A bipartisan group of eight senators sent a letter (pdf) to President Trump on Wednesday to request more details as to why he fired the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) last week.
GOP Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Mitt Romney (Utah) and Susan Collins (Maine) and Democratic Senators Gary Peters (Mich.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Mark Warner (Va.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) signed the letter to Trump, asserting that Trump’s stated motivation for the firing—he lost confidence in Atkinson—is not sufficient reason to dismiss the Intelligence watchdog chairman.
“Congressional intent is clear that an expression of lost confidence, without further explanation, is not sufficient to fulfill the requirements of the statute. This is in large part because Congress intended that inspectors general only be removed when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing or failure to perform the duties of the office, and not for reasons unrelated to their performance, to help preserve [inspector general] independence,” they wrote.
Important letter from @ChuckGrassley @MittRomney @SenatorCollins on removal of @ODNIgov IG https://t.co/9qGKPUB7WK
— The Oversight Project (@Oversight_Proj) April 9, 2020
On April 3, President Donald Trump fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general who handled the anonymous whistleblower complaint that triggered the House Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against the president.
“I thought he did a terrible job. Absolutely terrible. He took a whistleblower report, which turned out to be a fake report … and he brought it to Congress with an emergency,” Trump spoke about his decision at a presser on Saturday. “Not a big Trump fan, that I can tell you,” he added.
However, “As supporters of the Inspector General community, and as advocates for government transparency and accountability, it is our responsibility to confirm that there are clear, substantial reasons for removal,” the senators wrote. They further requested clarification by the president by April 13, referring to a 2008 Senate report that stipulated that ICIGs “are not removed for political reasons.”
The senators also stated that “By placing the IG on 30 days of administrative leave and naming an acting replacement, the administration has already effectively removed that IG and appears to have circumvented Congress’s role in this process.”
The senators referred to the fact that Congressional Intelligence panels should be notified of the removal of the Intelligence chair 30 days ahead in order “to provide an opportunity for an appropriate dialogue with Congress in the event that the planned transfer or removal is viewed as an inappropriate or politically motivated attempt to terminate an effective inspector general.”
