Senator Klobuchar’s Plan to Protect Whistleblower Information

On Wednesday, September 25, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence delivered a whistleblower complaint to Congress that made clear that that the President of the United States asked a foreign government to interfere in our elections and that the White House then tried to cover up the evidence.

The delay in the delivery of the whistleblower complaint, however, raised serious concerns about interference in its transmission to Congress. After receiving the whistleblower complaint from the Intelligence Community Inspector General, who had determined that the complaint was an “urgent concern,” the Director of National Intelligence consulted with the Department of Justice to determine whether it needed to be released to Congress. The Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the complaint did not constitute an “urgent concern” and did not have to be provided to Congress.

This action is just another example of the Trump Administration’s abuse of power that has put our democracy at risk. The day after his inauguration, President Trump delivered a political speech in front of the CIA’s wall of gold stars commemorating fallen officers. And the President has shared sensitive Israeli intelligence with the Russian Foreign Minister in the Oval Office, sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin over our intelligence community, and joked about the Russian invasion of our democracy.

As President, Senator Klobuchar will take the following actions to protect our democracy:

• Clarify that the Department of Justice cannot intervene in the transmission of a whistleblower complaint according to the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act. Within her first 100 days in office, Senator Klobuchar will issue guidance affirming that the Department of Justice cannot intervene in the transmission of a whistleblower complaint to Congress under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act. According to the law, upon receipt of the complaint, the Director of National Intelligence must transmit it to Congress within seven days if the Inspector General has determined the complaint to be of urgent concern.
• Require the Department of Justice to make all Office of Legal Counsel memos publicly available unless doing so would harm national security. As President, Senator Klobuchar will direct the Office of Legal Counsel to immediately make its opinions publicly available unless there is a compelling national security reason to prevent their release. Office of Legal Counsel opinions have significant, wide-ranging impacts on U.S. law and policy and should be made available to the public immediately.

In addition, Senator Klobuchar has laid out a plan for her first 100 days that includes executive action she can take immediately to protect our democracy and increase transparency in government. See Senator Klobuchar’s plan of more than 100 actions for her first 100 days as President here.