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#Fired State Dept. watchdog Steve Linick probed for possible press leaks

#Fired State Dept. watchdog Steve Linick probed for possible press leaks

June 12, 2020 | 1:28pm | Updated June 12, 2020 | 2:00pm

WASHINGTON — Fired State Department watchdog Steve Linick was the subject of a major investigation when he was ousted last month, accused of repeatedly sending classified information to his personal email account — which sparked fears he was leaking sensitive information to the press, The Post has learned.

After being dismissed by President Trump on May 15 at the urging of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Congressional Democrats claimed that Linick was fired because he had launched a probe into whether Pompeo and his wife were misusing State Department resources.

But a tranche of documents obtained by The Post reveals Linick was being investigated by the Department of Defense as part of a probe related to alleged leaks of sensitive information to journalists, including a draft evaluation of the department’s top Iran official, Brian Hook.

Furthermore, Rep. Eliot Engel (D. NY), chairman of the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, ignored repeated offers from Pompeo and top aides at the department to testify and explain why Linick was fired.

In a March 17 report following a sweeping probe, the Defense Department IG confirmed Linick was guilty of misconduct after he sent more than 23 emails containing confidential material to his personal Gmail account — including eight times over a six-day period.

He was the only person in the department to send the evaluation of Hook to his personal email address, rousing suspicions that he was behind the politically-motivated leaks to the press.

In testimony earlier this month, Obama-appointed Linick told the Foreign Affairs Committee that he was stunned by his dismissal after Trump declared that he “no longer” had the “fullest confidence” in Linick’s work.

But internal documents reveal Linick, who served in the job since 2013, was handed the findings of the Defense Dept. probe in March, which found he violated the rules of his post by sending sensitive information to his personal email address.

In a June 11 letter to Engel, Pompeo described Linick’s behavior as “strange and erratic” and lashed into the powerful Democrat for refusing offers of explanation from Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun and Brian Bulatao, the under-secretary of state for management.

“I need an inspector general working every day to improve State Department operations and efficiency. Mr. Linick was not that person,” Pompeo wrote.

Pompeo also took at shot at Engel, who is facing a fierce primary challenge in his New York district  this month.

Steve Linick
Steve LinickAP

“I hear you’ve been busy in your district, so let me get you up to speed on what’s been happening in your committee,” Pompeo wrote, including a footnote referring to a news report which claimed Engel was “fighting for his political survival.”

In letters to Engel, Pomeo and Biegun also denied claims that Linick was ousted because Pompeo knew he was being investigated by the watchdog.

“Indeed, I have maintained a firewall related to any Inspector General discussions to preclude — to the maximum extent practicable — the Secretary of State’s involvement in any specific investigations,” Biegun wrote to Engel.

Linick, a former assistant U.S. attorney in California and Virginia, had overseen inspector general reports that were highly critical of the department’s management policies during the Trump administration.

His office had criticized several Trump appointees for their treatment of career staff for apparently being insufficiently supportive of Trump and his policies.

Source

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