Home | WebMail | Register or Login

      Calgary | Regions | Local Traffic Report | Advertise on Action News | Contact

Posted: 2019-09-23T21:13:54Z | Updated: 2019-09-23T21:19:36Z

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed Republicans on Monday for their see no evil, hear no evil response to an intelligence report alleging President Donald Trump pressured Ukraine into helping him dig up dirt on a political rival.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Schumer demanded the administration release the complaint raised by a whistleblower from the intelligence community. He emphasized that Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson who was appointed by Trump identified the report as urgent and credible.

Yet in the face of this dire warning and the Trump Administrations effort to cover it up, the Republican-led Senate has remained silent and submissive, shying away from this institutions constitutional obligation to conduct oversight, Schumer wrote.

Schumer joins a growing list of top Democrats calling for the release of the complaint, which allegedly raised alarm over Trumps phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal , during the July discussion, Trump asked Zelensky about eight times to help his attorney Rudy Giuliani with a probe of former Vice President Joe Biden s son, believing it could hamper the Democratic candidates White House bid.

Support Free Journalism

Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Support HuffPost

The complaint is now in the hands of Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. He is required by law to send whistleblower complaints to the House and Senate intelligence committees within seven days, but Maguires lawyer has said that the Justice Department believes he can legally keep it under wraps, The New York Times reported .

Now, Schumer is pushing for the report to be subpoenaed and for Senate hearings investigating why it was filed in the first place. He is also asking for a transcript of Trumps call and the names of administration officials who withheld millions in military aid to Ukraine.

On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) released a letter of her own calling for the complaint to be handed to lawmakers, declaring that the administrations effort to keep it private could signal a new chapter of lawlessness .

Support Free Journalism

Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Support HuffPost

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) made similar calls last week.

Support Free Journalism

Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Support HuffPost