(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Michael Pompeo scoffed at allegations he asked the president to fire his department’s inspector general because of ongoing investigations, calling the accusations “crazy stuff.”
Pompeo declined to say why he asked President Donald Trump to fire Inspector General Steve Linick late last week, saying he wouldn’t discuss personnel issues. But he said he believed the move was overdue.
“In this case, I recommended to the president that Steve Linick be terminated,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department Wednesday. “Frankly should have done it some time ago.”
Democratic lawmakers have suggested the dismissal was tied to probes into Pompeo’s efforts to expedite arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite bipartisan opposition in Congress. Lawmakers were increasingly alarmed about the humanitarian crisis and civilian casualties caused by the kingdom’s war in Yemen.
There are also reports that Pompeo used a State Department employee to run personal errands for him and his wife. He ridiculed the numerous accounts by combining them into an improbable narrative.
“I’ve seen the various stories that someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner,” Pompeo said. “I mean, it’s all just crazy, it’s all crazy stuff.”
Pompeo blamed New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez’s office for leaking details about Linick’s probe to the media, without providing any evidence.
“I don’t get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted,” Pompeo said, a reference to corruption charges against Menendez that were dismissed in 2018. “I did what was right,” he said of the firing.
Menendez, in a statement, called Pompeo’s remarks a diversion tactic.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Menendez said. “Secretary Pompeo now faces an investigation into both this improper firing and into his attempt to cover up his inappropriate and possibly illegal actions. Not surprisingly, he has lashed out at me and others conducting Congressional oversight.”
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