WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said on Monday it scheduled a July 2 hearing in its investigation of the firing of the State Department’s inspector general, with testimony from a top aide to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Under-Secretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao will testify to the committee on Thursday, July 2. Bulatao has emerged as a central figure in the removal of Steve Linick as State’s inspector general.
President Donald Trump fired Linick on May 15, the latest in a series of government watchdogs Trump has dismissed. Linick told the foreign affairs panel in an interview that the State Department had discouraged him from investigating arms sales to Saudi Arabia before his removal.
When he was fired, Linick also was investigating allegations that Pompeo and his wife used a taxpayer-funded employee for personal errands. [nL1N2D010T] Linick told members of Congress in an interview this month his office was engaged in more investigations when he was fired, including an audit of the Special Immigrant Visa process.
Pompeo has insisted Linick’s dismissal was not retaliation and called him a “bad actor.”
Inspectors general are charged with preventing fraud and misuse of taxpayer funds. The spate of dismissals has prompted concern from Democrats and some of Trump’s fellow Republicans over whether government watchdogs can still do their work.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Nick Macfie)
