Fired State Department watchdog was conducting 5 probes into potential wrongdoing

Steve Linick told senior State Department officials about at least two of the probes but did not tell them to hide that information from Pompeo himself, according to the transcript.

Linick told Democratic and Republican lawmakers and select staff from the House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight committees, and Democrats from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that his office had been reviewing allegations that Pompeo and his wife may have used resources inappropriately.

"I wanted to make sure everybody was aware so that they wouldn't be surprised," Linick said when asked if he told the officials specifically so that Pompeo would be aware. "And I didn't tell them not to tell anybody, including Secretary Pompeo, about them. There was no—from my point of view, I just wanted to make sure that folks on the seventh floor knew what we were doing before they just got a document request." The seventh floor is where Pompeo and his closest staff have their offices.

Pompeo recommended that Trump fire Linick, who was jettisoned on May 15. The veteran inspector general testified before the committee June 3, telling lawmakers of attempts by a close Pompeo aide to "bully" him and raising questions about the top US diplomat's assertion that he didn't know about Linick's investigations.

In addition to investigating Pompeo's potential misuse of taxpayer funds and reviewing his decision to expedite an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, Linick told lawmakers his office was also looking into three other matters that "involved the Office of the Secretary in some way."

These included an audit of Special Immigrant Visas, a review of the International Women of Courage Award and another review "involving individuals in the Office of the Protocol," Linick said.

While Pompeo has said he had no way of knowing about any of Linick's work, the former inspector general told lawmakers that he had informed Undersecretary Brian Bulatao -- a friend of Pompeo's from their days at West Point -- and Deputy Secretary Steve Biegun about the investigations into Pompeo's potential misuse of government funds and the Saudi arms sale.

Linick, who conducted the virtual interview with the committee members a little more than two weeks after his ouster, refused to speculate whether either senior official told Pompeo about the investigation into Pompeo's use of government resources. The questioner, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California had pointed out the close relationship between Bulatao and Pompeo.

"The whole point was not to surprise the seventh floor writ large, because they were going to get these document requests," Linick said.

Pompeo has denied knowing about the ongoing investigations, saying he would have had no way to be informed about the work of the Office of the Inspector General, and has used that rational to deny that he fired Linick in retaliation for the probes.

Linick also told lawmakers he had informed Pompeo's top aides he was investigating whether Pompeo unlawfully circumvented Congress by declaring an emergency in order to sell billions of dollars in weapons to Saudi Arabia and other nations.

This story is breaking and will be updated.