“We don’t have the full picture yet, but it’s troubling that Secretary Pompeo wanted Mr. Linick pushed out before this work could be completed.”
“I went to the President and made clear to him that Inspector General Linick wasn’t performing a function in a way that we had tried to get him to, that was additive for the State Department, very consistent with what the statute says he’s supposed to be doing,” he told the Post. “The kinds of activities he’s supposed to undertake to make us better, to improve us.”
“These sales will support our allies, enhance Middle East stability, and help these nations to deter and defend themselves from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pompeo said in a statement at the time, which put the value of the sales at $8.1 billion.
But the move drew bipartisan condemnation, with lawmakers decrying the precedent it would set.
Still, Pompeo claimed he was not aware that Linick was investigating him at the time he recommended that the IG be removed.
According to the Post, he only knew about one case “involving a national security matter.”
“It is not possible that this decision, or my recommendation, rather, to the President, rather, was based on any effort to retaliate for any investigation that was going on, or is currently going on,” Pompeo said.
“Because I simply don’t know. I’m not briefed on it. I usually see these investigations in final draft form 24 hours, 48 hours, before the IG is prepared to release them.”
CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Jennifer Hansler, Nicole Gaouette and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.
Source : Nbcnewyork