Acting Director of National Intelligence Maguire: 'I think the whistleblower did the right thing'

Joseph Maguire.
(Image credit: Andrew Harnik/AP)

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire said Thursday the whistleblower alleging President Trump abused the power of the presidency has done everything right throughout the process of coming forward.

Maguire while testifying before the House Intelligence Committee said the whistleblower, who in a complaint alleged Trump solicited 2020 election interference from Ukraine, has "acted in good faith throughout" and that "I have every reason to believe" both the whistleblower and the inspector general "have done everything by the book and followed the law."

Trump on Twitter in recent days has been attacking the anonymous whistleblower by alleging they are politically motivated. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during the testimony specifically tried to get Maguire to push back on this idea and say that the whistleblower is not a political hack.

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Maguire would not do so, but he did say he has no reason to believe the whistleblower — the identify of whom he says he does not know despite his continued use of the pronoun "he" — is disloyal to the country, adding, "I think the whistleblower did the right thing." Brendan Morrow

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