Donald Trump is the last thing from subtle.
Michael Atkinson was the second Inspector General of the Intelligence Community. He began in that role on May 17, 2018, after many years as a lawyer in the Justice Department.
Atkinson’s the guy who, in September 2019, scrupulously followed the law and forwarded to Congress a complaint from an anonymous whistleblower which led directly to the impeachment of Mr. Trump.
As James Comey and many others know all too well, Trump values loyalty to him above all else.
Whether that’s because of Trump’s obvious insecurities (bordering on paranoia), or because Trump is always totally self-obsessed, that’s the way it is, as avuncular Walter Cronkite always ended his evening newscast.
As reported in today’s Times, Trump deviously fired Atkinson in the dead of night, on April 3, while the entire world was, and is, thinking of nothing but COVID-19.
Seems like several decades ago, but the Ukraine-related impeachment scandal used to consume all our waking hours. Yet Trump survived his impeachment trial in the Senate because of his close personal friend, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).
Associate solitary reporter Johanna Jones greeted Trump early today in her usual confrontational style.
“Donny Boy,” she began, “you know damn well that in November, Joe Biden’s gonna win every single state because, as Bernie says all the time, you’re the most corrupt dude in American history to sit in the Oval Office.”
Trump, who weighs some 230 pounds becasue of his predilection for junk food, immediately tossed the petite Jones out the window where, once again, she was comforted by associate solitary reporter Susanna Sherman and several lawyers from the ACLU.