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After President Trump announced his decision to fire Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the U.S. intelligence community who noted concerns to Congress about a Trump phone call with the president of Ukraine, sparks of criticism arose from leading Democrats like Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Adam Schiff took to Twitter to air his thoughts on the matter.
Schiff claimed that the President was putting the country “at even greater risk.”
“Trump’s dead of night decision to fire ICIG Michael Atkinson is another blatant attempt to gut the independence of the Intelligence Community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing,” he said.
Trump’s dead of night decision to fire ICIG Michael Atkinson is another blatant attempt to gut the independence of the Intelligence Community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing.
It puts our country and national security at even greater risk. pic.twitter.com/Pnm7chdIkl
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) April 4, 2020
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quickly followed suit, saying, [Trump’s move is] “a brazen act against a patriotic public servant who has honorably performed his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath.”
“This latest act of reprisal against the Intelligence Community threatens to have a chilling effect against all willing to speak truth to power,” Pelosi continued.
“The President must immediately cease his attacks on those who sacrifice to keep America safe, particularly during this time of national emergency.”
More from Fox News:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned the president’s action in a pair of late-night Twitter messages.
“Whether it’s LTC Vindman, Captain Crozier, or Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson: President Trump fires people for telling the truth,” Schumer wrote in one message.
“Michael Atkinson is a man of integrity who has served our nation for almost two decades,” he added in a second post. “Being fired for having the courage to speak truth to power makes him a patriot.”
Michael Horowitz, chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and the inspector general at the Department of Justice, criticized the removal of Atkinson and defended his handling of the Ukraine case.
“Inspector General Atkinson is known throughout the Inspector General community for his integrity, professionalism, and commitment to the rule of law and independent oversight,” Horowitz told the AP.
— Advertisement — In January, Fox News reported that Atkinson was being investigated by Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee for his handling of the Ukraine matter, which began with a complaint filed by an unidentified “whistleblower.”
Last August, Atkinson received a complaint from someone who raised concerns about Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump sought a Ukraine-led investigation into the past business dealings in the country of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
Democrats argued that the president had tied the investigation request to the withholding of U.S. military aid from Ukraine, in what they described as a “quid pro quo” arrangement. But Trump denied any wrongdoing in connection with Ukraine.
The House ultimately impeached Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — but the Senate acquitted Trump of the charges in February.
