Trump Fires State Department IG in Apparent Retaliation For Investigation of Pompeo

Donald Trump might have broken the law by firing the inspector general of the state department.  Trump said in a letter to Speaker of the House NancyPelosi that he had lost confidence in Steve Linick, a seasoned government lawyer who had held the state department role since his appointment by Barack Obama in 2013.

However, there are reports that Linick was dismissed after he opened an investigation of secretary of state Mike Pompeo and his wife's use of government staff for private errands. Pompeo has denied wrongdoing.
 
“The president has the right to fire any federal employee, but the fact is if it looks like it’s in retaliation for something that the inspector general, is doing, that could be unlawful,” said Pelosi.  “They’re supposed to show cause,” she added. Democrats in Congress have opened an investigation of the dismissal, with the ostensible power to subpoena documents and call witnesses to testify.  However, the inquiry could be frustrated by stonewalling by Pompeo, who blocked the testimony of state department officials during the Trump impeachment inquiry last year.

Linick became the fourth inspector general to be ousted by Trump. Each major government agency has an inspector general, whom watchdogs regard as playing an essential role in fighting corruption.  On April 3, Trump fired Michael Atkinson,  the IG of the intelligence community- he handled the Ukrainian whistleblower complaint and found it credible (and reported it to Congress).  On April 6, Trump fired Glenn Fine, the IG of the Defense Department-- he was overseeing investigations of coronavirus relief spending.  On May 1, Trump fired Christi Grimm, IG of the HHS- she had just exposed shortages of testing and personal protective equipment at hospitals..  The Trump administration has mounted a week defense of these actions, claiming that the internal government oversight apparatus is part of a conspiracy against Trump.

Mitt Romney, a critic of the president who was the only Republican senator to vote in favor of convicting Trump on impeachment charges, expressed concern.  “The firings of multiple inspectors general is unprecedented; doing so without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose,” Romney said in a statement. “It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power.”