We know by now that the pattern goes like this: If President Trump praises someone in his administration, that person must be suspect, and if he fires someone, that person is a dedicated public servant who had served as a safeguard of democracy.
So it went this weekend after the president removed Michael Atkinson, inspector general of the intelligence community, from his post. Trump had told Congress that he “no longer” had confidence in Atkinson.
That can mean anything Trump wants it to mean, but it probably means something like, ‘I don’t like that he was a player in my impeachment.’ Trump defended his decision over the weekend, saying he thought Atkinson did “a terrible job” by elevating the so-called whistleblower who initially complained about Trump’s call with the president of Ukraine.
There’s nothing unfair about that, and inspectors general are a dime a dozen. That’s not to say that they’re unneeded or that they serve no purpose, but they’re all easily replaced and the president — any president — has the right to make that call at any moment he chooses.
Atkinson has said he believes he shouldn’t have been fired, and so, naturally, liberals in the media are treating him like a selfless nun helping poor and homeless untouchables on the streets of Kolkata.
“This is not a situation where both sides have a point,” said CNN’s John Harwood on Monday. “It is plain as day that the president is wrong, Michael Atkinson is right.” His evidence for that strong declaration was that other government officials in Washington and some Republicans in Congress had a favorable view of Atkinson.
Someone should tell Harwood that in general, your boss’s confidence is what counts when it’s your employment situation that’s being considered. Presumably, there are some people who like watching Harwood on television, but that’s not going to count for much should CNN executives decide he’s no longer a fit for them. (Ask Piers Morgan about that.)
We just went through a two-month impeachment process wherein career government employees were given hours to talk on national TV about how sacred their roles are. It changed nothing unless you count for the fact that Trump’s approval numbers ticked up among independent voters. The media might have learned something from that — namely, that the average person doesn’t have nearly the same regard for government bureaucrats that Washington-based journalists do.
Besides, there will likely be no discernible difference between Atkinson and the person Trump chooses to replace him. That person is Thomas Monheim, whom Politico described as someone who has “served in top legal positions throughout the intelligence community.” In other words, another dedicated public servant, though you won’t hear him characterized as such until he’s fired or decides to have another go at impeaching Trump.
This is the routine we go through each and every time. We saw it with former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. We saw it with former New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. No one knew who they were until they decided they didn’t like working for this president and that their personal agendas were more important than the one Trump was elected to enact. Now they’re everywhere. Yates is considered vice presidential material.
None of them are heroes, and they’re all replaceable.
