"I went to see the president and made him understand that Inspector General Linick was not performing a function in a way that we had tried to entrust to him, which was additive for the State Department, very much in accordance with this that the statute says it is supposed to do, "he said in an interview with the Post. "The kind of activities he is supposed to do to make us better, to improve us."
He didn't go into details about what specifically displeased him about Linick's job performance.
Pompeo, in his first public comments on the matter, said he was not aware that Linick was investigating him when he recommended the removal of the GI. According to the Post, he only knew of one case "involving a matter of national security".
"It is not possible that this decision, or rather my recommendation to the president, is rather based on retaliatory efforts for any ongoing or ongoing investigation," said Pompeo. "Because I just don't know. I'm not informed about it. I usually see these investigations as a final draft 24 hours, 48 hours, before the IG is ready to release them."
"So it is simply not possible that it will be an act of reprisal. End of story," he said.
Deputy Secretary of State Department leadership Brian Bulatao also suggested to the Post that leaks from the Inspector General's office played a role in the dismissal of Linick, but said he had no evidence that the ousted IG was personally involved in the leaks.
The Office of the Inspector General acts as an independent watchdog for the State Department. One of its core values is "integrity" - "We maintain our independence and act with courage, honesty and professionalism. Our work is factual, objective and supported by sufficient evidence that meets professional standards, "he says on his website.
Trump informed Congress on Friday of his intention to fire Linick. A senior State Department official then told CNN that Pompeo had made the recommendation.
Foreign House Speaker Eliot Engel, New York Democrat, said on Monday that the ousted IG had almost completed an investigation into Pompeo's decision to speed up an $ 8 billion arms sale to the United States. 'Saudi Arabia.
A Democratic aide told CNN this weekend that the IG had also investigated whether Pompeo had asked a member of staff to perform various personal errands, including walking his dog.
Pompeo will not answer questions related to whether he asked government employees to shop for him, telling the Post: "I will not answer the multitude of unsubstantiated allegations on this subject . "
CNN's Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
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