A2 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 , 2019
September.
Schiff responded with almost
immediate indignation, firing off a
letter demanding a copy of the
complaint and warning that he
was prepared to subpoena senior
U.S. intelligence officials. The DNI
has asserted that lawyers deter-
mined there was no notification
requirement because the whistle-
blower complaint did not consti-
tute an urgent concern that was
“within the responsibility and au-
thority” o f Maguire’s o ffice.
Legal experts said there are sce-
narios in which a president’s com-
munications with a foreign leader
could rise to the level of an “urgent
concern” f or the intelligence com-
munity, but they also noted that
the president has broad authority
to decide unilaterally when to clas-
sify or declassify information.
Revealing how the United States
obtained sensitive information
could “compromise intelligence
means a nd methods and potential-
ly the lives of sources,” said Joel
Brenner, former inspector general
for the National Security Agency.
It was unclear whether the
whistleblower witnessed Trump’s
communication with the foreign
leader or learned of it through oth-
er means. Summaries of such con-
versations are often distributed
among White House staff, al-
though the administration im-
posed new limits on this practice
after Trump’s disclosures to Rus-
sian officials were revealed.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]Carol D. Leonnig and Julie Tate
contributed to this report.Schiff has said he was told that
the complaint concerned “conduct
by someone outside of the Intelli-
gence Community.” Jason Klitenic,
the DNI general counsel, noted in a
letter sent to congressional leaders
on Tuesday that the activity at the
root of the complaint “involves
confidential and potentially privi-
leged communications.”
The dispute has put Maguire,
thrust into the DNI job in an acting
capacity with the resignation of
Daniel Coats last month, at the
center of a politically perilous con-
flict with constitutional implica-
tions.
Schiff has demanded full disclo-
sure of the whistleblower com-
plaint. Maguire has defended his
refusal by asserting that the sub-
ject of the complaint is beyond his
jurisdiction.
Defenders of Maguire disputed
that he is subverting legal require-
ments to protect Trump, saying
that he is trapped in a legitimate
legal predicament and that he has
made his displeasure clear to offi-
cials at the Justice Department
and White House.
After fielding the complaint on
Aug. 12, Atkinson submitted it to
Maguire two weeks later. By law,
Maguire is required to transmit
such complaints to Congress with-
in seven days. But in this case, he
refrained from doing so after turn-
ing for legal guidance to officials at
the Justice Department.
In a sign of Atkinson’s discom-
fort with this situation, the inspec-
tor general informed the House
and Senate intelligence commit-
tees of the existence of the whistle-
blower complaint — without re-
vealing its substance — in earlyAtkinson’s office on Aug. 12, a date
on which Trump was at his golf
resort in New Jersey. White House
records indicate that Trump had
had conversations or interactions
with at least five foreign leaders in
the preceding five weeks.
Among them was a call with
Russian President Vladimir Putin
that the White House initiated on
July 31. Trump also received at
least two letters from North Ko-
rean leader Kim Jong Un during
the summer, describing them as
“beautiful” messages. In June,
Trump said publicly that he was
opposed to certain CIA spying op-
erations against North Korea. Re-
ferring to a Wall Street Journal
report that the agency had recruit-
ed Kim’s half brother, Trump said,
“I would tell him that would not
happen under my a uspices.”
Trump met with other foreign
leaders at the White House in July,
including the prime minister of
Pakistan, the prime minister of the
Netherlands and the emir of Qatar.
Trump’s handling of classified
information has been a source of
concern to U.S. intelligence offi-
cials since the outset of his presi-
dency. In May 2017, Trump re-
vealed classified information
about espionage operations in Syr-
ia to senior Russian officials in the
Oval Office, disclosures that
prompted a scramble among
White House officials to contain
the potential damage.
Statements and letters ex-
changed between the offices of the
DNI and the House Intelligence
Committee in recent days have
pointed at the White House with-
out directly implicating the presi-
dent.tional Intelligence and a lawyer
representing the whistleblower
declined to comment.
Intelligence Community In-
spector General Michael Atkinson
determined that the complaint
was credible and troubling enough
to be considered a matter of “ur-
gent concern,” a legal threshold
that requires notification of con-
gressional oversight committees.
But acting director of national
intelligence Joseph Maguire has
refused to share details about
Trump’s alleged transgression
with lawmakers, touching off a le-
gal and political dispute that has
spilled into public and prompted
speculation that the spy chief is
improperly protecting the presi-
dent.
The dispute is expected to esca-
late Thursday when Atkinson is
scheduled to appear before the
House Intelligence Committee in a
classified session closed to the pub-
lic. The hearing is the latest move
by committee Chairman Adam B.
Schiff (D-Calif.) to compel U.S. in-
telligence officials to disclose the
full details of the whistleblower
complaint to Congress. Maguire
has agreed to testify before the
panel next week, according to a
statement by Schiff. He declined to
comment for this article.
The inspector general “deter-
mined that this complaint is both
credible and urgent,” Schiff said in
the statement released Wednesday
evening. “The committee places
the highest importance on the pro-
tection of whistleblowers and their
complaints to Congress.”
The complaint was filed withCOMPLAINT FROM AHAPPENING TODAYFor the latest updates all day, visit washingtonpost.com.All day | Vice President Pence speaks at the ninth annual Delivering
Alpha Conference hosted by CNBC and Institutional Investor in New York.
For developments, visit washingtonpost.com/politics.
All day | Georgetown University hosts a climate forum with 2020
presidential candidates through Fr iday. Visit washingtonpost.com/
politics for details.
Morning | First lady Melania Trump participates in a ribbon cutting and
a ride to the top of the newly reopened Washington Monument after a
37 -month closure. For developments, visit washingtonpost.com/politics.
8:30 a.m. | The Labor Department issues jobless claims for the week
ended Sept. 14, which are expected to come in at 215,000, up from
204, 000 the previous week. Visit washingtonpost.com/business for
details.
CORRECTIONSl A Sept. 15 Metro article about
the Alexandria City Council vote
to add bike lanes to Seminary
Road incorrectly said that both
opponents and proponents of the
proposal threatened retribution
at the polls. Only some
opponents of the bike lanes
threatened to vote out politicians
who did not support their
position.l A July 28 A-section article
about the friendship between
Kamala D. Harris and Beau
Biden, the late son of Joe Biden,
incorrectly characterized a
speech the then-vice president
gave at the 2016 California
Democratic convention. The
article said Biden spoke on
behalf of Harris’s Senate run, but
in fact he did not endorse her
until several months later.Washington Post
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[email protected].FLORIDAMan denied bail in
aircraft sabotage caseA federal judge cited new
evidence of potential terrorism
sympathies Wednesday in
denying bail for a longtime
mechanic charged with
sabotaging an American Airlines
jetliner that prosecutors say
could have caused it to crash
with 150 people aboard.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris
McAliley imposed pretrial
detention for Abdul-Majeed
Marouf Ahmed Alani at
the hearing in Miami federal
court.
The new evidence presented
by prosecutors includes that
Alani, 60, has a brother in Iraq
who may be involved with the
Islamic State and statements
Alani made about wishing that
Allah would use “divine powers”
to harm non-Muslims.
Alani is a naturalized U.S.
citizen from Iraq who has
worked as an airline mechanicfor 30 years. He has no prior
criminal record. He is not
charged with a terrorism-related
crime. But his potential links to
the Islamic State give rise to the
possibility that his actions had a
darker purpose, Assistant U.S.
Attorney Maria Medetis said.
Alani is charged with
sabotaging a Boeing 737 with
150 passengers and crew
onboard at Miami International
Airport in July because, he told
authorities, ongoing labor
negotiations were jeopardizing
his chances at earning overtime.
The aircraft did not take off,
and no one was hurt. Alani
worked overtime to help fix the
plane.
— Associated PressPENNSYLVANIAArrested on child porn
charges, senator quitsRepublican state Sen. Mike
Folmer resigned Wednesday
after being arrested and charged
with possession of childpornography on his cellphone.
The Patriot-News reported
that the charges against Folmer,
63, include sexual abuse of
children, possession of child
pornography and criminal use of
a communication facility.
The investigation was
triggered by a tip that a user had
uploaded an image of child
pornography using the Tumblr
app, Attorney General Josh
Shapiro said in a statement.
Officials said the tip led to a
search of Folmer’s home in
Lebanon, Pa., where they
found pornographic images of
children on his cellphone
Tuesday night.
Folmer did not respond to
messages seeking comment
Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday afternoon,
Pennsylvania Senate President
Pro Te mpore Joe Scarnati and
Senate Majority Leader Jake
Corman, both Republicans,
announced Folmer’s resignation.
Folmer was first elected to the
state Senate in 2006.
— Lateshia BeachumCALIFORNIANapolitano to resign as
president of UC systemUniversity of California
President Janet Napolitano, who
oversaw historic expansions of
the 10-campus system and
championed immigrant
students, said Wednesday that
she will step down in August
2020.
Napolitano, 61, a former
homeland security secretary and
Democratic governor of Arizona,
has battled a recurrence of
breast cancer but said her health
is good and did not play a role in
her decision to step down.
During her tenure, Napolitano
was criticized by state
lawmakers after a state audit
found problems with the
financial management of her
office. A report from State
Auditor Elaine Howle in 2016
found that Napolitano’s office
failed to disclose millions of
dollars in reserve funds.
— Associated PressDIGESTBY DEVLIN BARRETTA woman who says she is
“Victim-1” in the New York indict-
ment against deceased sex offend-
er Jeffrey Epstein f iled suit against
the executors of his estate
Wednesday, saying he abused her
for three years beginning when
she w as a 14-year-old struggling to
find a way to help her family pay
rent.
The suit, f iled in federal court in
Manhattan, offers new details
about Epstein’s interactions with
Victim-1, i ncluding specifics o f the
alleged crimes, and how her per-
sonal situation m ade h er a n easier
target. The lawsuit was filed by t he
woman’s lawyer, Roberta A. Kap-
lan.
In court papers identifying her
as “Jane Doe,” she alleges that
Epstein recruited her to engage in
sex acts in 2002, at a t ime when she
was “ in s erious financial s traits.”
Her sister w as s ick and t he f am-
ily h ad s o little m oney that the girl
was forced to move out, according
to the suit, which says she stayed
with “a rotating cast o f friends a nd
took odd jobs after school to try to
help her family pay rent.”
Around that time, an older girl
took her to Epstein’s mansion on
Manhattan’s Upper East Side,
where he would pay her hundreds
of dollars for m assages that gradu-
ally escalated into sex acts with
Epstein and others, according to
the s uit.
The abuse continued until she
was 17, and she was sexually as-
saulted “countless times” in those
three years, the lawsuit alleges.
She also alleges that she was
sexually assaulted by an Epstein
employee. The lawsuit says she
was taken into a bedroom with an
adult woman she did not know
and t hat, together, they e ngaged i n
sex acts with Epstein. The lawsuit
also asserts that Victim-1 was fre-
quently paid for her time withEpstein by two of h is a ssistants.
Prosecutors have said they con-
tinue to investigate whether any-
one connected with Epstein
should face co-conspirator charg-
es. His accusers have focused, in
particular, on Ghislaine Maxwell,
a longtime associate of Epstein’s,
and o ther members o f his s taff.
The woman identified as
Victim-1 still suffers “severe men-
tal anguish because of Epstein’s
abuse,” the lawsuit says, noting
that she never finished high
school and asserting that her
“physical and emotional injuries
impact her daily functioning,
making it difficult to go to work
and take care of her young daugh-
ter a nd her ailing mother.”
The suit was filed against Dar-
ren K. Indyke and Richard D.
Kahn, Epstein’s longtime lawyers
who were named in his will asexecutors of his estate. A number
of other alleged victims of Ep-
stein’s abuse are suing or plan to
sue Epstein’s estate, which is val-
ued at m ore t han $ 577 million.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday
does not specify how m uch m oney
Victim-1 is seeking in damages.
Attempts to contact Indyke and
Kahn were not s uccessful.
Epstein, 6 6, w as a rrested in July
when he arrived in New Jersey on
a private jet. The sex trafficking
charges filed against him were
similar to ones in Florida that had
been settled with a plea deal in
2008 that h as s ince b een criticized
as alarmingly lenient. Prosecutors
say Epstein recruited dozens of
teenage g irls to visit his homes and
give him m assages t hat frequently
escalated to sex acts. He paid the
girls hundreds of dollars for each
visit, his victims have s aid.About a month after his arrest,
Epstein was found dead in his cell
at the Metropolitan Correctional
Center in Lower Manhattan. The
charges he was facing carried a
potential prison sentence of up to
45 years, and the city’s medical
examiner ruled the death a sui-
cide, saying Epstein hanged him-
self. Epstein’s lawyers have not
accepted that finding, saying they
are conducting their own investi-
gation. Epstein had pleaded not
guilty to the sex trafficking charg-
es.
The FBI and t he Justice D epart-
ment are i nvestigating the c ircum-
stances of his death to determine
whether any crimes were commit-
ted in the course of the failure of
the Federal Bureau of Prisons to
keep Epstein alive while he was
awaiting trial.
[email protected]Lawsuit details Epstein’s alleged abuse of teen
JASON SZENES/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
A damaged door at the home of Jeffrey Epstein on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on the day of his arrest
in July on federal sex trafficking charges. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Epstein’s estate.The Original
Watergate Stories
To mark the 40th anniversary of
the Watergate scandal, The
Washington Post’s seminal
Watergate stories have been
gathered together for the first time
as an e-book, including a foreword
by journalists Bob Woodward and
Carl Bernstein assessing the
impact of their stories 40 years
later.
Inspector general saw matter as ‘urgent concern’
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