Article snippet: Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire’s high-stakes testimony before Congress Thursday was fraught with tense moments as he defended his handling of a whistleblower complaint against MORE. In a rare move, the administration allowed the redacted version of the whistleblower complaint to be released before Maguire began his testimony on why he didn’t provide Congress with the allegations. The whistleblower alleged in a nine-page complaint that Trump sought to “solicit interference” from Ukraine in the 2020 election by pressing for an investigation of former Vice President MORE, and that the White House tried to cover up a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky where officials worried the president used his office for personal political gain. House Democrats launched a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump on Tuesday, a day before the White House released a readout of the July 25 call. The impeachment furor grew Thursday with the release of the whistleblower account. Here are five takeaways. Maguire offers a thorough defense of the whistleblower Maguire is an appointee of Trump’s, so it was notable that he offered a strong defense of the whistleblower whose account is at the forefront of impeachment calls. “I think the whistleblower did the right thing,” Maguire said to House Intelligence Committee Chairman MORE (D-Calif.) during public testimony, as Schiff asked whether he viewed the whistleblower as a political hack. “I ... Link to the full article to read more