notable
more sauce:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/intelligence-community-attorney-who-managed-trump-whistleblower-complaint-resigns
The general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is the latest high-level executive branch employee to announce his resignation.
Jason Klitenic confirmed that he would be leaving the office to return to the private sector, according to Politico. Democrats heavily criticized Klitenic over his decision not to pass the whistleblower’s complaint about President Trump’s phone call with Ukraine onto Congress. The report had been deemed “urgent” by an agency watchdog, but Klitenic referred the report to the Department of Justice, which disagreed with the “urgent” qualification.
The attorney defended his decision not to turn over the whistleblower’s report, which led to Trump’s impeachment in the House, because he felt that separation of powers allowed him to consult with the Justice Department before turning over the report to Congress. The law requires that if the report is deemed “urgent,” but Klitenic argued that watchdogs should not be given “unilateral right to forward a complaint to the congressional intelligence committees.”
Klitenic eventually turned over the whistleblower’s report to Congress after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff was told about the report and demanded to see it.
The attorney will leave the department in early March, just before acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire approaches his March 11 term deadline. Maguire can only work as an “acting” director for a set amount of time. Trump’s nominee to replace him, Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe, withdrew from the nomination, leaving the seat in limbo as Trump works to either choose a nominee to be approved by the Senate or to name a new acting director.