As Twitchy told you, the New York Times is reporting that the whistleblower notified the House Intelligence Committee of vague allegations against Donald Trump, effectively giving committee chair Adam Schiff a heads-up about the formal complaint.
NEW: The whistle-blower alerted a House Intel Committee staffer to the outlines of his accusations against Trump before filing his complaint, giving Schiff an early clue to what the administration was initially blocking the IG from delivering to Congress. https://t.co/iExbjfNuxR
— Julian E. Barnes (@julianbarnes) October 2, 2019
Inquiring minds wanted to know how Schiff would explain this. Here’s what he’s come up with:
Schiff spokesman Boland says whistleblower contacted Intel Cmte in advance of complaint. Says "This is a regular occurrence, given the Cmte’s unique oversight role..Committee staff appropriately advised the whistleblower to contact an Inspector General"
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 2, 2019
Spokesman for RepSchiff says whistleblower did contact House Intel Committee. Says this is regular occurrence, was handled appropriately and whistleblower was advised to contact the Inspector General and legal counsel. Says Com did not receive or review complaint in advance.
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) October 2, 2019
Do you believe him? Plenty of people don’t:
BS!
— Sharon (@sharonlwhite25) October 2, 2019
And here’s your bridge.
— Norvell Rose (@NorvR) October 2, 2019
Sorry Shannon…not buying it for a second!
— Jean Poulin (@JeanPoulin13) October 2, 2019
— Coach Curley (@curleyfootball) October 2, 2019
https://t.co/K4fs9YeYBt pic.twitter.com/DTQ7rAki7B
— RBe (@RBPundit) October 2, 2019
I'm sure. This stinks. pic.twitter.com/qSsDXcoVNU
— Lynn??? (@Lynn3691) October 2, 2019
Guess all we can do now is stay tuned and see how this all shakes out.
***
Update:
Straight from the horse’s mouth:
When a whistleblower seeks guidance, staff advises them to get counsel and go to an IG.
That’s what they’re supposed to do.
Unlike a president pressing a foreign leader to dig up dirt on a political opponent.
That’s not what a president is supposed to do.
And we all know it. https://t.co/dzVAFGpMen
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 2, 2019
OK …
It's so commonplace and such a non-story that Schiff decided not to mention it at all. https://t.co/6TE0gCe43T
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) October 2, 2019