President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months. Trump informed Congress of his intent to oust Linick, a Justice Department veteran appointed to the role in 2013 by then President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday night. The president said he "no longer" had the "fullest confidence" in Linick and promised to send the Senate a nominee "who has my confidence and who meets the appropriate qualifications." The executive branch is required to notify Congress 30 days ahead of time if it intends to remove an inspector general. Trump's move infuriated Democrats who say he's trying to circumvent oversight of his administration, undermining the ability of other branches to hold him accountable. The move follows Trump's anger at being impeached, but it also comes as the White House struggles to combat the coronavirus pandemic just months before the presidential election. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/15/state-department-inspector-general-fired-261536
State Department IG fired by Trump was investigating if Pompeo made political staffer walk his dog, pick up laundry and make dinner reservations as Democrats launch probe into 'wrongdoing' Donald Trump announced the planned removal of Inspector General Steve Linick in a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Friday night Linick was said to be looking into if Pompeo made the personal orders Democrats demanded on Saturday that the White House hand over all records related to Trump's latest firing of a federal watchdog They suggested Pompeo was responsible, in 'an illegal act of retaliation' Trump's adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday downplayed the firing, saying the 'deep state' has caused problems for the administration https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...gating-Pompeo-political-staffer-walk-dog.html
Draining the swamp as promised. All these Obama IG's are blocking investigations and weakening prosecutions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats say the State Department watchdog fired by President Donald Trump last week was investigating possible impropriety in a massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia last year, adding new questions to the watchdog’s abrupt dismissal. Democrats said Monday that ousted Inspector General Steve Linick was probing how the State Department pushed through a $7 billion Saudi arms sale over congressional objections. Democrats previously suggested the dismissal might have been tied to Linick’s investigation of allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may have improperly ordered staff to run personal errands for him. https://apnews.com/f51c0e82de0f10a9b7eb0dc53f1533d7
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed to the Washington Post Monday that he asked President Trump to fire State Department inspector general Steve Linick, but claimed that he didn't know Linick was investigating allegations that he had a staffer run personal errands for him and his wife. Why it matters: Pompeo said Linick "wasn’t performing a function in a way that we had tried to get him to," though he declined to give a specific reason. Pompeo argued that his request to Trump could not have been an act of retaliation because he wasn't aware of the investigation and had never been briefed on it. Pompeo also declined to comment on the substance of what Linick was investigating: “I’m not going to answer the host of unsubstantiated allegations about any of that." https://www.axios.com/state-departm...peo-cadc7e6f-ccc8-41eb-8e90-ba25eba334bc.html
In the upside down world of Trumpers alternative facts, fake news isn't factually incorrect, it's anything that doesn't praise Trump. The swamp isn't public officials abusing their position for personal gain, it's opposing such abuse, provided the official in question is a loyal Trumper.
