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Andrew P. Bakaj is the lawyer representing the whistleblower who came forward with information about President Donald Trump and his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about an investigation into 2020 democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The whistleblower’s intel, which has now been turned over to Congress confidentially, pushed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to announce a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump on September 24, 2019. Lead counsel on this high-profile case is the 36-year-old Bakaj, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, who now works as the founding & managing partner of Compass Rose Legal...

President Trump scolded CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta on Tuesday during a press conference in India, telling the reporter he should be “ashamed” and blasting the liberal network. Acosta asked Trump if he would accept foreign interference in the upcoming election and how he could justify replacing Joseph Maguire as acting director of national intelligence. The president didn’t appreciate the two-part question. “First of all, I want no help from any country, and I haven’t been given help from any country,” Trump answered before referencing a report that CNN had to walk back on Sunday. “If you see what...

Former Acting DNI Joseph Maguire did not brief the white house prior to taking Shelby Pierson, the person in charge of evaluating intelligence regarding election security, to lead the presentation to the house intel committee (HPSCI). That’s the key takeaway from a taped preview of National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien on Face The Nation. With NSA O’Brien confirming what many suspected it begs the question why would Shelby Pierson and Joseph Maguire intentionally blindside the White House? The briefing was obviously spun by HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff and democrats on the committee; and there was no intelligence presented to support...

President Trump's new acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, has already made major changes at the agency, including ousting the No. 2 official. Former acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire and his deputy, Andrew Hallman, resigned on Friday. According to The New York Times, Grenell told Hallman, who has worked for national intelligence and the CIA for three decades, that his service was no longer needed. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) praised both Maguire and Hallman for their service after their resignations were announced. “For nearly four decades, Joe Maguire has dedicated his career to securing...

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump has named U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as acting Director of National Intelligence. Trump named Grenell the new DNI on Wednesday, saying he represents the United States "exceedingly well." "Ambassador Grenell was confirmed to his role as ambassador by the Senate in April 2018, and he has years of experience working with our intelligence community in a number of additional positions, including as special envoy for Serbia-Kosovo negotiations and as United States spokesman to the United Nations," the White House said in a statement Thursday. "He is committed to a non-political, non-partisan...

Updated at 2:11 p.m. ET President Trump blamed "a political hack job" for reports that a whistleblower has charged he had an improper conversation with a foreign leader. The Washington Post on Friday reported that the conversation in question involves Ukraine. Trump dismissed the reporting as a "ridiculous story" and said he did not know the identity of the whistleblower, "but I hear it's a partisan person." Trump said it was a "totally appropriate conversation. It was actually a beautiful conversation," although he did not specify with whom. Asked if he mentioned former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe...

President Trump is barreling toward a showdown with Congress over his decision to pull back U.S. troops in northern Syria despite widespread opposition. The announcement, which caught leadership and traditional GOP allies flatfooted, sparked a wave of condemnation, with Republicans calling it a “disaster in the making,” a “catastrophic mistake” and a “terrible decision.” Lawmakers are already weighing how to respond to Trump’s decision, setting the stage for a high-profile clash with Trump as soon as Congress returns from a two-week break on Monday. “Congress must and will act to limit the catastrophic impact of this decision,” said Rep. Liz...

In February 2017, the Washington Post’s Miller had the lead byline on a story based on leaks of Trump’s conversations with Australia’s prime minister and Mexico’s president. Six months later, the Post published the entire transcripts of both conversations in another Miller story. It was through such national security correspondents that anti-Trump sources -- intelligence officials -- pushed leaks of classified information and other tidbits intended to damage Trump into the media. There it merged with other anti-Trump currents in nearly every corner of the press, where it blossomed into Russiagate. After a nearly two-year investigation, the special counsel found...

An unidentified concerned citizen filmed himself confronting House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) at a South Carolina airport Sunday evening over Schiff lying to Congress during a hearing this past week by making up quotes by President Trump. Schiff made up Trump’s words at a hearing on September 26 with DNI Joseph Maguire about a whistleblower complaint about President Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that has prompted an impeachment investigation by the House authorized by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (but not by a vote of the chamber.)

GOP senators attack whistleblower's credibility GOP senators attack whistleblower's credibility BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 09/30/19 06:00 AM EDT 13,753 Republican senators scrambling to protect President Trump from a formal impeachment inquiry are attacking the credibility of the whistleblower who filed a complaint. GOP lawmakers are asserting the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge of the actions detailed in the complaint and question whether the person had a political agenda. “It doesn’t come from a person with personal knowledge. It’s like I heard these people say this, and now I’m reporting it. I think that is pretty bizarre,” said Sen. John...

Anyone else remember when Schumer said that? It was prophetic. The IC has come for Trump. Today was quite the day. It was entertaining watching Adam Schiff endeavoring mightily to get DNI Joseph Maguire to say what he wanted him to say but Maguire would have none of it. Schiff went so far as to try to get Maguire to violate Executive Privilege. Maguire frustrated Schiff at every turn. But for openers Adam Schiff fabricated a Trump conversation This was all in response to a so-called "whistleblower" complaint. The complaint was called "credible" but it was not and here's why...

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire is set to testify Thursday morning before the House Intelligence Committee about a whistleblower's complaint that helped trigger a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. The Hill will be providing updates as the hearing unfolds beginning at 9 a.m. Halls are packed nearly two hours before hearing 7:30 a.m. Press cameras lined the hallways more than two hours before the high stakes hearing was set to begin. Members of the public also began forming lines hours beforehand in the hopes they could hear Maguire speak about his handling of the whistleblower complaint.

The whistleblower complaint related to President Trump's discussions with a foreign leader filed by a member of the U.S. intelligence community involves Ukraine, according to The Washington Post. Two sources familiar with the situation told the Post that the conversation that sparked a whistleblower complaint about an "alarming" promise made by Trump during a recent discussion with a foreign leader involved Ukraine. It wasn't reportedly clear whether Trump's conversation that sparked the complaint was specifically with Ukraine's president, but the Post reports that Trump did have a discussion with the newly-elected Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, just weeks before it was...

Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon is resigning from her post amid turnover at the top of the agency, The Office of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gordon, a career intelligence official, was set to ascend to the top post as director of national intelligence following the departure of Dan Coats later this month. But the White House had been weighing removing her in favor of installing a Trump loyalist, despite concerns from Capitol Hill, where Gordon is widely respected. The move further throws into chaos the leadership atop DNI,...

President Donald Trump announced Thursday night that Joseph Maguire, the leader of the National Counterterrorism Center, is his new pick to be the acting director of national intelligence. "I am pleased to inform you that the Honorable Joseph Maguire, current Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will be named Acting Director of National Intelligence, effective August 15th," Trump tweeted. The announcement came not long after Trump tweeted that Sue Gordon, the country's number two intelligence official and an intelligence veteran of more than 30 years, would resign. White House officials had been signaling such a move for days, saying Trump...

Navy SEALs Caught Up In Drug Sweep U.S. being forced to transfer some units More than a dozen sailors, including eight SEALs, are being investigated after testing positive for illegal drug use, the Navy confirmed yesterday. Seven sailors assigned to the Naval Special Warfare Command, including five SEALs, failed drug tests in early May while they were on a training exercise in Thailand. Other sailors reported seeing the commandos using drugs in Pattaya, a Thai beach resort. That was enough for Rear Adm. Joseph Maguire, the Naval Special Warfare commander, to order a drug-testing sweep of 3,300 of the 4,600...