President Trump's firing of the inspector general who handled a whistleblower's complaint that sparked his impeachment is part of a larger shakeup of the intelligence community under Trump, who has always viewed intelligence professionals with skepticism.
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2019, file photo, Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, arrives at the Capitol in Washington for closed-door questioning about a whistleblower complaint that triggered President Donald Trump's impeachment. Trump has fired Atkinson. Trump informed the Senate intelligence committee Friday, April 3, 2020, of his decision to fire Atkinson, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
Asked during the daily coronavirus briefing about firing Atkinson, Trump returned to his attacks on the Democratic-led impeachment investigation and trial and his defense that his phone call with Ukraine’s president was “perfect” but had been inaccurately described in the whistleblower’s account. In fact, the partial transcript later released by the president largely supported the whistleblower’s account.
Atkinson is at least the seventh intelligence official to be fired, ousted or moved aside since last summer. The intelligence community has been in turmoil because of the constant turnover. According to two congressional officials, Atkinson has been placed on administrative leave, meaning he will not serve out the 30 days. One of the officials said Atkinson was only informed of his removal on Friday night. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Atkinson’s administrative leave had not been announced.
Atkinson’s firing thrusts the president’s impeachment back into the spotlight as his administration deals with the deadly spread of the coronavirus. As Trump was removing Atkinson, the number of U.S. deaths due to the virus topped 7,000. By the time of his remarks Saturday, it was over 8,100. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Finance Committee, said in a statement that inspectors general “help drain the swamp,” a phrase often used by Trump.
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