Eric Swalwell, Jackie Speier don't hold back in questioning acting DNI over whistleblower complaint

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Eric Swalwell, Jackie Speier don't hold back in questioning acting DNI over whistleblower complaint 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee Thursday morning to answer questions about the anonymous whistleblower complaint regarding President Donald Trump's communications with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During an exchange with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Maguire erroneously called the former presidential candidate "congresswoman" before correcting himself. The East Bay congressman then pushed Maguire on his handling of the complaint, specifically why he brought it to White House lawyers.

FULL COVERAGE: Whistleblower: White House tried to 'lock down' call details

"The first people you go to after you read that allegation are the White House lawyers who are telling the White House officials who see this transcript and move it into a secret compartmentalized system," Swalwell said. "Those are the first people you go to?"

"Well, let's say a couple of things," Maguire responds.

"Is it a yes or a no?" Swalwell presses.

"Yes," Maguire says before Swalwell cuts him off and continues working through his questions.

The exchange received a good deal of attention on social media, with The Daily Show even making a "You Just Got Swallwell'd" clip complete with airhorns and fake explosions.

Rep. Jackie Speier, another Bay Area Democrat, also received media attention for her questioning of Maguire.

"When you read the complaint, were you shocked at all by what you read?" Speier asked.

Maguire then addressed her as "congressman" before correcting himself and stating, "I have a lot of life experience, I joined the Navy," before Speier interjected.

"I understand your record," she said. "Just answer it."

SPEIER: When you read the complaint, were you shocked at all by what you read?



MAGUIRE: When I saw that, I anticipated having to sit in front of some committee some time to discuss it. pic.twitter.com/XD7h70cmfY — JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) September 26, 2019

The acting DNI then referred to her as "congressman" again before stating he understood the severity of the complaint. He also said he anticipated having to testify before a congressional committee when he first read the complaint.

You can watch the exchanges in the videos above.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting