Trump’s inspector general firing will cripple intel agencies during the coronavirus crisis: National security analyst

On CNN Saturday, national security analyst Samantha Vinograd laid into President Donald Trump for firing intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson.

"Trump has decimated his own intelligence to date, and now he's continuing that pet project at a moment when, arguably, we need more, not fewer, competent professionals on board," said Vinograd. "This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the entire U.S. government, including the U.S. intelligence community. In the face of the novel coronavirus, resources are strained. We have less intelligence professionals able to come to work and access classified servers. And rather than trying to marshal resources at this time, President Trump has removed a competent intelligence professional from a key post."

"And it's also the way that he did it," Vinograd added. "Let's keep in mind, President Trump did not even allow Atkinson the mandatory 30-day transition period. He's been placed on administrative leave. That means there has not been the ability to appropriately hand over Atkinson's work to his successor, the acting inspector general. And the president has knowingly introduced unnecessary disruption and put more pressure on the intelligence community because his narcissism is really trumping everything else at this juncture."

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