After his release by US President Donald Trump, Inspector General of Inspector Michael Atkinson justified his actions in the Ukraine affair.
„It is hard not to think that the President’s loss of confidence in me is due to the fact that I have met my legal obligations as an independent and impartial Inspector General and that I have committed to continue to do so,“ he said yesterday (local time) according to „Politico“ with.
The Inspector General of Intelligence had played a key role in getting the Ukraine affair rolling. It led to impeachment proceedings against Trump, which the Senate acquitted in early February.
As the intelligence agency, Atkinson had forwarded a whistleblower complaint to Congress regarding a Trump call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky. According to the allegations, Trump is said to have urged Selenski to investigate his democratic rival Joe Biden to influence the 2020 US presidential election in his favor.
After Trump’s acquittal, a National Security Council expert in the White House, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, and US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, were relieved of their duties. Both had testified against the President in Congress after being summoned to pay a fine.
Trump said Friday night that he had lost confidence in Atkinson. Atkinson will leave office within 30 days. Trump did not name a successor.
