...members of the executive cannot have blanket power to ignore the law. This cannot be a situation where the Democrats dither and say "But... but what if we get criticized? What will they say on Fox Neeeewwwsss? What if people get maaaaadd at us for standing up for law?"....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 18...this whistleblower followed the law, and did everything that is supposed to be done. Failure by the Democrats to act by having the @ODNIgov Joseph Maguire arrested & tried on inherent contempt declares that the political side has total control of the intelligence agencies...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 19...so what if Trump promised to bomb a country in exchange for getting dirt on Biden? What if some future democratic president orders the CIA to render a republican to a foreign country for interrogation. Who is going to report it? What limits will there be if....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 20...every whistleblower KNOWS the political side can break the law on reporting with impunity, that filing a complaint can lead to personal destruction with Congress unwilling to step up to the plate and protect?

THIS is the issue. Not Trump. The Republicans are playing...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 21...a very dangerous game, where the goals they are achieving through lawbreaking can be turned back on the author, when a democratic president turns the intelligence agencies onto them. And then declares "Nope. Not letting you know what's happening. Screw you."

I know that...

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 22...lots of people will see this as a Republican issue, or a Democratic issue, or a Trump or a Pelosi issue. It is much much more than that. This is about the functioning of our republic, the survival of a democracy based on the rule of law.....

@ODNIgov @SpeakerPelosi @RepAdamSchiff @RepJerryNadler @TheJusticeDept @WhiteHouse @TheDemocrats 23...and if those stakes are not enough for @TheDemocrats to utilize the power they have under inherent contempt, then they are co-conspirators with Trump and the Republicans in the death of an America founded on law.