Menendez, Engel & Maloney Announce Expansion of Probe into IG Linick’s Firing

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform; and announced an expansion of the committees’ probe into the firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.

The lawmakers plan to conduct transcribed interviews with key officials who may have knowledge about Inspector General Linick’s firing and how the State Department Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) ongoing work may have influenced Secretary Pompeo’s recommendation that the President fire Linick.

Menendez, Engel, and Maloney issued the following statement:

“We are aware that Mr. Linick’s office was working on at least two investigations that touched directly on Secretary Pompeo’s actions at the time that Secretary Pompeo recommended that the President fire him.  If Secretary Pompeo pushed for Mr. Linick’s dismissal to cover up his own misconduct, that would constitute an egregious abuse of power and a clear attempt to avoid accountability.  

“Congress has demanded answers about the abrupt firing of the Inspector General, but Secretary Pompeo has failed to explain his actions.  We call upon administration officials to comply and appear for interviews with the Committees, and for Secretary Pompeo to comply with the Committees’ investigation and not obstruct the American people from discovering the truth about his own actions. 

“As these interviews take place, we plan to make public the transcripts of those proceedings as quickly as possible.  We also plan to take further public-facing steps in this investigation to inform Congress and the American people. The truth about Mr. Linick’s firing will come out.”

In the days after Mr. Linick’s firing, Ranking Member Menendez, Chairman Engel, and Chair Maloney launched a number of related investigations along with Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Joaquin Castro and the Oversight and Reform Government Operations Subcommittee Chair Gerald E. Connolly.  To date, the Administration has not produced any documents in response to the Committees’ letters.