Democrats find it 'troubling' IG ousted after briefing State Department on Saudi weapons sale investigation

(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

published 18 May 2020

House Democrats were already concerned about President Trump's dismissal of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick on Friday, but they think they've found a new wrinkle, The Washington Post reports.

Linick's ouster reportedly came on the advice of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose alleged misuse of a political appointee to perform personal tasks for him and his wife was being looked at by the federal watchdog. Democrats have requested the White House hand over all records related to Linick's firing on suspicion that it may have been retaliatory.

Now, House Foreign Affairs Chair Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) says he's found another possible reasoning behind the move — Engel provided a statement to the Post that said he had learned Linick's office was investigating Trump's emergency declaration last year that fast-tracked weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. Committee Democrats also reportedly discovered the State Department was recently briefed on the conclusions of that investigation.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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