Adam Schiff accuses Trump of retaliation against Ukraine Whistleblower inspector general and the firing shows ‘lack of character’

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff accused the president of firing out of retribution the inspector general who passed along the Ukrainian whistleblower complaint to Congress.

President Trump informed lawmakers he was firing Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson on Friday night, citing a lack of confidence in Atkinson.

During an appearance later that night on MSNBC's The Last Word, Schiff accused Trump of "settling scores" with the firing.

"We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and what is this president doing as thousands of people are dying? He is retaliating against people that are on his enemies list and doing it in the dead of night. This is just another showing of the character or lack of character of this president," he began.

The California Democrat then pivoted to discuss the implications he sees in the president's recent decisions regarding the Intelligence Community.

"But it is a real threat to the independence of the Intelligence Community, which lost the head of the community, the DNI, the acting DNI and his deputy, the acting head of the National Counterterrorism Center was also fired," Schiff continued. "Along with his deputy also l... (Read more)

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