United States (US) President Donald Trump removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick from his post.
In his letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday, Trump gave no other reason behind Linick’s dismissal, which is effective in 30 days, aside from saying that the latter “no longer” has his “fullest confidence.
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The President said he will soon submit to the Senate a nominee “who has my full confidence and who meets the appropriate qualifications” to replace Linick.
Trump’s move was quickly condemned by Pelosi and Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In her statement, Pelosi said Linick’s removal accelerated Trump’s “dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people.
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“Inspector General Linick was punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath,” she said.
With Linick being removed from his position, Pelosi expressed concern that some important works of the Office of the Inspector General, investigations and inspections of US embassies, as well as programs around the world amid an unprecedented pandemic, will be set back.
“It is concerning that the President has taken this action as the House passes The Heroes Act, which contains critical funding for the State Department IG to oversee and ensure the effective, wise spending of coronavirus response funds,” Pelosi stressed.
Engel, meanwhile, described Linick’s dismissal as an “outrageous act of a President trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the Secretary of State, from accountability,” referring to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Engel said Linick opened an investigation into Pompeo, but did not provide further details about what was the probe all about.
“This President believes he is above the law. As he systematically removes the official independent watchdogs from the Executive Branch, the work of the Committee on Foreign Affairs becomes that much more critical,” he said.
“In the days ahead, I will be looking into this matter in greater detail and I will press the State Department for answers,” he assured.
Linick was fired a month after Trump axed intelligence community inspector general Mickael Atkinson, who informed the Congress about a whistleblower complaint that eventually led to Trump’s impeachment probe in 2019, and Pentagon’s acting inspector general Glenn Fine whose role was to oversee the government’s coronavirus financial relief response.