Ousted US Department of State inspector general Steve Linick on Wednesday told members of three congressional committees that before he was abruptly fired, he was investigating US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s use of government resources as well as the secretary’s decision to approve a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
Democrats are investigating US President Donald Trump’s firing of Linick — one of several inspector generals he has recently ousted — and whether it was a retaliatory move.
Pompeo has said he recommended that Linick be terminated, but insisted it was not retribution.
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Linick was an appointee of the administration of former US president Barack Obama, whose office had been critical of what it saw as political bias in the State Department’s current management, but had also taken issue with Democratic appointees.
US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Carolyn Maloney and Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a joint statement with other lawmakers that they still have many unanswered questions about the firing.
“Mr Linick confirmed that at the time he was removed as IG, his office was looking into two matters that directly touched on Secretary Pompeo’s conduct and that senior State Department officials were aware of his investigations,” the Democrats said.
They said that Linick testified that he was “shocked” when he was fired.
Their statement said Linick confirmed there was an ongoing investigation into “allegations of misuse of government resources by Secretary Pompeo and his wife.”
Linick said he had informed officials close to Pompeo of the investigation, including by requesting documents from his executive secretary, the Democrats said.
Pompeo told reporters after Linick was fired last month that he was unaware of any investigation into allegations that he might have mistreated staffers by instructing them to run personal errands for him and his wife — such as walking his dog and picking up dry cleaning and takeout food, thus the move could not have been retaliatory.
Pompeo did acknowledge then that he was aware of the probe into his decision last year to bypass congressional objections to approve an arms sale to Saudi Arabia, because he had answered written questions about it posed by Linick’s office, but he maintained he did not know the scope or scale of the investigation.
Linick confirmed that probe as well, and told the investigators his office had requested an interview with Pompeo, but that the secretary had refused.
The Democrats said Linick testified he had been pressured by US Undersecretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, an old friend of Pompeo.
“Mr Linick testified that Mr Bulatao pressured him to act in ways that Mr Linick felt were inappropriate — including Bulatao telling Linick that the investigation into weapons sales to Saudi Arabia was not a matter for the IG to investigate,” the committees said.
Republicans questioned Linick on whether he had leaked data about sensitive investigations, which the administration has suggested played a part in his dismissal.
The Democrats said Linick rejected that explanation, saying it was “either misplaced or unfounded.”
In his opening statement, released before the interview and obtained by The Associated Press, Linick said he has “served without regard to politics” in his nearly three-decade career in public service and has always been committed to independent oversight.
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