WASHINGTON – A whistleblower’s “urgent” concerns about a national security issue was made public Thursday after initial efforts by the Trump administration to block its transmission to Congress.

The House and Senate intelligence committees reviewed the complaint this week, more than a month after it was filed.

Here’s how the process unfolded.

Who is the whistleblower?

We don’t know much about the identify, including whether the person is male or female. The whistleblower is described as an individual in the intelligence community. The statute gives protection to an employee, detailee or contractor in the community who wants to disclose certain information to Congress.

What did the whistleblower allege?

The complaint appears related to President Donald Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump released a five-page summary of the call Wednesday, which revealed the president asking Zelensky to investigate political rival Joe Biden while the president withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to that country.

TAKEAWAYS:Asking Ukraine to 'play ball,' a 'lock down' of records: What the whistleblower report said

How did the whistleblower make a complaint?

Following the procedure outlined in the law, the whistleblower notified the inspector general for the director of national intelligence (DNI), Michael Atkinson on Aug. 12. Atkinson said in a Sept. 9 letter to Congress that the matter involves an "urgent concern," which is defined as "a serious or flagrant problem, abuse, violation of the law," but "does not include differences of opinions concerning public policy matters."

He said in a Sept. 17 letter that the complaint “relates to one of the most significant and important of the DNI’s responsibilities to the American people.”

What happened to the complaint?

Atkinson determined there were reasonable grounds to believe that the complaint was credible. Following procedure, he sent the information on Aug. 26 to the acting Director of National Intelligence, Joseph Maguire.

The law gives Maguire seven days to forward the complaint to the House and Senate intelligence committees. Instead, Maguire’s office informed Atkinson that the complaint didn’t meet the definition of an “urgent concern.” Atkinson said he was also told the complaint didn’t have to be acted on because it does not involve allegations about a member of the intelligence community or intelligence activity. Atkinson disagreed with that conclusion but said he is bound by it.

Full text:Read the full declassified text of the Trump whistleblower complaint

But California Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said the administration was violating the law by not sharing the complaint with Congress.

“The statute says that complaint shall be provided to the Committee. Not may, not might, not if the DOJ doesn't write an opinion, not if the White House doesn't like it. It says shall transmit to the Committee," Schiff said Wednesday. "And the reason Congress wrote the statute that way is that, particularly in the Intelligence Community, we are reliant on whistleblowers.”

Can the whistleblower talk to lawmakers anyway?

The law allows an employee to go directly to Congress under certain conditions, including getting direction from the Director of National Intelligence on how to proceed. But Atkinson told Congress in his Sept. 17 letter that Maguire was not providing that guidance. That put the whistleblower at risk of retaliation if the individual talks to lawmakers anyway.

The whistleblower’s attorney released a Sept. 24 letter from the DNI’s general counsel in which the counsel said he was “consulting with other executive branch stakeholders” before giving the requested guidance.

Could the whistleblower still face repercussions?

The DNI’s general counsel told the whistleblower’s attorney that the agency is “committed to protecting your client from retaliation.”

But Schiff, the House intelligence committee chairman, said the person is worried, after Trump criticized the person as "highly partisan" with uncertain loyalty. Trump tweeted that the whistleblower's lawyer had political bias, had contributed to Biden's campaign, and had worked for Democrats Hillary Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.