Trump says he had "absolute right" to fire intelligence official

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had every right to fire the inspector general of the U.S. intelligence community who was involved in triggering an impeachment probe of the president last year. In a daily briefing with reporters, Trump said the official, Michael Atkinson, did a "terrible" job.

"That man is a disgrace ..., he's a total disgrace," Trump said during a daily briefing with reporters. In a letter to key lawmakers on Friday, Trump said he planned to remove Atkinson in 30 days.