Rep. Adam Schiff slams the “dead of night” decision to gut the intelligence community’s independence by firing Michael Atkinson.
President Donald Trump has notified the Senate Intelligence Committee that he is firing Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the U.S. intelligence community who was the first to alert Congress to an urgent whistleblower complaint about Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president last year.
In a July 25 phone call, Trump pressured President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into unfounded accusations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. At the time, Trump was withholding military aid from Ukraine, a form of coercion for political gain that led to his impeachment in the House.
Trump notified the Senate committee of his intention to fire Atkinson and remove him from his post as inspector general of U.S. intelligence agencies, which will be effective 30 days from Friday, according to congressional officials and a copy of Trump’s notification in a letter obtained by several media outlets.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called the “dead of night decision” a “blatant attempt to gut the independence of the Intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing.”
Trump Fires Inspector General Who Sounded Alarm On Ukraine Call
Is Trump trying to deflect attention away from his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic? It really does look that way. Michael Atkinson was appointed by Trump. Atkinson has a reputation of being an honorable man.
President Donald Trump has notified the Senate Intelligence Committee that he is firing Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the U.S. intelligence community who was the first to alert Congress to an urgent whistleblower complaint about Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president last year.
In a July 25 phone call, Trump pressured President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into unfounded accusations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. At the time, Trump was withholding military aid from Ukraine, a form of coercion for political gain that led to his impeachment in the House.
Trump notified the Senate committee of his intention to fire Atkinson and remove him from his post as inspector general of U.S. intelligence agencies, which will be effective 30 days from Friday, according to congressional officials and a copy of Trump’s notification in a letter obtained by several media outlets.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called the “dead of night decision” a “blatant attempt to gut the independence of the Intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing.”
Trump Fires Inspector General Who Sounded Alarm On Ukraine Call
Is Trump trying to deflect attention away from his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic? It really does look that way. Michael Atkinson was appointed by Trump. Atkinson has a reputation of being an honorable man.
