Joseph Maguire, acting director of national intelligence, listens during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Maguire, who delayed giving Congress a whistleblower complaint about President Donald Trump, will testify about the complaint which details Trump's request that the president of Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

When acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire started his new job, the inspector general of the intelligence community was already in possession of a whistleblower complaint that would set Democrats on the path to launching a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

Just six weeks into his new role, Maguire made his debut before the House Intelligence Committee, defending not only his handling of that whistleblower complaint but the whistleblower themselves.

During the nearly three-hour hearing, Maguire made it clear he believed he had no choice but to consult with White House attorneys and the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, despite White House lawyers being implicated in the complaint, which he described as "unprecedented."

Labeling it a "unique situation," Maguire said the president's  involvement invoked other concerns that typically wouldn't be present in handling such a complaint, like whether claims of executive privilege could be made over parts of the report.

"I thought it would be prudent to ensure that it met the statute before I sent it forward," he said.

But Democrats on the committee questioned why Maguire went to the bodies directly mentioned in the complaint for guidance on how to handle the matter.

"So you went to the subject of the complaint for advice first on whether you should provide the complaint to Congress?" Schiff asked.

Maguire disputed that characterization. Maguire said he asked the White House about whether the conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fell under the scope of executive privilege and that no one directed him at any point to not provide the complaint to Congress.

He also maintained he did not ignore a subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee to hand over the complaint, putting distance between himself and other current or former administration officials who have defied subpoenas.

Democrats repeatedly said Maguire "withheld" the report from them by not sharing it within seven days as required by federal whistleblower law, after Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson deemed it an "urgent" matter. Some members suggested that, had Atkinson not notified them of the complaint, they would have never learned of it in the first place.

But Maguire disputed that characterization, saying he simply "delayed" providing Congress with the report in order to resolve the issues covered by executive privilege. He said the OLC opinion meant he did not have to comply with the time restrictions included in the statute.

And he said the complaint wasn't "being swept under the rug" because it was referred to the Justice Department. DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement Tuesday that the potential campaign finance violations were referred to the agency, but that no charges were being pursued.

A declassified, partially redacted version of the whistleblower complaint was released just ahead of Thursday's hearing. It alleged that Trump asked Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and that several White House officials tried to cover it up.

A memo documenting the call was released by the White House on Wednesday. Trump's actions pushed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to declare that the House is formally pursuing an impeachment inquiry.

In a series of final questions to Maguire, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff aimed to get what the House failed to get from former special counsel Robert Mueller—an explicit statement that Congress is now the best body to move forward in investigating allegations of wrongdoing by the president.

Mueller laid out several instances of potential obstruction of justice in his final report but did not make a charging decision. Attorney General William Barr said he determined the matter should be referred to DOJ and declined to pursue it further, angering Democrats who argued it should be taken up by Congress instead.

When Schiff asked Maguire if he believed the committee should take up the investigation, the intelligence chief replied, "The horse is already out of the barn."

Maguire said lawmakers have "all the information" they need, and the investigatory burden now falls on their shoulders.

Schiff signalled that the committee may call in others cited in the whistleblower complaint. And he called on others who were firsthand witnesses to the events described by the whistleblower to come forward.

"I would just say to those several others that have knowledge of these events, I hope that they too would show the same kind of courage" as the whistleblower, Schiff said.

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