The whistleblower complaint has been released. Unclassified version. intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/…
The WB says he/she based the complaint on information and conversations provided by "more than half a dozen U.S. officials."
Alleged: "the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election"
WB says the officials who told him about Trump/Zelenksy call said "was already a 'discussion ongoing' w/
WH lawyers about how to treat the call because of the likelihood, in the officials' retelling, that they had witnessed the President abuse his office for personal gain."
WH lawyers about how to treat the call because of the likelihood, in the officials' retelling, that they had witnessed the President abuse his office for personal gain."
"In the days following the phone call, I learned from multiple U.S. officials that senior White House officials had intervened to 'lock down' all records of the phone call..." (We reported some of this last night. It's highly unusual.)
Wow: "White House officials told me that they were directed' by White House lawyers to remove the electronic transcript from the computer system in which such transcripts are typically stored for coordination, finalization, and distribution to Cabinet-level officials."
"The transcript was loaded into a separate electronic system that is otherwise used to store and handle classified information of an especially sensitive nature. One White House official described this act as an abuse of this electronic system..."
"According to WH oficials I spoke with, this was 'not the first time' under this Administration that a Presidential transcript was placed into this codeword-level system solely for the purpose of protecting politically sensitive — rather than national security sensitive — info."
Me talking here: This is a really key point (above). Highly classified systems like this do not exist to obscure or conceal politically sensitive (or potentially incriminating/embarrassing) communications. The WB is alleging a WH pattern of obfuscating the president's remarks.
