Free Republic

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he didn’t retaliate against Steve Linick when he asked President Trump to fire him as State Department inspector general — and that New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is to blame for stoking controversy about the move. Pompeo accused Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during a Wednesday press conference at the State Department. “This is all coming through the office of Senator Menendez,” Pompeo said. “I don’t get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted — case number 15-155, New Jersey federal district court. A man for...

On Friday, it was reported that State Department Inspector General Steve Linick had been fired. Immediately, the left pounced calling it “an unlawful act of retaliation.” The story was that Linick was conducting an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for asking subordinates to run personal errands for him and his wife. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) said, “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.” House Democrats may want to hold their fire...