Question

Should the President be able to unilaterally fire inspector generals (IG) and U.S. District Attorneys?

Answer this question with 300 words and using sources, websites, and reliable websites and put them at the end of the answer for others to be able to research.

Answer 1

SOLUTION:

• It is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as Inspectors General says President Donald Trump who wrote about congressional leaders in a letter dated May 15. “That is no longer the case with regard to this Inspector General.”
• That inspector general was Steve Linick, who held that job at the State Department from 2013 until Trump dismissed him earlier this month.
• Trump didn’t offer details about why he’d lost confidence in the agency’s watchdog. He did not go into specifics, but reporting suggests Linick might have been looking into Pompeo’s treatment of a staffer, and the justification for a Saudi arms deal.
• According to public reports, Atkinson was effectively removed from his position prior to the completion of the notice period. And in Trump’s letter informing Congress of his reasoning, he stated only that he had lost confidence in Atkinson.
• Since April, Trump has fired two permanent IGs and replaced three acting inspectors general.This has raised fears that the president, who has balked at pretty much any form of oversight during his tenure  is now targeting the watchdogs serving in his administration. Especially those who, in the course of doing their jobs, embarrass the president and his close associates or implicate them in wrongdoing.
• Trump does have the power to fire inspectors general, who as executive branch for appointees to serve at the pleasure of the president. But IGs are tasked with auditing and investigating that same executive branch - a job that could become increasingly challenging if these officials would face retaliation for what they audit and investigate.
• Trump has fired two confirmed inspectors general: Linick, as discussed above, and Michael Atkinson, who was the inspector general for the intelligence community. Trump has replaced or moved to replace three other acting inspectors general from their jobs.

FURTHER REFERENCE:

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/28/21265799/inspectors-general-trump-linick-atkinson

https://www.lawfareblog.com/how-legally%E2%80%94and-illegally%E2%80%94fire-inspectors-general