简体中文
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, April 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that Pompeo should testify before Congress.
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday doubled down on his request for President Donald Trump to fire State Department's Inspector General (IG) Steve Linick amid bipartisan scrutiny.
"I recommended to the President that Steve Linick be terminated. Frankly, should've done it some time ago," Pompeo told reporters during a briefing at the State Department.
Trump said last week that he was firing Linick because he did not have the fullest confidence in the official, who began his tenure as the State Department's watchdog in 2013.
A screenshot recently taken from the website of the U.S. State Department shows the photo and biography of its inspector general Steve Linick. (Xinhua)
That decision has sparked an inquiry by Democrats and scrutiny even from a number of Republicans, as Linick was reportedly looking into a number of issues relating to Pompeo, the Trump administration's second secretary of state.
On Wednesday, Pompeo denied any knowledge of investigations being undertaken by Linick.
"I've seen the various stories that someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner, I mean, it's just crazy," he said, arguing that charges of political retaliation are "patently false."
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference on the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 14, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that Pompeo should testify before Congress.
"Let's see how this unfolds," the California Democrat told reporters on Capitol Hill. "But what it is that we know so far is scandalous."
As inspector general, Linick was responsible for, among other things, conducting administrative and criminal investigations of waste, fraud, mismanagement, and misconduct in the State Department, according to his online biography.
Besides Linick, Trump has moved in the past few weeks to fire Intelligence Community IG Michael Atkinson, acting Pentagon IG Glenn Fine, and Christi Grimm, principal deputy IG of the Department of Health and Human Services.
