Among the officials the committees intend to call are Brian Bulatao, undersecretary of State for management; Lisa Kenna, Pompeo’s executive secretary; senior adviser Toni Porter; Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper; former Deputy Assistant Secretary Marik String, a legal adviser to the department; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Political-Military Affairs Mike Miller; and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Charles Faulkner.
The committees believe the seven officials played a role in Linick’s firing or are fact witnesses to Linick’s ongoing investigations when he was sidelined — or both.
A State Department spokesperson indicated that officials are weighing the requests for interviews.
„As we communicated directly to Chairman Engel yesterday, the Department is carefully reviewing various requests for information, records, and interviews with State Department personnel, and is committed to engaging in good faith discussions with the Chairman concerning these requests.“
The new investigation hearkens to the impeachment inquiry launched by the House Intelligence Committee, in conjunction with the Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees. At the time, the panels called a similar list of high-ranking State Department and Trump administration officials to investigate whether Trump had abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to probe his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
It’s unclear where the transcribed interviews will take place or whether the panels will issue subpoenas to compel testimony for any witness who refuses to appear voluntarily. But the committees say they intend to release public transcripts of the interviews „as quickly as possible.“
After Trump removed Linick, reports revealed that the watchdog was reviewing whether Pompeo had relied on taxpayer-funded aides to do household chores for him and his wife. The inspector general was also examining the Trump administration’s arms sale to Saudi Arabia, which were made over the objections of many senior officials, as well as Pompeo’s role in hosting lavish taxpayer-funded dinners that often featured high-profile conservative guests.
Source: politico.com
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