It looks like the Intelligence Inspector general is about to get Sessioned
by digby
If you know what I mean:
Trump complains about Intelligence Community IG's decision to report the whistleblower's complaint: "I want to find out why the IG-why would he have presented that when in fact all he had to do was check the call itself and he would have seen it." pic.twitter.com/iVDM7K4KFh— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 13, 2019
I’m beginning to think we’re dealing with dementia more than a stupid strategy. The call is damning. His pretense that his bribe isn’t obvious is becoming downright delusional.
The New York Times reported earlier that he’s been on this crusade for a while:
President Trump has discussed dismissing the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson, because Mr. Atkinson reported a whistle-blower’s complaint about Mr. Trump’s interactions with Ukraine to Congress after concluding it was credible, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
Mr. Trump first expressed his dismay about Mr. Atkinson around the time the whistle-blower’s complaint became public in September. In recent weeks, he has continued to raise with aides the possibility of firing him, one of the people said.
The president has said he does not understand why Mr. Atkinson shared the complaint, which outlined how Mr. Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate Mr. Trump’s political rivals at the same time he was withholding military aid from the country. He has said he believes Mr. Atkinson, whom he appointed in 2017, has been disloyal, one of the people said.
Mr. Trump’s private complaints about Mr. Atkinson have come as he has publicly questioned his integrity and accused him of working with the Democrats to sabotage his presidency.
It is unclear how far Mr. Trump’s discussions about removing Mr. Atkinson have progressed. Two people familiar with what took place said they thought that Mr. Trump was just venting, and insisted that Mr. Atkinson’s dismissal was never under serious consideration.
But the mixture of public attacks and private discussions about a possible dismissal is a familiar way Mr. Trump has undermined investigators who have examined his conduct or that of people close to him. The president publicly criticized James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and Jeff Sessions, the former attorney general, before he dismissed them for perceived disloyalty.
Mr. Trump believes he has the power to fire anyone in the executive branch, though aides say they have learned to ignore many of his private rants, unless the president brings up the subject repeatedly and appears on the precipice of making a move they feel could be damaging.
He needs to punish somebody. He’d love to take down the whistleblower but he has legal protections. The witnesses are all straight arrows who are difficult to attack successfully. This guy he can just fire. Whether they can hold him back remains to be seen. He is a headstrong toddler and he’s not easily controlled.
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