mr. mcguire and mr.o agree whether it's urgent or needs to be brought forth meaditely. at this point, you have to bring it to continue so they can determine which of the two views, mr. mcgator's view or mr. atkinson's view is correct. >> shepard: that's the separation of powers. investigation -- >> exactly. >> shepard: this was originally put into place, this rule, this law, to protect whistle-blowers so people looking out for the greater good that saw problems within government, goes against the people that they would have a safe place to make a report. >> exactly. you can extrapolate whistle-blowers to any of the things that we see in the healthcare area, the prescription pill area, the finance area and certainly in government. but for whistle-blowers, the population would be much less informed on very key items. and the government isn't except from whistle-blowers. one could argue it's the exact opposite. a healthy skepticism of the government is vital. >> shepard: feels like whether this thing makes

mr. chairman, i yield back the time. >> thank you. >> thank you, chairman. thank you, director mcguire for your testimony today. i want to say thank you, also, to the whistle-blower for having the courage and the bravery to come forward on behalf of the nation. thank you to mr. atkinson, also the inspector general for his courage in coming forward to congress. you mentioned that you believe that the whistle-blower's report is credible, that the whistle-blower is credible, that the whistle-blower acted in good faith. you've had a chance now, as we have and i believe the american people have, had an opportunity to review the whistle-blower complaint and the transcript released of the phone call between the president of the united states and the president of ukraine. you've read both documents by now, haven't you? >> yes, congressman. >> would you say that the whistle-blower's complaint is remarkably consistent with the transcript released? >> i would say that the whistle-blower's complaint is in alignment with what was released yesterday by the president. >> okay. i want to read you a qu

mr. mcguire went for advice were the white house counsel and the department of justice, office of legal counsel. when donald trump, head of the white house, and mr. barr are implicated in this story. so the question was, did he get really good and fair advice? now, there was sort of an air of reality about it because the complaint and the transcript, the partial transcript, have never been turned over. so the fight didn't really have that much juice to it, but that was really what the issue was about. >> to that point, the process argument was why don't you just give it immediately to the committee, and by going to the white house and the justice department, were you helping the people that the democrats believed had every incentive to cover it up. were you given a heads up? the question is what happened with this. it was a remarkable hearing today, but the whistleblower complaint, if you're at home, suspend your politics and read it, not only did the president seek foreign dirt in the 2020 election and used essentially extortion against the ukranian government. but in some ways, more dangerous

thank you congressman it's just well thank you mr mcguire do you agree that the definition of a cover up is an attempt to prevent people from discovering a crime and say that's close i mean i'm sure there's others one but i don't disagree with that sir and in the whistleblowers complaint the whistleblower alleges that immediately after the president's call with the president of ukraine on july 25 white house lawyers moved quickly to direct white house officials to move electronic transcripts from one computer system where it was normally stored to a secret classified information system is that right congresswoman actually be sure i apologize congress and that what was alleged in that was of our complaint congressman yes or no on sure all i know is that is the allegation is that what i'm asking you that that's what's alleged that's the allegation and you read that allegation and the 1st people that you go to after you read that allegation are the white house lawyers who are telling the white house officials who see this transcript and move it into a secret compartmentalise system but t

mr. mcguire here, you know, he is the one who, when getting the report from the inspector general that essentially said that this is a credible complaint from this unknown whistle-blower, by law technically, he was supposed to turn it over to congress within seven days and with r after discussion with the justice department, he decided not to do that now here are a couple of members who did take a look last night reacting to what they saw. >> i found the allegations deeply disturbing. i also found them very credible. i can understand why the inspector general found them credible i think it a travesty that this complaint was withheld as long as it was because it was an urgent matter. it is an urgent matter >> democrats ought not be using the word impeach before they had the whistle-blower complaint or read any of the transcript republicans ought not be rushing to circle the wagons and say there is no there there when there is obviously lots that is troubling there. >> reporter: so joseph mcguire's testimony will begin at 9:00 in front of the house intelligence committee. that will be in public this

republicans but i think the thing which i've heard the most from mr mcguire is his continued statement that no one is above the law. yes he has said that many times but at the same time we have to keep in mind that he is a trump appointing that got this job no more no more than 6 weeks ago and he has been very careful in his responses to not pass judgment on actually the the contents of that call between trump and president's olinsky of ukraine when asked by democrats whether he thought that predicating assistance from the united states depended on the ukrainians helping to investigate trump's political rival joe biden's family the director of national intelligence would not say that it was wrong doing he said that that is in his words the president's business to conduct calls of foreign leaders as he saw fit and democrats pressed him also on why he took the whistleblower report 1st to the white house before anywhere else did you ever speak to the president about this complaint my conversations with the president because i'm the director of national intelligence are privileged and it w

mr. chair. >> if i may, are mcguire, i suspect maybe there's an answer as to why there aren't wheel locks on the new buses but given the steam with which we hold mr. gilbertu, i appreciate you coming down. everything you say i listen to closely and appreciate the input you give us. and then on the taxi cab issue, which is near and dear to me, mr. mamude's video was alarming, maybe the word for it. but that's not the way a meter should behave. not for the customer, not for the hard-working driver. i don't know the answer but that's something they should know about and care about and look into it and at least deliver him and answer. if there's a bigger problem, deliver you and us an answer. >> we will follow up on both issues, thank you. >> thank you. >> mr. chairman, directors, you're on to your consent calendar, members of the board and public. mr. chair, no member of the public, nor a member of the board has indicated that an item should be severed. >> ok. and i don't see anybody making a move to sever. >> motion to approve? >> approve. >> all those in favour please say aye. all right. >

proactive in my communications with my team mr chairman i yield back the time i may just not have misconstrued thank you chairman thank you director mcguire for your testimony today i want to say thank you also to the whistleblower for having the courage in the bravery to come forward on behalf of the nation thank you mr achatz and also the inspector general for his courage and coming forward to congress you mentioned that you believe that the whistleblowers report is is credible with the whistleblowers credible that the whistleblower acted in good faith you had a chance now as we have and i believe the american people have had an opportunity to review both the whistleblower complaint and the transcript that was released of the phone call between the president of the united states in the present ukraine you've read both documents by now haven't you yes congressman would you say that the whistleblowers complaint is remarkably consistent with the transcript that was released i would say that the whistleblowers can complaint is an alignment with what was released yesterday by the of the president ok i want to read you a quick section of both

mr. mcguire says the whistleblower did the right thing coming forward and called the situation unprecedented. more than a dozen progressive groups demanded every member of congress support the impeachment inquiry. >> i think it's important first of all to move on and these ede in washington, d.c. getting the message out in terms of the ess of this administration a accused president trump of using the power of his office to pressure ukrainian president during a july phone call asking him to investigate former vp joe biden and his son for political gain in the 2020 election. now, in a strange twist to the impeachment hearing, a silicon valley tech company finds itself in the spotlight after being called out by president trump. crowd strike was mentioned in that phone call between president trump and the ukrainian president. that call has the tech industry talking. >> reporter: this is likely the only time most people heard of the cyber security firm crowdstrike. their recent ipo celebration both at the nasdaq and inside its bay area head quarters. but this week's notes about the call between p

mr. mcguire's roots which lie in the secretive work to battle terrorists and retrieve hostages. he spent 36 years as a navy s.e.a.l. eventually commanding the naval warfare command. in terms of the very peculiar situation mcguire finds himself in here, you've got the whistleblower's complaint, it reached the inspector general, it said this needs to go to congress. then you had mcguire saying, no. what can you expect from him tomorrow? >> i think the question that democrats in particular want to see answered is the extent to which he was in communication with the justice department ahead of the potential release of this whistle-blower complaint to congress, which, as you know, is required by law. the questions could be anything from, you know, did the justice department reach out to you first? did you seek guidance from the justice department? of course, the law states that the dni should act independently from the justice department when it comes to these matters. that will be a top question for democrats to ask and to try to get answers on. if they don't get answers from the ac

mr. mcguire is behind closed door, but that only makes sense when your goal is to get information, not to create a media frenzy. the current hysteria has something necessary common with the russian hoax. they accused the trump campaign of colluding with russians when the democrats themselves were colluding with russians and preparing the steel dossier. today they say the president is pressuring ukrainians to take actions that would help themselves or hurt political rivals, joe biden bragged that he extorted the ukrainians into firing a prosecutor who was investigating biden's own son. three democratic senators wrote a letter to pressure the prosecutor to reopen the investigation. into former trump campaign officials. another senator went to not investigate construction allegations involving joe biden's son. according to ukrainian officials, the democratic national committee contractor alex za al alexandra chalupa to try to get them to comment on ties to russia. an official that was a source for nelly orr as she worked on the anti-trump operation cond t conducted by fusion gps and funded b

mr. mcguire, is set to testify next week. do they cut a deal by then? or does he sit in a chair and say, i agreed to come but i won't tell you anything. >> it's probably that. they've already subpoenaed the information and haven't gotten it. if behind closed doors the attorney general isn't giving it, i doubt that appointed i.g. is going to give any information, either. this is a question, especially if we don't get any information about this complaint and about this call. i think the public is so desensitized. in the mueller report, there was so much misinformation, and that's the frustration right now, trying to move that middle area to their side now. >> the president knows what it was about. he's tweeting this morning he did nothing wrong. great. release the transcript of the call. this could be over by nightfall. simple. easy. won't happen, but it could be settled by nightfall. >>> saudi arabia airstrikes. what it could mean in the iran region. that's next. more coverage! it's a network that gives you ♪freedom from big cities, to small towns, we're

mr. mcguire is, the law says that you are required, you shall within seven days transmit that report.it? who intervened? who told you not to and why. >> we will all be watching. we'll have special coverage on the hearing tomorrow. congressman, i appreciate your time this morning. thank you so much. >> thank you. >>> still to come, we are waiting to get that log of the call between president trump and ukrainian's president as this formal impeachment inquiry is under way in the house. what is former vice president joe biden saying about all of this? that's next. biopharmaceutical researchers. driven each day to pursue life-changing cures... in a country built on fostering innovation. here, they find breakthroughs... like a way to fight cancer by arming a patient's own t-cells... and a new therapy that gives the blind a working gene so they can see again. because it's not just about the next breakthrough... it's all the ones after that. if ylittle thingsate tcan be a big deal., that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with ot

mr. mcguire was behind closed doors. again that only make since when your goal is to get the information and not to create a media frenzy. the current hysteria has something else in common with the russia hoax. back then they accuse the trump campaign colluding with russians when the democrats themselves were colluding with russia in preparing this dossier. today they accuse the president of pressuring ukrainians to take action that could help himself or heard his political opponent. yet there are numerous examples of the democrats doing the exact same thing. joe biden brags the ukrainians fired a prosecutor who happen to be investigated by end zone son. the -- three democratic presidents wrote a letter to the prosecutor to reopen the investigation. into former trump campaign business. another democratic senator went to ukraine impression of the ukrainian president not to investigate corruption allegations involving joe biden's son. according to ukrainian officials the democratic national committee contractor alexander a

mr. mcguire came across very credible to me. however, he was not very straight forward with some of the questions so that it does disturb me. he had some simple questions. on another subject, i heard on a news report last night whether true or not, that there are approximately 30 senators republican senators who will not vote publicly, who do not want to vote publicly on the record for impeachment. but they are for impeachment. so it concerns me about the fear being displayed by many of our congresspeople and senators. the way that the country is being run now by mr. trump is very disturbing and i don't believe that we are seeing half of what is going on behind the scenes. i am very glad that there is finally some sort of investigation whether impeachment should be done this late in the game, i don't know. i am for it though. but mr. barr is acting like he is mr. trump's personal attorney. if he oversees the do,j, he has put a hold on them of investigating anything that is important. so i think that he should resign. he is makin

mr. carson. >> thank you, chairman. thank you, director mcguire for your service. director, this appears to be the first intelligence community whistle-blower that has ever, ever been withheld from congress. is that right, sir? >> congressman carson, i believe it might be. and once again, i said in my statement it is, in fact, as far as i'm concerned, unprecedented. >> it is unprecedented, sir. do you know why it's unprecedented? i think it's because the law that congress, that this very committee drafted really couldn't be clearer. it states upon receiving such an urgent complain from the inspector general, you shall forward it to the intel committees within seven days, no ifs, ands or buts. and when the ig has found complaints, your office has consistently and uniformly still transmitted those complaints to the intelligence community. is that right? >> in the past, if they were not a matter of urgent concern or whether or not they were credible, they were forwarded. but in each and every instance priority this, it involved members of the intelligence community wh

mr. director, under the clear letter of the law. and yet, it wasn't. director mcguire, i was very pleased when you were named acting director. sue gordon was not going to remain, i was grateful that a man of your superb military background was chosen. years,seal for 36 director of the national counterterrorism center since december 2018. your credentials are impressive. and in the limited interaction that we had an supernatant director, you have struck me as a good and decent man. which makes your actions over the last month all the more bewildering. why you chose not to provide this complaint as required by law. why you chose to seek a second opinion on whether "shall" "eally means "shall. why you chose to go to a department led by a man who is implicated in the complaint and obligated to he's serve the interest of the president, not the office itself the interest of the person of donald trump. why you chose to allow the subject of the complaint to play a role in deciding whether congress would ever see the complaint. silent whend intelligence professionals under your

mr. mcguire, do you agree that the definition of a cover-up is an attempt to prevent people from discovering a crime? director maguire: say that's close. i mean, i'm sure there are others but i do not disagree with that, sir. >> in the whistleblower's complaint, the whistleblower alleges immediately after the president's call with the president of ukraine on july 25, white house lawyers moved quickly to direct white house officials to move electronic transcripts from one computer system which is normally stored to a secret classified information. is that right? director maguire: congresswoman, excuse me, sir, i apologize. congressman. >> yes or no? director maguire: sir, all i know is that is the allegation. >> i read that allegation and the first people that you go to after you read that allegation are the white house lawyers who are telling the white house officials who see this transcript and move it into a secret compartmentalized system, those of the first people you go to. director maguire: let's say a couple of things. yes. >> so you get this complaint, the inspector general says urge

closed doors like this is supposed to be done thank you very much for yield back mr arms thank you sherman director mcguire thank you for being here and thank you for your profound service in the service of your family to this country director what i find be will during about this whole conversation is that we are not sitting here today and the american public is not aware of the allegations of the president asking for a favor of investigation into his political opponent were not aware of the murky decision to withhold aid we're not aware of mr giuliani's apparent establishment of a personal state department we are not aware of a possible real retaliate against a u.s. ambassador none of this happens but for the decision of your inspector general michael atkinson a man who was appointed by president trump and confirmed by a republican senate to come to this committee 7 days after the complaint was required by law to be transmitted to us it was his decision personal decision not the kaleidoscope of fantabulous to conspiracy theories the ranking member thinks is happening here but it was the decision of micha

director mcguire would you agree that the whistleblower complaint alleges serious wrongdoing by the president of the united states. mr chairman the whistleblower well actually i apologize director let me recognize you for your opening statement. and you may take as much time as you need thank you very much mr chairman chairman shelf ranking member doing is and members of the committee good morning i'd like to begin by thanking the tram and the committee for agreeing to postpone this hearing for one week this provided sufficient time to allow the executive branch to successfully complete its consultations regarding how to accommodate the committee's request. mr chairman i've told you this on several occasions and i would like to say this publicly i respect you i respect this committee and i welcome 'd and take seriously the committee's oversight role. during my confirmation process to be the director of the national counterterrorism center i told the senate select committee on intelligence that congressional oversight of the intelligence activities is critical and it's central to successful operations with the intelli

mr. director, under the clear letter of the law. yet it wasn't. director mcguire, i was very pleased when you were named acting director. if sue gordon was not going to remain, i was grateful a man of your background was chosen. a navy seal and director of the national counterterrorism center. your credentials are impressive. in limited interactions we have had since you became director, you have struck me as a good and decent man. which makes your actions over the last month all the more bewildering. why you chose not to provide the complaint to this committee as required by law, why you chose to seek a second opinion on whether shall really means shall under the statute, why you chose to go to a department led by a man bill barr who himself is implicated in the complaint and believes he exists to serve the interests of the president, not the office itself, mind you, or the public interest but the interest of the person of donald trump. why you chose to allow the subject of the complaint to play a role in deciding whether congress would see the complaint. why you

mcguire agreed to testify in open session next thursday. the post said it was not immediately clear which foreign leader mr. trump was speaking with or what he pledged to deliver. the white house did not immediately respond to a request for comment. >> the president says he is ordering tougher new sanctions on iran as tensions between d.c. and teheran continue to escalate now new evidence shows the remains of what was described as a misfired iranian cruise missile used at the saudi oil attack joinusm d.c. is craig boswell. craig, where do we go from here? >> reportera morng good mngrm the president said he'll speak in more detail about iran as early as today he pledged to increase new economic sanctions on teheran following the attack on saudi o oil fields the president saying iran and the u.s. and mike pompeo saying they are to blame for the missile attack these new sanctions will be added within two days. here's the president >> we'll be adding some very significant sanctions onto iran. there are many options and there is the ultimate option and there are options that are a lot less than that, and we'll s

mcguire about rudy giuliani. [video clip] >> what is your understanding right now of what mr. giuliani's role is?> congressman quigley, i respectfully refer to the white house and to comment on the president's personal lawyer. >> you see that he is his personal lawyer. we read in the complaint and this modified transcript, he has your reactionmes to the fact this civilian has played this role. sir it i am just saying i know what the allegations are. i am not saying the allegations are true. >> i don't think there is any question the credibility of the complaint. the mentioned -- the president mentions and speaks highly of mayor giuliani. i would like him to call you. i will ask him to call you along with the attorney general. in the complaint it talks about our national security. the inspector general talks about this as the highest responsibility among those that the dni has an obviously is to giuliani is playing this role. does he have security care -- security clearance? >> i am neither aware or unaware other this to giuliani has a security clearance. >> before this happened, were you aware of

mcguire nomination. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. lankford: if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.

mr. mcconnell: so for the information of all of our colleagues, the next vote will occur at 5:30 p.m. on monday. cloture on the mcguire nomination. madam president, i have three requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 176. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of state, joseph cella of michigan to be ambassador of the united states of america to the republic of kiribati, the republic of gnaw are you and the kingdom of tongue ga. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report

clerk: nomination, department of the treasury, brian mcguire of new york to be a deputy under secretary. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i just listened to the majority leader come down to the floor and tell members of the senate that they should close their eyes and box their ears to the current scandal that is engulfing the white house and the trump administration. i heard the majority leader accuse democrats of, quote, politicizing, unquote, president trump's demand that the government of ukraine interfere in the 2020 election. that is a laughable charge and it is not going to silence us on this matter of grave importance. first of all, i have no idea what it means to politicize something these days. news flash, we are politicians. we practice politics. that's our job. i get told very often that i'm politicizing gun violence when i suggest that maybe we should pass laws in order to change the daily trajectory of violence in this country. and yet, that's the very reason that we are here, to protect the safety of our constituents, to protect the sanctity of our democra