A U.S. State Department inspector general fired by President Donald Trump told lawmakers the department discouraged him from investigating arms sales to Saudi Arabia before he was dismissed last month, according to a transcript released Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. State Department Inspector General Steve Linick departs after briefing House and Senate Intelligence committees at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
In the congressional interview, Linick said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to sit down for an interview in the investigation of the administration’s decision to declare a “national emergency” to justify $8 billion in military sales to Saudi Arabia despite congressional objections.“I told him that, under the Foreign Service Act of 1980, it was within the IG purview to review how policy is implemented,” Linick said.
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