Trump ally Grassley sends bipartisan letter seeking more details on watchdog's removal

Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, a close ally of President Trump, led a bipartisan letter from fellow senators asking the White House on Wednesday to provide a more detailed explanation why Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson was fired.

The senators wrote they believed the firing Friday of Atkinson, the watchdog whose work led to impeachment proceedings, did not provide the required detail or 30-day notice to Congress.

Their letter asked Trump to "provide more detailed reasoning for the removal of Inspector General Atkinson no later than April 13, 2020" and to "provide your views on how the appointment of an acting official prior to the end of the 30-day notice period comports with statutory requirements." 

In addition to Grassley, the seven other signatories on the letter include two other Republicans and five Democrats: Sen. Gary Peters, (D-Mich.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

Grassley, R-Iowa, has been a three-decade ally of inspector generals and their independence inside federal agencies, where they are entrusted with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse and protecting whistleblowers.

He also played an essential role in exposing FBI wrongdoing in the investigation of now-debunked Tromp-Russia collusion allegations.