Schiff: DNI's refusal to turn over whistleblower complaint is "unprecedented"

"In the absence of that whistleblower law, there is no lawful mechanism for an intelligence community employer, detailee or contractor to raise a complaint about serious misconduct. The whole point of the whistleblower statute is not only to encourage those to report problems, abuses, violations of laws, but also to have a legal mechanism to do so and not to disclose classified information — because there's no other remedy. That whole purpose is being frustrated here because the director of national intelligence has made the unprecedented decision not to share the complaint with Congress."

What we know: On Aug. 12, a whistleblower filed a complaint with Atkinson, who serves as the watchdog for the U.S. intelligence community, that he deemed was "credible and urgent within the definition of the law." The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that the complaint concerned a communication between Trump and a foreign leader in which the president made some kind of "promise."

• Acting director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has refused to turn over the complaint to Congress, as is usually required by law. Schiff said Thursday that he does not know whether press reports about the nature of the Trump conversation are accurate, but that the Department of Justice was involved in the decision to withhold the complaint.

White House records show that Trump interacted with the following 5 foreign leaders in the 5 weeks preceding the complaint, though it's not clear if any of them are involved, according to the Post:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin
• North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un
• Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
• Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte
• Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

What's next: Schiff said he is consulting with the House general counsel to determine whether to take the Trump administration to court in order to obtain the complaint. Schiff also said he is considering using Congress' "power of the purse" to exert leverage over the DNI.

• Maguire will testify in open session before the House Intelligence Committee next week under threat of subpoena.

What Trump is tweeting:

"Another Fake News story out there - It never ends! Virtually anytime I speak on the phone to a foreign leader, I understand that there may be many people listening from various U.S. agencies, not to mention those from the other country itself. No problem! Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially "heavily populated" call. I would only do what is right anyway, and only do good for the USA!"

The bottom line: The lack of communication between Trump's top intelligence official and the Democratic-led House is the "latest in a series of fights over information" from the White House, per the New York Times. It could be the most significant one yet.

• "After nearly a month of stonewalling, it appears clear that the President has chosen the path of defiance, obstruction, and cover-up," the letter reads.

The state of play: Several White House officials have told Axios' Alayna Treene that the administration has no plans of complying with the committees' demands for interviews or documents without a full House vote formally approving an impeachment inquiry.

The big picture: The Trump administration's initial refusal to turn over the whistleblower complaint on the president's interactions with Ukraine is what led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to finally support a formal impeachment inquiry.

Go deeper: Trump letter dares Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment inquiry

• Johnson asked the Justice Department earlier this week to look into links between Ukraine and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. His letter questioned the narrative that Biden's actions in Ukraine had nothing to do with his son's connection.
• However, it was also discovered that he signed onto a 2016 letter that mirrored Biden's work to reform Ukraine's prosecutor general and judiciary.
• There is no evidence that Biden's reform work in Ukraine was to protect his son's business dealings, as the president and some of his allies allege, or that he committed any form of corruption.

The state of play: Sondland, a Trump political appointee who donated $1 million to the president's inaugural committee, denied that there was a quid pro quo between the Trump administration and Ukraine's government in a series of text messages that former Ukraine special envoy Kurt Volker provided to a group of House committees investigating the Trump-Ukraine matter.

• "I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign," Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, texted Sondland.
• Sondland texted back: "Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump's intentions. The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo's of any kind."
• The New York Times reported that Sondland's response came only after he spoke to the president.

Go deeper: House committees release texts from former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker