Senior lawmakers are eager to prevent a ‘campaign of retaliation’ by the president.
Twenty House committee chairs are asking the nation’s top federal agency watchdogs for advice on how to protect them from potential retaliation by President Donald Trump for uncovering mismanagement or wrongdoing inside his administration.
The Democratic committee leaders, who include Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, say they’re seeking legislative proposals that could restrict Trump’s ability to remove or demote inspectors general for political reasons.
“Unlike any President in modern history, President Trump has engaged in offensive and unjustified attacks against Inspectors General, criticizing them for following the law, and retaliating against them for telling the truth,” the chairs wrote in a three-page letter to Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general, who leads a committee of fellow watchdogs.
Democrats have been acutely concerned about Trump’s handling of inspectors general, and their alarm grew last week when Trump abruptly removed the intelligence community’s top watchdog, Michael Atkinson. Trump later acknowledged he ousted Atkinson over his decision to inform Congress about the existence of a whistleblower report alleging wrongdoing by the president toward Ukraine that led to Trump’s impeachment.
Trump has also spent recent days attacking the Health and Human Services inspector general for a report indicating that hospitals across the country were unprepared for coronavirus — he accused the 21-year veteran of multiple administration of being an Obama appointee. And he sidelined the top watchdog of the newly signed $2 trillion coronavirus law, Glenn Fine, who had been selected by fellow inspectors general to lead oversight of the massive new aid programs.
“The President’s actions not only flout the law, but they signal to other Inspectors General that they could be punished for doing their jobs,” the lawmakers write.
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Senior lawmakers are eager to prevent a 'campaign of retaliation' by the president against the nation's top federal agency watchdogs after his removal of Michael Atkinson last week https://t.co/iQjkFEsGMi
— POLITICO (@politico) April 10, 2020
"This is effectively a bank heist in broad daylight of the American people’s money by @realDonaldTrump. He’s getting rid of all of the watchdogs, he’s getting rid of all of the oversight… and let’s just be clear, this is just the beginning." via @Morning_Joe pic.twitter.com/5dKX47QaP9
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) April 10, 2020
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