General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEndorsing Trump's Firing of Inspector General, Barr Paints Distorted Picture
The New York Times logoEndorsing Trumps Firing of Inspector General, Barr Paints Distorted Picture
WASHINGTON Attorney General William P. Barr endorsed and defended President Trumps firing of Michael K. Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general, in an interview with Fox News. But in making the case that Mr. Atkinson committed a firing offense in his handling of a whistle-blower complaint last year that led to the impeachment battle, Mr. Barr made several claims that are subject to scrutiny.
What did Mr. Atkinson do?
Mr. Atkinson pushed the Trump administration in September to tell Congress about the whistle-blower complaint accusing Mr. Trump of abusing his power to try to coerce Ukraine into announcing investigations that could deliver him personal political benefits. The complaint touched off Mr. Trumps impeachment by the Democratic-controlled House.
Since the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted the president, he has been purging officials who cooperated with the House inquiry. On April 3, Mr. Trump fired Mr. Atkinson. The next day, the president made clear at a news briefing that he did so because he remained angry that the inspector general wanted to disclose the complaint to Congress.
-snip-
What did Mr. Barr say?
He endorsed Mr. Trumps move while putting forth a dubious account of what happened. This is Mr. Barrs statement:
The president did the right thing in removing Atkinson. From the vantage point of the Department of Justice, he had interpreted his statute which is a fairly narrow statute, gave him jurisdiction over wrongdoing by intelligence people and tried to turn it in to a commission to explore anything in the government and immediately report it to Congress without letting the executive branch look at it and determine whether there was any problem. He was told this in a letter from the Department of Justice, and he is obliged to follow the interpretation of the Department of Justice and he ignored it, so I think the president was correct in firing him.
Did Mr. Atkinson do what Mr. Barr said?
No, not when it came to an executive branch review. Mr. Atkinson tried to follow the procedures laid out in the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, which requires that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence review the complaint, then report it to Congress.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/factcheck/endorsing-trumps-firing-of-inspector-general-barr-paints-distorted-picture/ar-BB12sgLj?li=BBnb7Kz
Barr is this sleaziest Attorney General since John Mitchell. But then maybe he'll be to Mitchell what Trump is to James Buchanan.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)corrupt.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,355 posts)It's very pathetic.