Intel chief testifies about whistleblower complaint at center of impeachment push

The nation’s top intelligence official is expected to face fierce interrogation from lawmakers on Thursday morning over his decision to withhold a whistleblower’s complaint about a phone call between President Trump and Ukraine’s leader that has prompted congressional Democrats to open a formal impeachment inquiry.

Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, will be testifying before the Democratic-led House Intelligence Committee to discuss the complaint, which was provided to certain lawmakers on Wednesday afternoon. His appearance on Capitol Hill is the latest flash point in an extraordinary series of events over the past two weeks which have precipitated a constitutional clash between the White House and the Democratic-controlled House.

On Wednesday, Democrats renewed their calls for an investigation into Mr. Trump’s actions after a memorandum detailed how the president pressured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival, and his son, Hunter, during a call in late July.

According to a summary of the call released by the White House, Mr. Trump on several occasions offered the U.S. government’s help in any probe into Biden and his son, who used to sit on the board of a Ukrainian energy firm. Mr. Trump also urged Zelensky to work with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Attorney General William Barr on the matter.

The Justice Department, which received the whistleblower complaint from Maguire, maintained on Wednesday that Barr had not worked with the president or Giuliani on contacting the Ukrainian government about a possible investigation into the Bidens. The department also said it determined that the actions denounced by the whistleblower in the complaint did not amount to a violation of campaign finance violation by the president.

Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has continued his steadfast denial of any wrongdoing, resurfacing unsubstantiated allegations about the Biden family.