Schumer: Fired inspector general will be remembered as a ‘hero’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said late Saturday that fired Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson will be remembered as a “hero.” 

The New York senator tweeted that he spoke over the phone with Atkinson, who was fired last week by President Trump, who said he “no longer” had confidence in the inspector general. Atkinson first alerted Congress about the whistleblower report that sparked Trump’s impeachment.  

“I spoke to Inspector General Michael Atkinson tonight, thanked him for his service, and told him that history will remember him as a hero and those who retaliated against him as scoundrels,” Schumer tweeted. 

I spoke to Inspector General Michael Atkinson tonight, thanked him for his service, and told him that history will remember him as a hero and those who retaliated against him as scoundrels.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 5, 2020

The president defended his decision to fire the inspector general in a press briefing on Saturday, saying Atkinson handled the whistleblower complaint from last fall unfairly and didn’t call him before informing Congress.

“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 told reporters. “Not a big Trump fan, that I can tell you.”

Democrats heavily criticized the president for the firing, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) calling the action a “brazen act against a patriotic public servant.” Some critics accused Trump of making the announcement to distract from the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected hundreds of thousands of Americans and killed at least 8,503.