A Yemeni boy rides a bike on rubble of houses destroyed in a recent airstrike carried out by warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition, on May 23, 2019 in Sana'a, Yemen. (Photo: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
May 18, 2020
The State Department inspector general who was fired by President Donald Trump on Friday was investigating the Trump administration's use last year of emergency powers to flout congressional oversight and sell billions of dollars in arms to Saudi Arabia, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel said Monday.
\u201cI've learned there may be another reason for IG Linick\u2019s firing. His office was investigating\u2014at my request\u2014Trump\u2019s phony emergency declaration so he could send Saudi Arabia weapons. We don\u2019t have the full picture yet, but it\u2019s troubling that Sec Pompeo wanted Linick pushed out.\u201d— Eliot Engel (@Eliot Engel) 1589820328
"Since day one, this president has thought he's above the law, above criticism, and can get away with anything--including a fake 'emergency' to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted Monday. "It is becoming clear he fired an inspector general for investigating such misconduct."
Trump's ousting of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick--reportedly at the behest of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo--makes Linick the latest victim of Trump's inspector general purge.
The news that Linick was probing the emergency declaration came after the revelation that he was also looking into whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo required a staffer to carry out personal chores.
"Three officials from different congressional committees say investigators on Capitol Hill believe that Linick's investigations into the Saudi arms sale and Pompeo's use of the political aide contributed to his firing," NBC Newsreported Monday.
Engel and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced Saturday they launched a probe into Trump's firing of Linick.
In a Monday interview with MSNBC, Menendez was asked if he believed Linick's firing was a retaliatory move by the Trump administration.
"It certainly seems so," Menendez said, adding that he believed Linick's probe into the emergency powers declaration was "very close to coming to a conclusion."
That conclusion was emerging apparently without much help from Pompeo. CNNreported Monday:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to sit for an interview with the State Department inspector general's office as part of its probe into the administration's move to bypass Congress and expedite last year's $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia by declaring an emergency, a congressional aide told CNN Monday.
Linick is the fourth inspector general Trump has ousted in recent months.
Before Linick, Trump booted acting Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi A. Grimm; Glenn Fine, the acting Pentagon inspector general who was also overseeing the federal government's implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief law; and Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The State Department inspector general who was fired by President Donald Trump on Friday was investigating the Trump administration's use last year of emergency powers to flout congressional oversight and sell billions of dollars in arms to Saudi Arabia, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel said Monday.
\u201cI've learned there may be another reason for IG Linick\u2019s firing. His office was investigating\u2014at my request\u2014Trump\u2019s phony emergency declaration so he could send Saudi Arabia weapons. We don\u2019t have the full picture yet, but it\u2019s troubling that Sec Pompeo wanted Linick pushed out.\u201d— Eliot Engel (@Eliot Engel) 1589820328
"Since day one, this president has thought he's above the law, above criticism, and can get away with anything--including a fake 'emergency' to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted Monday. "It is becoming clear he fired an inspector general for investigating such misconduct."
Trump's ousting of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick--reportedly at the behest of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo--makes Linick the latest victim of Trump's inspector general purge.
The news that Linick was probing the emergency declaration came after the revelation that he was also looking into whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo required a staffer to carry out personal chores.
"Three officials from different congressional committees say investigators on Capitol Hill believe that Linick's investigations into the Saudi arms sale and Pompeo's use of the political aide contributed to his firing," NBC Newsreported Monday.
Engel and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced Saturday they launched a probe into Trump's firing of Linick.
In a Monday interview with MSNBC, Menendez was asked if he believed Linick's firing was a retaliatory move by the Trump administration.
"It certainly seems so," Menendez said, adding that he believed Linick's probe into the emergency powers declaration was "very close to coming to a conclusion."
That conclusion was emerging apparently without much help from Pompeo. CNNreported Monday:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to sit for an interview with the State Department inspector general's office as part of its probe into the administration's move to bypass Congress and expedite last year's $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia by declaring an emergency, a congressional aide told CNN Monday.
Linick is the fourth inspector general Trump has ousted in recent months.
Before Linick, Trump booted acting Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi A. Grimm; Glenn Fine, the acting Pentagon inspector general who was also overseeing the federal government's implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief law; and Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general.
The State Department inspector general who was fired by President Donald Trump on Friday was investigating the Trump administration's use last year of emergency powers to flout congressional oversight and sell billions of dollars in arms to Saudi Arabia, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel said Monday.
\u201cI've learned there may be another reason for IG Linick\u2019s firing. His office was investigating\u2014at my request\u2014Trump\u2019s phony emergency declaration so he could send Saudi Arabia weapons. We don\u2019t have the full picture yet, but it\u2019s troubling that Sec Pompeo wanted Linick pushed out.\u201d— Eliot Engel (@Eliot Engel) 1589820328
"Since day one, this president has thought he's above the law, above criticism, and can get away with anything--including a fake 'emergency' to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted Monday. "It is becoming clear he fired an inspector general for investigating such misconduct."
Trump's ousting of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick--reportedly at the behest of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo--makes Linick the latest victim of Trump's inspector general purge.
The news that Linick was probing the emergency declaration came after the revelation that he was also looking into whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo required a staffer to carry out personal chores.
"Three officials from different congressional committees say investigators on Capitol Hill believe that Linick's investigations into the Saudi arms sale and Pompeo's use of the political aide contributed to his firing," NBC Newsreported Monday.
Engel and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced Saturday they launched a probe into Trump's firing of Linick.
In a Monday interview with MSNBC, Menendez was asked if he believed Linick's firing was a retaliatory move by the Trump administration.
"It certainly seems so," Menendez said, adding that he believed Linick's probe into the emergency powers declaration was "very close to coming to a conclusion."
That conclusion was emerging apparently without much help from Pompeo. CNNreported Monday:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to sit for an interview with the State Department inspector general's office as part of its probe into the administration's move to bypass Congress and expedite last year's $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia by declaring an emergency, a congressional aide told CNN Monday.
Linick is the fourth inspector general Trump has ousted in recent months.
Before Linick, Trump booted acting Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi A. Grimm; Glenn Fine, the acting Pentagon inspector general who was also overseeing the federal government's implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief law; and Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.