Intelligence community inspector general pushes back against Trump's whistleblower conspiracies

President Trump and some of his high-profile supporters — including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — have spent the last several days trying to discredit the whistleblower complaint now roiling the Trump administration, claiming that the person had no firsthand knowledge of the events described, making it all based on hearsay.

None of that is true, the intelligence community inspector general's office said in a statement released Monday. "The whistleblower stated on the form that he or she possessed both firsthand and other information," the statement said. "The ICIG reviewed the information provided as well as other information gathered and determined that the complaint was both urgent and that it appeared credible."

Michael Atkinson, the inspector general, determined that the complainant had "direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct," and while the whistleblower noted they were not a "direct witness to the president's July 25, 2019, telephone call with the Ukrainian president, the inspector general of the intelligence community determined that other information obtained during the ICIG's preliminary review supported the complainant's allegations."

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The statement also shot down a theory Trump floated on Monday morning when he tweeted: "WHO CHANGED THE LONG STANDING WHISTLEBLOWER RULES JUST BEFORE SUBMITTAL OF THE FAKE WHISTLEBLOWER REPORT? DRAIN THE SWAMP." The form the whistleblower submitted Aug. 12 is the same one that has been in place since May 24, 2018, the inspector general's statement affirmed. There has never been a requirement that a whistleblower must have firsthand knowledge in order to submit a complaint, the statement said, and three new forms on the inspector general's website were recently added in order to avoid any confusion over this fact. Read more at CNN.