Fired State Department watchdog expected to defend his integrity to lawmakers
Ousted State Department inspector general Steve Linick plans to defend his integrity as an impartial investigator after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused him of playing politics with the job and undermining the Department.
Posted — UpdatedLinick, who was fired at Pompeo's recommendation a little over two weeks ago, will participate in a virtual interview with Democratic and Republican lawmakers and select staff from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, House Oversight Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday morning.
According to his prepared opening statement, Linick will note his "close to 28 years of public service," in which he has "served without regard to politics, having been nominated as an inspector general by Presidents from both parties."
"Every minute of my work at (the Federal Housing Finance Agency) and the Department of State has been devoted to promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of both agencies, along with ensuring that taxpayer funds are protected against waste, fraud, and abuse," Linick plans to say.
"In carrying out my work, I have always taken the facts and evidence wherever they lead and have been faithfully committed to conducting independent and impartial oversight, as required by law," he is expected to say.
Although Linick does not directly address his firing in the prepared statement, he does speak to his body of work in his time as inspector general at the State Department, noting that his office "issued nearly 700 reports, resulting in thousands of recommendations to strengthen the Department's operations and to protect the lives of people who work in or visit our posts and embassies abroad."
"We investigated numerous cases of alleged wrongdoing, resulting in a range of outcomes dictated only by the facts -- from administrative actions to exonerations to criminal convictions. We identified monetary savings for taxpayers of close to $2 billion," he plans to say. "Our independent oversight of the Department has been the key to our success and has helped improve the Department's programs in a transparent way."
Pompeo has been largely evasive about the specific reasons he recommended President Donald Trump fire Linick, but has said multiple times he should have done so sooner.
"He was acting in a way that was deeply inconsistent with what the State Department was trying to do. His office was leaking information," Pompeo claimed in an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News. "He was investigating policies he simply didn't like."
An investigation by the Pentagon inspector general found no evidence that Linick or anyone in his office shared information with the media about a probe into the State Department, two sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. It is unclear to what polices the top US diplomat was referring his assertion.
At the time of his removal, Linick was investigating whether Pompeo misused a political appointee for personal errands and whether the administration unlawfully circumvented Congress by declaring an emergency in order to sell billions of dollars of weapons, including to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Pompeo has said that his recommendation to fire Linick was not retaliatory.
Ahead of Linick's interview Wednesday, the State Department Undersecretary for Management, Brian Bulatao, wrote to Linick's lawyer to remind him not to disclose classified or privileged information. Bulatao also suggested that Linick request the assistance of the State Department counsel to ensure that the "equities and records of the Department of State are adequately protected." Linick had not done that, Bulatao said.
Democratic Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel and Democratic Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez opened an investigation into Linick's firing in the days following his late-night removal. Engel, Menendez and House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney announced they were expanding their inquiry last week and seeking transcribed interviews with officials "who may have knowledge about Inspector General Linick's firing and how the State Department Office of Inspector General's (OIG) ongoing work may have influenced Secretary Pompeo's recommendation that the President fire Linick."
A State Department spokesperson said last week "the Department is carefully reviewing various requests for information, records, and interviews with State Department personnel, and is committed to engaging in good faith discussions with the Chairman concerning these requests."
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