Whistleblower controversy thrusts Trump appointee into limelight

When the inspector general for the intelligence community alerted lawmakers to a mysterious whistleblower complaint detailing allegations about President Donald Trump’s conduct, many who know him, including some who are skeptical of the complaint, said his reputation and credibility caused them to take his concerns seriously.

“As soon as I saw that he had recommended it be sent to Congress, that’s all I needed to know it was legit,” said Mary McCord, the senior litigator from Practice at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection who worked with Atkinson at the US Attorney’s Office and DOJ’s National Security Division.

Several officials who acknowledged they are skeptical of the complaint told CNN the IC IG, Michael Atkinson, is a serious professional and that his recommendation gives them pause when they would have been inclined to dismiss the case otherwise.

Atkinson is widely regarded as a career non-partisan with little interest in the public limelight but he currently finds himself at the center of the high profile controversy related to whether the whistleblower complaint.

His recommendation that the complaint, which Atkinson says raised allegations of “urgent concern,” be shared with lawmakers has fueled the escalating standoff between the director of national intelligence and Congress while Trump has continued to publicly question the whistleblower’s motives for speaking out.

But Atkinson has stood by his conclusion that the complaint indeed raises concerns that must be handed over to Congress in accordance with the law, despite clashing with his own boss, acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, over that determination.

The House Intelligence Committee released a letter from Atkinson last week in which he wrote that he and Maguire, “are at an impasse” over that point, marking an unprecedented disagreement between the DNI and IC IG.

“This involves something more sinister, something involving a serious or flagrant abuse or violation of law or misappropriation, and the IG underscored the seriousness of this, and also that this needs to be looked into. And right now, no one is looking into this,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Friday.

Appointed as IC IG by Trump in 2018, Atkinson’s long-standing reputation as a straight-shooter with professional integrity has bolstered the legitimacy of the whistleblower complaint despite the President’s attempts to paint it as a partisan attack, multiple sources have told CNN.

Credible sense of urgency

Prior to his Senate confirmation to become IC IG in 2018, Atkinson worked for the Justice Department for over 15 years, according