Michael Atkinson (Inspector General)

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Michael Atkinson
Michael K. Atkinson official photo.jpg
Inspector General of the Intelligence Community
In office
May 17, 2018 –May 3, 2020
On leave: April 3, 2020 – May 3, 2020

Atkinson became Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (ICIG) in May 2018. [7] He was nominated to the position in November 2017 by President Donald Trump [13] and was confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote on May 14, 2018. [14] At his confirmation hearings, Atkinson indicated that he would bring order to the troubled ICIG's office, which had a reputation for dysfunction, and pledged to revive a whistleblower program that had become virtually defunct under the previous Acting Inspector General, [15] saying that he would "encourage, operate, and enforce a program for authorized disclosures by whistleblowers within the intelligence community that validates moral courage without compromising national security and without retaliation." [10] Restoring the whistleblower program was a major priority among members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. [15]

In August 2019, Atkinson, as inspector general, received a formal complaint from a whistleblower within the Executive Office of the President of the United States who stated that they had learned, in the course of normal duties, that Trump had abused his power "to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election," specifically by pressuring a foreign government (Ukraine) to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. [16] [17] The whistleblower, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer detailed to the White House National Security Council, [18] submitted the report to Atkinson under the provisions of the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (ICWPA). [19]

Atkinson looked into the complaint, and interviewed several government officials whom the whistleblower identified as having information to substantiate his claims. [18] On August 26, having found the complaint to be both "credible" and "of urgent concern" (as defined by the ICWPA), Atkinson transmitted the complaint to Joseph Maguire, the acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI). [20] Under ICWPA, the DNI "shall" forward a complaint deemed credible and of urgent concern, within seven days of receipt, to the Senate and House Intelligence Committees. The Trump administration, however, withheld the complaint from Congress; Steven Engel of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a determination saying that the acting DNI did not need to give the complaint to Congress because, in the opinion of the OLC, the complaint was not related to "an intelligence activity" under the acting DNI's authority. [21] [22] [23]

Clashing with Maguire, [11] Atkinson himself notified Congress about the existence of the whistleblower report. [24] In a letter to the House Intelligence Committee, Atkinson said that he and Maguire were "at an impasse" [11] and wrote that "As it now stands, my unresolved differences with the Acting DNI are affecting the execution of two of my most important duties and responsibilities" (to whistleblowers and to Congress). [15] The Trump administration eventually released the complaint [16] [17] following demands for its release from the Senate [25] and House. [26] The complaint prompted the launch of a House impeachment inquiry against Trump. [27] The whistleblower complaint brought public attention to Atkinson, who previously was a little-known official. [11]

In mid-November, news reports revealed that the president was angry with the IG's perceived disloyalty and wanted to fire him. [28] [29] [30] [31] He was placed on administrative leave by President Trump on April 3, 2020, who announced that he would dismiss Atkinson in 30 days (May 3, 2020). [2]

See also

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References

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  31. ↑ Brigham, Bob (November 12, 2019). "Trump trying to fire inspector general is a confession he 'did something criminal': Nicolle Wallace". The Raw Story . Retrieved November 13, 2019.
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