Joe Maguire | |
|---|---|
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| ActingDirector of National Intelligence | |
| In office August 16, 2019 – February 20, 2020 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Andrew P. Hallman (acting) |
| Preceded by | Dan Coats |
| Succeeded by | Richard Grenell (acting) |
| 5th Director of the National Counterterrorism Center | |
| In office December 27, 2018 – August 16, 2019 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Nicholas Rasmussen |
| Succeeded by | Christopher C. Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-08-14)August 14, 1951 (age 74) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Education | Manhattan College (BS) Naval Postgraduate School (MS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1974−2010 |
| Rank |  Vice Admiral |
| Commands | United States Naval Special Warfare Command |
Joseph Maguire (born August 14, 1951)[1] is an American officer who served as Director of theNational Counterterrorism Center and ActingDirector of National Intelligence under PresidentDonald Trump. He retired from the United States Navy as avice admiral in 2010 after 36 years of military service.[2] Prior to retiring from active duty, he was the deputy director for strategic operational planning atNational Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).[3]
Appointed by PresidentDonald Trump, Maguire became ActingDirector of National Intelligence on August 16, 2019,[4] a role he held during theTrump–Ukraine scandal. On September 13, 2019, theHouse Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to Maguire alleging that he was unlawfully withholding a whistleblower complaint from the committee; he testified before the committee on September 26.[5][6][7]
Maguire is fromBrooklyn, New York.[1] He graduated fromManhattan College with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1974.[8]
Maguire joined the Navy in November 1974 and spent his career as aNaval Special Warfare Officer.[8] His first sea duty tour assignment was aboardUSSCoronado.[9] Maguire then received orders toBasic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) atNaval Amphibious Base Coronado. After six months of training, Maguire graduated with BUD/S class 93 in July 1977 despite having a broken leg.[10] His first operational assignment was with Underwater Demolition Team Twenty One and received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, entitled to wear theSpecial Warfare Insignia. From 1979 to 1981, Maguire was the Flag Lieutenant to Commander Amphibious ForcesSeventh Fleet (CTF 76).[1][9] Maguire served with SEAL Team Two from January 1982 to July 1983 and completed a deployment to Europe with Naval Special Warfare Unit Two. Maguire attendedNaval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and graduated with a master's degree in Scientific and Technical Intelligence in 1985.[8][11]His staff tours include operations officer, Naval Special Warfare Group Two from Apr 1985 to January 1987; executive officer, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two from February 1987 to March 1988; Naval Special Warfare's Assignment Officer and Community Manager,Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, D.C. from 1989 to 1991; Chief Staff Officer,Naval Special Warfare Development Group from March 1991 to December 1992. He then served as Commanding Officer, SEAL Team Two from December 1992 to 1994. He was a 1994–95 National Security Fellow atHarvard University. He was Commanding Officer,Naval Special Warfare Center from 1997 to 1999 and then Deputy Commander,Naval Special Warfare Command from October 1999 to July 2001.[1][9]
From 2004 to 2007, Maguire served as Commander,Naval Special Warfare Command. From 2007 until 2010, he was theNational Counterterrorism Center's deputy director for strategic operational planning.[1][9] He retired from the Navy in 2010 with the rank ofVice Admiral.[8]
After he retired, Maguire went to work as a vice president ofBooz Allen Hamilton.[10] He currently serves as the Executive Director of The Clements Center for National Security[12] at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.
Maguire served for three years on the board of theSpecial Operations Warrior Foundation, a foundation which provides financial assistance to severely wounded special operations troops as well as support for the children of those troops who have died. He then became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the foundation in 2013.[10]
In June 2018, Maguire was nominated to be the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center by PresidentDonald Trump.[2] This nomination was confirmed by theU.S. Senate in December 2018.[13] He was sworn in on December 27, 2018.[11]
On August 8, 2019, PresidentDonald Trump announced that Maguire would become actingDirector of National Intelligence (acting DNI) on August 15, 2019.[4] Maguire's designation as acting DNI occurred after the previous director,Dan Coats, resigned from office, and after Trump refused to permit the deputy director,Susan M. Gordon, to become acting DNI.[14]
In February 2020 Trump rebuked Maguire when he heard that one of Maguire's subordinates, an expert on election security, had briefed members of House Intelligence Committee on Russian preference involvement in the 2020 election. Members of the committee were told Russia appeared to prefer Trump over Democratic candidates and could seek to act on that preference as they had done in 2016 election to boost his candidacy. Trump then announced he would be replacing Maguire,[15] who resigned on February 21, 2020, and was immediately replaced withRichard Grenell as acting chief.[16] Reactions of concern were published quickly by former military and intelligence professionals such asWilliam McRaven.[17]
Maguire was acting DNI at the time that a member of theUnited States Intelligence Community (IC) submitted a formalwhistleblower complaint to theInspector General of the Intelligence Community (IGIC), regarding PresidentDonald Trump's communications with a foreign leader; the complaint said Trump had made a troubling "promise" to the foreign leader.[18] (It was subsequently revealed that the complaint related to a July 2019 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump pressed the Ukrainian government to investigate Trump's political rival, former Vice PresidentJoseph R. Biden Jr., and his family).[19]
The whistleblower's complaint was deemed credible and a matter of "urgent concern" by theInspector General of the Intelligence Community (IGIC).[20] Under federal law, when the IGIC determines that a complaint credibly raises an urgent concern, he or she forwards it to the relevant agency head (here, the DNI), who is required to forward it to the congressional intelligence committees within seven days.[21] In this case, however, Maguire, withheld the complaint from Congress.[22][23]
Maguire's refusal prompted the House committee to issue a subpoena to Maguire, ordering him to either immediately hand over the whistleblower's complaint to Congress or give testimony to the House Intelligence Committee explaining why he was refusing to do so.[23] Schiff accused Maguire of illegally withholding a properly submitted whistleblower complaint in an unprecedented way, and said that the matter raised "serious concerns about whether White House, Department of Justice or other executive branch officials are trying to prevent a legitimate whistleblower complaint from reaching its intended recipient, the Congress, in order to cover up serious misconduct."[22] Schiff said Maguire has cited a "higher authority, someone above the DNI" in his refusal to turn over the whistleblower complaint.[6]
According to a report inThe Washington Post, Maguire threatened to resign as acting DNI over concerns that theTrump administration might attempt to constrain his testimony to Congress over the intelligence whistleblower's complaint.[14] The report said Maguire had "expressed his displeasure to White House counselPat Cipollone and others that the White House had put him in the untenable position of denying the material to Congress over a claim that it did not fall within his jurisdiction as leader of the intelligence community".[14] In a statement, Maguire denied that he had contemplated resigning saying, "At no time have I considered resigning my position since assuming this role."[14]
| External videos | |
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 Maguire's testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, September 26, 2019,C-SPAN |
Maguire initially refused to testify before the House Intelligence Committee at a hearing on September 19,[23] but later agreed to give testimony on the whistleblower complaint in an open session of the House Intelligence Committee on September 26.[24] It was unclear whether Maguire had "forced the White House to acquiesce and allow him to testify without constraint".[14] In a statement, Maguire said he had followed the law "every step of the way ... [was] committed to protecting whistleblowers and ensuring every complaint is handled appropriately ... [and aimed to] work with the Administration and Congress to find a resolution regarding this important matter".[14]
Maguire and his wife have two children.[25]
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Director of National Intelligence Acting 2019–2020 | Succeeded by Richard Grenell Acting |
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| National | |
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