Bombshell whistleblower report: Was there a 'promise' by Trump to a foreign leader?

[View in browser]( [Image] SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 A [whistleblower complaint]( by an intelligence official about a promise made by President Donald Trump to a foreign leader involves Ukraine, The Washington Post reported Thursday evening. The newspaper cited two people familiar with the matter whom it did not name. The Trump administration has withheld the details of the report from Congress; though it was known that the complaint involved a foreign leader. NBC News has not confirmed that Ukraine is at the center of the issue. A request for comment from the White House was not immediately returned. [More from NBC News' Phil Helsel]( [Image]( Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images Two and a half weeks before the whistleblower complaint was filed, Trump spoke with Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Post reported. House Democrats announced last week that that they will investigate the role of Trump’s personal lawyer, [Rudy Giuliani](, in what they characterized as efforts to [influence the government of Ukraine to help the Trump re-election campaign.]( The inspector general for the intelligence community, an independent watchdog, deemed the complaint an “urgent concern" that he was required by law to turn over to the congressional intelligence committees. But the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, after consulting with the Justice Department, [overruled him,]( according to a series of letters between a DNI lawyer and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff that have been made public. “This involves an allegation of serious wrongdoing, something that the inspector general felt needed to be presented to Congress,” [Schiff told Rachel Maddow Thursday night.]( “It is unprecedented for a director to withhold that information from Congress." In case you missed it: Videos [Image]( ['Criminal behavior': Fmr. Russia Ambassador says Trump whistleblower complaint points to crime]( The Washington Post reported a U.S. intelligence official filed a complaint citing "urgent concern" about a promise Trump made to a foreign leader. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul argues the complaint must have come from a “very senior” official who had access to Trump’s phone calls. McFaul adds the complaint either points to “criminal behavior” or some “threat to a key asset to the intelligence community.” (The Beat) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Image]( [Trump’s long record of staying strange things to world leaders on the phone]( Former assistant director at the FBI Frank Figliuzzi, former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman, The Daily Beast’s Sam Stein, and NYT’s Nick Confessore on how Trump has said odd things to world leaders during phone calls. (Deadline: White House) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Image]( [Schiff slams DOJ for isolating intel community whistleblower]( Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about his fight with the ODNI and the DOJ to get access to an intelligence community whistleblower complaint reportedly related to Donald Trump, and the damage the Trump administration is doing to the government whistleblower system. (Rachel Maddow) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Climate forum 2020 [Image] - Bernie Sanders: I'd look into criminal charges against fossil fuel executives ([Video]() - Julián Castro: Vote for candidates at the local, state, and federal levels who have a climate plan (Video) - Marianne Williamson addresses tweet suggesting 'power of the mind' could stop Hurricane Dorian ([Video]() - Andrew Yang: Why changing how GDP is measured matters in fighting climate change ([Video]() - Michael Bennet: Gen Z 'has a lot to be really angry at us about' ([Video]() - Tim Ryan: We can't fix climate change without working with China ([Video]() - John Delaney: International trade relationships vital to fighting climate change ([Video]() Quote of the day “Our founding fathers didn’t envision this level of corruption and obstruction.” — Former FBI Asst. Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi ([Video]() Other top news [Colt will stop making AR-15s for civilian sale, says there's already plenty on market]( Colt will suspend production of AR-15 rifles for civilian sales, saying there's an "adequate supply" of the high-powered weapons already in the market, the famed gun manufacturer said Thursday. The gun-maker, based in West Hartford, Connecticut, said its decision is purely market-driven and made no mention of any public pressure over the AR-15's use in several mass shootings in the United States. [Apple's privacy battle against rival tech giants is coming to your home screen]( Apple on Thursday released the latest version of its iPhone operating system, iOS 13, which includes a new feature meant to notify people when apps are tracking them in unexpected ways. The first examples of the new notifications, which look like typical iPhone pop-ups, have circulated on social media and Reddit, where one iPhone user posted a screenshot after testing an early version of the new software. And they show the unfamiliar workings of some very familiar apps. [Can Justin Trudeau survive the blackface scandal? Canadian political experts weigh in]( This week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's re-election campaign was roiled by a scandal over a newly resurfaced photo of him in brownface at an "Arabian Nights" costume party 18 years ago, when he would have been 29, along with a video showing him in blackface makeup. Trudeau has apologized, telling reporters Thursday afternoon that his behavior was "unacceptable because of the racist history of blackface." [OPINION. Who is Robert O'Brien, Trump's new national security adviser? And what has he walked into?]( The temperament and myopia of Donald Trump that led to the sudden departure — whether by choice or by force — of his third national security adviser in less than three years is a vivid demonstration that the president’s bold, unorthodox foreign policy initiatives are probably doomed. by [David A. Andelman, The RedLinesProject]( What to watch Friday Chris Hayes and Ali Velshi continue to moderate “Climate Forum 2020,” the second day of a discussion with 2020 Presidential candidates, with questions from young voters on climate change. The event will stream live on MSNBC.com, NBC News Now and Telemundo, with special coverage across MSNBC. Catch highlights of the candidate interviews on a special “All In with Chris Hayes: Climate in Crisis” Friday at 8p.m. ET [Image]( We'll also be watching the global climate strikes scheduled for tomorrow, three days before the United Nations Climate Summit in New York city. 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