Every day brings more questions about the US State Dept. under its head, Mike Pompeo…
The now-fired State Department inspector general had recently wrapped up an investigation into two other top aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, determining that they had likely failed to report allegations of workplace violence, a person familiar with the issue told POLITICO.
The probe into Cam Henderson, who leads the department’s Office of Protocol, and a deputy of hers, Mary-Kate Fisher, could have been another factor in what Pompeo and his deputies have described as mounting frustration with the inspector general, Steve Linick, and mightay have contributed to the secretary’s push to oust him.
The Pompeos worked closely with the Office of Protocol on a series of intimate, hush-hush dinners that featured influential conservatives, administration officials and Wall Street financiers in what some critics have viewed as the improper use of taxpayer dollars.
President Donald Trump fired Linick on Friday night, acting on what the president said was Pompeo’s recommendation. Linick was one of several government watchdogs Trump has sidelined in recent weeks, infuriating Democrats who say he’s trying to evade oversight and accountability.
Pompeo’s role in the ouster has come under growing scrutiny, with a slew of sudden reports about ways in which the inspector general was looking into his actions, those of his wife, Susan, as well as some of his aides. In a press conference Wednesday, Pompeo decried many of the allegations as “crazy.”
Henderson took over as the chief of the Office of Protocol last summer, after her former boss, Sean Lawler, was pushed out. Some in that office accused Lawler of intimidating and harassing his staffers, and even carrying around a whip on the job.
The inspector general had investigated further claims that Henderson and Fisher, while working under Lawler, had violated State Department policy by not reporting allegations involving Lawler and workplace violence to higher- ups. The person said Linick’s office had determined that Henderson and Fisher likely had violated regulations and that the State Department should take appropriate action….
Note…
If Obama was President?
Sec. Pompeo would be asked to consider stepping down….
image…Reporterly.Com
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday doubled down on his request to fire the State Department’s internal watchdog, while also refusing to detail his reason for recommending the move.
“Frankly should have done it some time ago,” Pompeo said during a combative briefing with reporters at the State Department, referring to his request….
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Pompeo on Wednesday refused to answer questions about his reasons for pushing Linick out and took aim at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), whom he accused of leaking repeatedly to the press, by referencing Menendez’s past legal troubles….
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I never thought much of Pompeo.
I think less now
He thinks he is above the law like all the others.
Maybe he still run’s for the Senate?