The United States President, Donald Trump, has dismissed a senior official who first alerted the Congress to a whistleblower that triggered his impeachment trial.
The president stated that he had lost confidence in the inspector general of the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson.
“It is vital that I have fullest confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general. This is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general,” he said.
Democrats have however reacted angrily to the development saying the president was settling cores during a national emergency caused by the coronavirus and also accused him of trying to undermine the intelligence community.
Senator Mark Warner, the most senior democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said, “In the midst of a national emergency, it is unconscionable that the president is once again attempting to undermine the integrity of the intelligence community by firing yet another intelligence official simply for doing his job.”
Congressman Adam Schiff also added that “President Trump’s decision to fire intelligence community inspector, General Michael Atkinson, was another blatant attempt by the president to gut the independence of the intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing.”
