quote:

President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.

Trump informed Congress of his intent to oust Linick, a Justice Department veteran appointed to the role in 2013 by then President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday night.

The president said he "no longer" had the "fullest confidence" in Linick and promised to send the Senate a nominee "who has my confidence and who meets the appropriate qualifications." The executive branch is required to notify Congress 30 days ahead of time if it intends to remove an inspector general.

Trump's move infuriated Democrats who say he's trying to circumvent oversight of his administration, undermining the ability of other branches to hold him accountable. The move follows Trump's anger at being impeached, but it also comes as the White House struggles to combat the coronavirus pandemic just months before the presidential election.

“The president’s late-night, weekend firing of the State Department inspector general has accelerated his dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people," Pelosi said in an statement. "Inspector General Linick was punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath."

Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called Linick's dismissal an "outrageous act of a president trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the secretary of State, from accountability."

Engel claimed: "I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo. Mr. Linick’s firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation."

quote:

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney on Saturday denounced President Donald Trump's firings of internal government oversight officials, calling it a "threat to accountable democracy."

Romney's comments came in response to Trump's Friday firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick -- the latest in a series of dismissals of independent government watchdogs that have come in the wake of the President's acquittal on two articles of impeachment earlier this year.

"The firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; doing so without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose. It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power," the Utah Republican tweeted.

quote:

President Donald Trump fired the State Department’s inspector general on the recommendation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a White House official said Saturday.

Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick Friday night, notifying Congress of the decision in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump, who has targeted several government agency watchdogs in the past several weeks, told Congress he no longer had full confidence in Linick, but did not provide an explanation as to why.

“Secretary Pompeo recommended the move, and President Trump agreed,” a White House official said.

Democratic lawmakers said the inspector general was investigating potential misconduct by Pompeo.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., launched an investigation into Linick’s removal Saturday, claiming Pompeo wanted the inspector general removed because the secretary was under investigation. Menendez and Engel have called for the White House to turn over records related to Linick’s firing.

“Such an action, transparently designed to protect Secretary Pompeo from personal accountability, would undermine the foundation of our democratic institutions and may be an illegal act of retaliation,” the lawmakers said in press release Saturday. “This concern is amplified by the fact that it came only hours after the House of Representatives passed the Heroes Act, which contains additional legal protections for inspectors general.”

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:
Wake me when someone actually does something. Like impeach AND convict this assclown.

John Dean knows something about corrupt politics. John Dean nailed it in 2016 when he said that I-1 would be the most corrupt president in the history of The United States.

And he has gotten away with absolutely every corrupt thing he's done.

God help us.

quote:

Originally posted by LL:

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:
Wake me when someone actually does something. Like impeach AND convict this assclown.

John Dean knows something about corrupt politics. John Dean nailed it in 2016 when he said that I-1 would be the most corrupt president in the history of The United States.

And he has gotten away with absolutely every corrupt thing he's done.

God help us.

I don't get it.


WHY?


So much is so obvious to so many of us...

I just don't get it.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
The Turtle.

quote:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised Thursday night that Republicans will remain in lockstep with the White House on messaging strategy once impeachment proceedings reach the senate.

“Everything I do during this I’m coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this,” the Kentucky Republican said.

McConnell met privately with White House counsel Pat Cipollone on Thursday to dicuss the next phase of the impeachment process.

quote:

President Trump’s abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.

But in the case of Trump’s termination of Steve Linick, the State Department IG, this could end up looking far worse than we know. There’s a backstory here that has not yet gotten scrutiny — one that could make the firing appear even more corrupt.

House Democrats have discovered that the fired IG had mostly completed an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s widely criticized decision to skirt Congress with an emergency declaration to approve billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia last year, aides on the Foreign Affairs Committee tell me.

“I have learned that there may be another reason for Mr. Linick’s firing,” Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement sent to me. “His office was investigating — at my request — Trump’s phony declaration of an emergency so he could send weapons to Saudi Arabia.”