Former State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was purportedly in the midst of probing allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made one of his staffers run errands for him, such as walking his dog, picking up his dry cleaning, and making dinner reservations, when he was fired by President Donald Trump, NBC reported citing accounts of two anonymous congressmen.
The two lawmakers working in two different committees said they were also looking for signs of other probes into Pompeo's actions that Linick could have been working on when he was suddenly fired. They reportedly suspect that the IG's firing might have been a retaliation for his investigative work.
In the official motivation for his sacking, President Trump said it was done on recommendations from Pompeo himself and was caused by POTUS losing the "fullest confidence" in him. The move was, however, criticised by congresspeople on both sides of the aisle.
Republican lawmaker from the Whistleblower Protection Caucus, Chuck Grassley, stated that Congress needs a better explanation for Linick's firing than a simple "lack of confidence". House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in turn, noted that while POTUS has the right to fire any federal employee, he could not do so out of "retaliation" for the IG's investigation.
The US House Foreign Relations Committee on 16 May announced that it will be looking into the circumstances of the IG's firing.