President Trump on Friday fired the intelligence community inspector general, Michael Atkinson, who brought a hearsay whistleblower complaint to Congressional Democrats, kicking off President Trump's impeachment.
Trump notified the Senate and House Intelligence Committees of his decision to fire Atkinson, according to Politico, citing two congressional officials and a copy of a letter dated April 3.
"This is to advise that I am exercising my power as president to remove from office the inspector general of the intelligence community, effective 30 days from today," wrote Trump, who added that he "No longer" has the fullest confidence in Atkinson.
Trump knocked Atkinson on January, noting that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff's decision to withhold Atkinson's testimony was a "Major problem."
Democrats had a fit at the news, with Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner calling Atkinson's firing "unconscionable" while accusing Trump of an ongoing effort to politicize intelligence.
Warner's House counterpart, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff called Atkinson's firing "retribution" in the "dead of night" - adding that it's "yet another blatant attempt by the president to gut the independence of the intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing.
The whistleblower complaint effectively kicked off the House's impeachment inquiry, which began in late September amid allegations that Trump had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 election when he asked Ukraine's president to investigate his political opponents, including Joe Biden.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-fires-inspector-general-investigated-over-troubling-role-ukrainegate
Trump notified the Senate and House Intelligence Committees of his decision to fire Atkinson, according to Politico, citing two congressional officials and a copy of a letter dated April 3.
"This is to advise that I am exercising my power as president to remove from office the inspector general of the intelligence community, effective 30 days from today," wrote Trump, who added that he "No longer" has the fullest confidence in Atkinson.
Trump knocked Atkinson on January, noting that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff's decision to withhold Atkinson's testimony was a "Major problem."
Democrats had a fit at the news, with Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner calling Atkinson's firing "unconscionable" while accusing Trump of an ongoing effort to politicize intelligence.
Warner's House counterpart, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff called Atkinson's firing "retribution" in the "dead of night" - adding that it's "yet another blatant attempt by the president to gut the independence of the intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing.
The whistleblower complaint effectively kicked off the House's impeachment inquiry, which began in late September amid allegations that Trump had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 election when he asked Ukraine's president to investigate his political opponents, including Joe Biden.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-fires-inspector-general-investigated-over-troubling-role-ukrainegate
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