Whistleblowing

Tom Cotton: Intel IG Obstructing Congress on Backdated ‘Whistleblower’ Form Changes

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent a scathing letter Wednesday to the Intelligence Community’s Inspector General, calling Michael Atkinson’s recent testimony before Congress “insolent and obstructive” regarding his alleged backdating of federal “whistleblower” guidelines.

Cotton accused Atkinson of stonewalling the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee while giving more details to the House Intelligence Committee — chaired by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who has been a central player in the “whistleblower” complaint and his party’s impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

The Federalist’s Sean Davis explains the ongoing scandal over the complaint — including claims that Atkinson’s office eliminated the requirement for “whistleblowers” to have a first-hand account of any wrongdoing and “backdated,” or falsely documented, the change occurring earlier than it actually did:

Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general, told HPSCI lawmakers during a committee oversight hearing on Friday that the whistleblower forms and rules changes were made in September, even though the new forms and guidance, which were not uploaded to the ICIG’s website until September 24, state that they were changed in August.