This is two hours. [inaudible conversations] the committee will come to order. Without objection the chair is authorized to recess the hearing at any time. Beforere we turn to the substance and then members should during these proceedings in light of the cautions by wearing a face cover such as a mask so i urge unless youre speaking to please be wearing a mask. We are also conducting this hearing which affords Additional Space for those who are physically distant so before we get into housekeeping let me give my best wishes to the president and the first lady for a speedy recovery of covid19. We were all quiteor shocked and distressed this morning to learn of their illness and we hope for a speedyy recovery they are very much in our thoughts. The department of Homeland Security leading dhs office of intelligence and analysis referring to the office throughout the hearing left the committee no choice to issue a subpoena for the hearing today from counsel of the client and then the former acting head of ina the Intelligence Community element for this committee it offered to withdraw the subpoena for his appearance of the department authorize the attorney clearance in time for mr. Murphys rescheduled deposition unfortunately dhs refused to do so therefore were Going Forward today with his testimony. I now recognize myself on Opening Statement. On august 3rd amid public reporting american citizens being snatched off the street apartment by Law Enforcement officials from dhs the committee launched a investigation into allegations the dhs Intelligence Analysis Office i and a an element of the Intelligence Community also played a role in those abuses in portland. Those abuses in portland. Of domestic. Despite those efforts over the past two months the deeply disturbing picture has come into sharper focus. Time time and again dhs office of intelligence and analysis face pressure by the Trump Administration to deploy its resources in a way to politically benefit the president of United States and his Reelection Campaign at the expense of our National Security. Specifically the committee has information that number one the Trump Administration officials sought to influence the production of election Threat Intelligence by elevating emphasizing activity by china and eye round displayed acute ongoing interference operations by russia. The committee is learned dhs leaders sought to impose the protection of classified and unclassified intelligence b assessments related to elections by encouragingn ina to report more on china even though the Intelligence Communitys Public Statements indicate that only russia is engaged and active measures to denigrate one candidate and support another and sway the outcome of the president ial election. Treating these the reactors and differing intent and capability russia china and iran creates a false equivalency. It dilute the fact that the most significant threat to our election is russia which is aggressively seeking to denigrate Vice President biden and boost President Trump. These changes did nothing to serve our National Security but words serve to avoid an embarrassing to president with a focus on the dangerous effects of russias interference on behalf of his campaign. Number two cups similarly dhs officials have sought to modify the unclassified homeland threat assessment which is yet to be released to this day. Specifically the committee is learned that senior dhs officials have pressed for the assessment to elevate the threat to our elections posed by china and iran which would have the effect of misleading the American Public would bolster downplaying the most significant foreign election threat coming from washington. Number three the committee has confirmed the dhs ina sent personnel to portland at the height of dhs response to protests in the city and ina is an element of Intelligence Committee was asked to engage in activity that raises profound Civil Liberties concerns. Specifically the committee is learned ina participated in questioning protesters who werei detained by other dhs officers and issued Intelligence Reports on reporters. We have learned the federal Detective Service and other components of dhs these phones from protesters and oust ina a member of the Intelligence Committee to extract data from most phones. Thankfully that request appears not to have been ultimately fulfilled. Inas presence and activities in portland were also in the service of the presence president blog order narrative for which he deployed the federal government in response to domestic protests in an effort to benefit himself politically. The committee is examining allegations that dhs officials sought to modify assessments related to domestic Security Threats. In Service Service of prison terms preferred narrative that antifa the socalled leftwing anarchist are the most important domestic threat. This is despite evidence to the contrary and testimony by fbi director Christopher Wray that white supremacist violence makes up a significant share of domestic terrorism. This is also in the wake of the president s refusal to fully and forcefully condemn white supremacists. This very dark hour with some of our leadership and the Intelligence Community is commandeered into the service of a president s desired political narrative rather than speaking truth to power. This is in the first the Intelligence Community has refused to serve political interest of the person in the oval office. 45 years ago committees in congress investigated the abuses and of another corrupt administration abuses that included not only secretive attempt to45 assassinate foreign leaders that efforts by her Intelligence Community to spy on exercise exercising their Constitutional Rights by monitoring their political activities. In 1975 seems like an long time ago but somey of those abuses seem all to me today. The Church Committee provided a series of recommendations including Standing Committees that was act as a check on the Intelligence Community. These committees are direct outgrowth of Richard Nixons abuse of the Intelligence Community radar job today and everyday him as his committees to ensure that those abuses do not happen again and that is why we have called you here to testify mr. Maher. Joseph maher is the senior official performing the duties of Undersecretary Office of intelligence and analysis at the department of homeland securit. Mr. Maher is here due to a subpoena issued earlier this week are the committee did not wish to subpoena mr. Maher became necessary when dhs continued to slow walk the security clearances for the whistleblower mr. Murphy for his attorney. Mr. Maher the committee always expects hearing witnesses to answer its members questions but today in issuance of the subpoena compels you to answer them fully and completely. It and opening our investigation in august 3 the committee requestedna a series of documens including Intelligence Reports. By ina. On august 19 requested additional documents as well as testimony from senior dhs ina officials. On september 9 the committee released a whistleblower complaint filed by her immediate come predecessor the former head of dhs intelligence and analysis office. Brian murphy alleged serious misconduct related to oregon on Ongoing Investigation. The department agreed to make available another a number of witnesses for transcribed interviews and provided only some of the documents we requested. The department is withholding the vast majority of documents relative to this committees Ongoing Investigation and oversight of the Intelligence Community. Moreover we are dismayed that the spartan is slow walk the security clearance denying him the right to have counsel president where we could learn Additional Details of these allegations allegations that the committee has a duty to independently investigate it appears some of those allegations may prove accurate ands others may not but we hava duty to find out given their seriousness and given that some of these allegations involve a threat to the upcoming election we need to find out now and without delay. Because some of mr. Murphys allegations are classified in particular those regarding the politicization of intelligence relayed to russian threats for upcoming election it would be necessary mr. Maheric to testify in part include session. Mr. Mahers here to explain the departments of struct is efforts under investigation by the committee. We will hold the classifieds section following this open hearings so we may further testify about the allegations of misconduct we are investigating. Finally mr. Maher we may ask you questions in todays open hearing about the nature of the threats facing our country because you represent open of the Intelligence Community whose responsibility is to keep americans fully informed than the director has a refused to appear publicly before this committee or the senate Intelligence Committee toio discuss these threats and responsibilities his predecessors respected on an annual basis. Director ratcliffe has chosen to selectively declassify and publish unverified material but she admits may be fabricated undertaking a political air and for the president before election only weeks away and errand that even john dern seems willing to not perform. Mr. Maher we expect you to level what with the American People today and to speak truth to power. Thank you and i recognize mr. Nunez for his opening remarks. Welcome to another hearing of the trump impeachment committee. This committee is to be formerly known as the house Intelligence Committee. I will begin by noting there is no reason for this hearing to be held in public except to stir up media interest in the democrats latest publicity stunt. Their attack on the leadership of this department of Homeland Security. The only reason mr. Maher is here subpoenaed here today is a privilege to force dhs to rush the topsecret security clearances without the appropriate background checks. In fact there was no reason for democrats to make this t whistleblower complaint public ate all. Ofs course handling whistleblowr complaints with discretion as his committee had always done before this congress is not helpful for publicity stunts so here wee go again. Lets recall the democrats on the committee were at the forefront of the russian collusion hoax. For years they claimed they found secret evidence of trumps conspiracy with russia. They should memo the fisa warrant to spy on Trump Associatesp and even tried to t pictures of trump from russian pranksters. They also touted the credibility of the steele dossier that they have paid for themselves the Democratic National committee and the clinton campaign. They even read the steeled dossier under this committees congressional record during hearings in the past. After a twoyear investigation however special counsel mueller filed to find secret collusion evidence that they democrats claim to secretly possess and since then we have learned the steele dossier the democrats championed was a mix of fake stories rumors barroom gossip and jokes collected by a suspected russian spy at the behest of the Democratic NationalCommittee Hillary clinton campaign. Furthermore the department of justice and the Inspector General found the fisa warrant application that the democrats defended for years was riddled with mistakes, omissions and evena withheld exculpatory evidence that relied on a doctored email hiding a Trump Associates cooperate should with u. S. Intelligence. The democrats have not called a single hearing to investigate any of these issues even though this committee is supposedly dedicated to overseeing the Intelligence Community and investigating abuses. They have held a hearing on Global Warming but dont care about documented corruption of the fisa process or suspected russian agents compiling political dirt for the Democratic Party. After mueller testified in this committee and again failed to expose the mythical collusion conspiracy the democrats suddenly switch tracks and the peach President Trump based on an anonymous whistleblower complaint from a bureaucrat who we later learned had coordinated attack of the democratic staff of this very committee. Despite the democrats insisting they had never had any contact with this whistleblower. Democrats brought oversight work to a hault and even holding ridiculous secret depositions that were leaked nightly to their media stooges followed by public show trials with the witnesses they found most useful. The impeachment and the house was such a transparent fraud that not a single republican voted for it. After the collapse of the russian collusion hoax and the failure to oust President Trump via impeachment the democrats suddenly ginned up an investigation issued their slew press releases and is now forced us into an open hearing and its certainly amusing that although this complaint is supposed to be handled by the Inspector General first the democrats have dispensed with the ig as an unnecessary middleman probably because the ig investigations take time and the doma kratzer operating on an election deadline. This all has a familiar ring to it. Almost all the democrats are following the playbook. I wouldld note usually you dont follow a playbook from any game that you have lost multiple times. Once again they are pushing into the limelight the complaint by a whistleblower. Small world. It may seem the whistleblower has some credibility problems. After all the whistleblower centanni melt directly contradicting his allegations. Furthermore the democrats themselves call them a liar just a few weeks before he filed this armplaint even threatened to criminally refer the whistleblower but now suddenly he is their star witness. Nevertheless i doubt my democratic colleagues will breeze past these contradictions in the media mouthpieces wont draw any attention to these upward problems just like they will ignore the testimony of multiple career officials delivered during the interviews that we have scheduled and conducted over the last few months which direct wayhe contradicts their new whistleblowers claims. So here we go again indulging the democrats dreams that they will find thetr holy grail of scandals that finally gets rid of trump without beating him in the election. Of course foreign threats and intelligence challenges dull grind to a hault while they pursue these sick fantasies. This one is clearly sick. We have had violence all over this country and it involves the bizarre antifa that have been burning down many of her countrys major cities. I know some few antifa as an idea. Thankfully the Trump Administration does not. I yield back. We will now proceed to questions under the fiveminute rule. Mr. Maher the allegations leveled against your office are credible serious and wideranging. They cover everything from abuse of authority and mismanagement of intelligence programs to the politicization of intelligence. We are going to review these allegations during the course of the hearing and i want to give you a chance to respond as well to other important issues under your purview. Let me start with a few which should be fairly easy questions. Rush interfering in our elections, yes or no . Youll have to turn your mic on sir. Yes. Is rush actively spreading disinformation about our elections . I would refer to the director of National Intelligence statements in office to the public about russian interference and russias efforts. Are the statements outlined that russia is spreading disinformation do you have any reason to quarrel with that . Theres a reason to quarrel with that. Is rush amplifying usdisinformation about mailin ballots and voter fraud, yes or no . That i dont think i can open open session answer in open session. Have you issued a bulletin on the subject . We have issued a number of bulletins on foreign influence and those are usually issued not for public consumption and so we have issued a number of all it ends on foreign influence by russia. Is rush actively trying to denigrate joe biden . Yes. Im sure you so recently during the testimony the consensus is russia continues to our el