NEW: Fired Intelligence Community IG Michael Atkinson releases a statement on his firing, saying "it is hard not to think that the President’s loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations as an independent and impartial IG"
More from Atkinson: "Those of us who vowed to protect a whistleblower’s right to safely be heard must, to the end, do what we promised to do, no matter how difficult and no matter the personal consequences."