IG Steve Linick Was Investigating Mike Pompeo When Trump Fired Him

Is this why Trump was so obsessed with smearing Obama last week with a fake "-gate" story? Because the real story is #Pompeogate.
By Aliza Worthington — May 17, 2020

Gee, it's almost like when you give an autocrat no limits, he won't impose them on himself, either.

Exhibit Eleventy-Fourple-Quintillion of Trump's "presidency:" he fired yet another inspector general on Friday night. This time it was Steve Linick, the State Department's IG. Let me think, who's in charge of the State Department? Why, it's Mike Pompeo! And what do we learn almost immediately after this firing?

You guessed it, kids. There was an investigation being opened into Pompeo and his wife. Reporter Monica Alba joined Alex Witt to discuss it.

ALBA: The president notified Congress he wishes to remove Steve Linick, who up until now, had been that watchdog for the State Department, and Democrats indicated that he had opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and a political appointee who may have been doing some personal tasks, both for the secretary and his wife. I want to read you what House Foreign Affairs Chair, Eliot Engel said in a statement. He called this outrageous, and he also indicated that this firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation, in Engel's own words.

What's also striking here is that this is not the first of the inspectors general that the president has targeted. He has removed or made moves to oust others from different departments since this pandemic began. We've seen that from the intelligence community ranging to HHS, and also, the Defense Department, Alex. Those usually happen late at night, sometimes on a Friday evening, much like what we saw, sort of like not to be in the middle of all the news cycle, but noteworthy nonetheless.

As a matter of fact, this is the fourth inspector general Trump has sought to remove in five weeks, and the normally cool, cautious Rep. Engel is ready to rumble over it. So are astute Tweet-peeps, who are also quick to throw Trump's pathetic attempt to gin up artificial controversy against Obama right back in Trump's face, with the hashtag #Pompeogate.

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