Top Democrats launch investigation into late-night firing of the State Department inspector general - Daily Mail

Top Democrats launch investigation into 'illegal act of retaliation' by Trump over firing of State Department inspector general who had 'opened an investigation into wrongdoing by Secretary Pompeo'

• Rep. Eliot L. Engel and Sen. Robert Menendez have told the Trump administration to preserve all records related to the dismissal of Steve Linick
• They say Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requested Linick's removal after the IG opened a probe into his conduct
• The firing may have been an 'illegal act of retaliation,' they added 
• The administration has been asked to hand over information on the ousting by May 22
• The State Department Inspector General was dismissed late on Friday night 
• In a letter to Congress, Trump said Linick no longer had his full confidence
• Linick's office was looking into Pompeo's 'misuse of a political appointee' at the State Department to perform personal tasks for himself and his wife, an aide said

By Frances Mulraney For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 22:06 BST, 16 May 2020 | Updated: 01:26 BST, 17 May 2020

Two top Democrats launched an investigation Saturday into a claim that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the dismissal of a State Department Inspector General who had opened a probe into his conduct.

Rep. Eliot L. Engel and Sen. Robert Menendez have told the Trump administration to preserve all records related to the Friday-night dismissal of Steve Linick in an open letter announcing the investigation.

'Reports indicated that Secretary Pompeo personally made the recommendation to fire Mr. Linick, and it is our understanding that he did so because the Inspector General had opened an investigation into the wrongdoing by Secretary Pompeo himself,' the letter said.

'Such an action, transparently designed to protect Secretary Pompeo from personal accountability, would undermine the foundation of our democratic institutions and may be an illegal act of retaliation.'

President Donald Trump fired Linick, an Obama administration appointee, late on Friday night but gave no reason for his ouster.  

Rep. Eliot L. Engel and Sen. Robert Menendez say President Trump may have engaged in an 'illegal act of retaliation' when he fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. They claim that the IG was fired at the recommendation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, after a probe was launched by the state department about Pompeo's own conduct

Rep. Eliot L. Engel (left) and Sen. Robert Menendez (right) told the administration Saturday that they were launching an investigation into the firing of the state department inspector general

In a letter to Congress, Trump said Linick, who had held the job since 2013, no longer had his full confidence and that his removal would take effect in 30 days. Trump did not mention Linick by name in his letter.

It is the latest in a series of moves against independent executive branch watchdogs who have found fault with the Trump administration.

The move was met with immediate backlash as Democrats in Congress cried foul,.

Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was the first to suggest that Linick was fired in part in retaliation for opening an unspecified investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

'This firing is the outrageous act of a president trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the secretary of state, from accountability,' Engel said in a statement.

'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.'

Engel offered no details of the investigation, although two congressional aides said it involved allegations that Pompeo may have improperly treated staff.

According to a Democratic aide, Linick's office was looking into Pompeo's 'misuse of a political appointee' at the State Department to perform personal tasks for himself and his wife, New York Times reporter Edward Wong said. 

The New York Congressman announced his investigation into the firing with Menendez, a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, calling on administration officials to preserve all records related to the firing and to turn information over to the committees by Friday, May 22.

'President Trump's unprecedented removal of Inspector General Linick is only his latest sacking of an inspector general, our government's key independent watchdogs, from a federal agency,' the pair wrote.

'We unalterably oppose the politically-motivated firing of inspector generals and the President's gutting of these critical positions.'

The Democrats launched an investigation Saturday claim that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the dismissal of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick who had opened a probe into his conduct. They say it was a move by Trump to protect Pompeo, pictured

State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was dismissed late on Friday night. In a letter to Congress, Trump gave no reason for the dismissal but said he had lost confidence in the IG

'Shameful. Another late Friday night attack on independence, accountability, and career officials,' Menendez added in a tweet.

'At this point, the President's paralyzing fear of any oversight is undeniable.'

Linick's office has issued several reports critical of the department´s handling of personnel matters during the Trump administration, including accusing some political appointees of retaliating against career officials.

'If Inspector General Linick was fired because he was conducting an investigation of conduct by Secretary Pompeo, the Senate cannot let this stand,' said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.

'The Senate Foreign Relations Committee must get to bottom of what happened here.'

Rep. Eliot L. Engel and Sen. Robert Menendez published the letter above Saturday in which they said that Linick's firing 'would undermine the foundation of our democratic institutions and may be an illegal act of retaliation' if it was found to be a move to protect Pompeo

Senator Menendez was among the first to slam the dismissal on social media

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also condemned Linick's ouster, saying he had been 'punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security.'

'The president must cease his pattern of reprisal and retaliation against the public servants who are working to keep Americans safe, particularly during this time of global emergency,' she added. 

Under Linick, the State Department's inspector general office was also critical of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's hiring freeze and attempts to streamline the agency by slashing its funding and personnel.

Rep. Engel announced the launch pf the investigation on Twitter 

Engel added that it was an 'unprecented removal' and was only the 'latest sacking' 

Senator Menendez also shared the letter about the investigation on social media

Linick, whose office took issue with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she served as America's top diplomat, played a minor role in the Ukraine impeachment investigation into Trump.

In October, Linick turned over documents to House investigators that he had received from State Department Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, a close Pompeo associate, which contained information from debunked conspiracy theories about Ukraine´s role in the 2016 election.

Linick will replaced by Stephen Akard, a former career foreign service officer who has close ties to Vice President Mike Pence, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Akard currently runs the department's Office of Foreign Missions. He had been nominated to be the director general of the foreign service but withdrew after objections he wasn't experienced enough.

Trump has been taking aim lately at inspectors general.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and wife Susan Pompeo are seen at a state dinner in September. Linick was reportedly investigating whether they used an appointee to run errands

Trump submitted this notice to Congress as required by law, and technically Linick's removal will not come into effect for 30 days. Democrats are now investigating the dismissal

In April, he fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the intelligence community, for his role in the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump´s impeachment.

Then Trump removed Glenn Fine as acting inspector general at the Defense Department. The move stripped him of his post as chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which is among those overseeing the vast economic relief law pass in response to the coronavirus.

During a White House briefing on COVID-19, Trump questioned the independence of an inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services over a report that said there was a shortage of supplies and testing at hospitals.

Trump has since moved to replace the HHS official, Christi A. Grimm. She is a career person who has held the position in an acting capacity, but now Trump has nominated a permanent replacement.

By law, the administration must give Congress 30 days' notice of its plans to formally terminate an inspector general, in theory giving lawmakers time to study and potentially protest the move.

But previous such firings have gone through unimpeded, and inspectors general previously dismissed have been replaced by political allies of the president.

Pompeo, Washington's top diplomat, has raised eyebrows for frequently traveling the world on his government plane with his wife, who has no official role.

CNN reported last year that a whistle blower had complained that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which guards US missions overseas as well as the secretary of state, had been assigned questionable tasks for the Pompeos, such as picking up takeout food or tending to the family dog.

The State Department confirmed Linick's firing but did not comment on the reason or on whether Pompeo was under investigation.

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2020-05-17 00:59:07Z
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Steve Linick: Democrats probe Trump's firing of inspector general - BBC News

US Democrats have launched an investigation into President Donald Trump's firing of the state department's internal watchdog.

Inspector General Steve Linick was investigating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for suspected abuse of office, reports say.

But he was sacked late on Friday after Mr Trump said he no longer commanded his full confidence.

The move prompted angry criticism from senior Democrats in Congress.

They accused Mr Trump of retaliating against public servants who want to hold his administration to account. Mr Linick was the third official responsible for monitoring government misconduct to be dismissed in recent weeks.

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The former prosecutor was appointed by Mr Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, to oversee spending and detect mismanagement at the state department.

On Saturday, top Democrats on the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committees questioned the timing of Mr Linick's removal and announced an immediate investigation.

"We unalterably oppose the politically-motivated firing of inspectors general and the president's gutting of these critical positions," Congressman Eliot Engel and Senator Bob Menendez said in a statement.

They said Mr Linick had "opened an investigation into wrongdoing by Secretary Pompeo himself", adding that his firing was "transparently designed to protect Secretary Pompeo from personal accountability".

Mr Linick had begun investigating allegations that Mr Pompeo had improperly used staff to run personal errands, US media report.

Mr Engel and Mr Menendez have requested that the White House and State Department hand over all records related to his dismissal by next Friday.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the White House said the decision to oust Mr Linick was prompted by Mr Pompeo himself. "Secretary Pompeo recommended the move, and President Trump agreed," an official said.

What happened on Friday?

Mr Trump sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in which he declared his intention to fire Mr Linick.

Under federal law, the Trump administration must give Congress 30 days' notice of its plans to fire an inspector general. It is expected that Mr Linick will leave his post after this time, with some reports suggesting a political ally of Mr Trump is being lined up to replace him.

"It is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general. That is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general," Mr Trump said in the letter.

Not long after Mr Linick's dismissal was announced, Mr Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Mr Linick had opened an investigation into Mr Pompeo.

"Mr Linick's firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation," he said in a statement.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr Linick was "punished for honourably performing his duty to protect the constitution and our national security".

It was the latest in a series of dismissals of independent government watchdogs.

Last month, Mr Trump dismissed Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community.

Mr Atkinson first alerted Congress to a whistleblower complaint that led to Mr Trump's impeachment trial.

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2020-05-17 00:34:04Z
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China admits to destroying early coronavirus samples - but says it was NOT part of a cover-up - Daily Mail

China admits to destroying early coronavirus samples - but says the action was taken due to safety concerns and was NOT part of a cover-up

• It has been confirmed that the Chinese government issued an order to dispose of coronavirus samples at unauthorized laboratories on January 3
• A government official said the samples were terminated in order to to comply with Chinese public health laws, and denied the action was part of a cover-up
• The U.S. has repeatedly accused the Chinese government of deliberately downplaying the threat of COVID-19 after it originated in Wuhan last December
• Worldwide, more than 4.35 million people have tested positive to the virus and at least 297,000 have died
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By Andrew Court and Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com

Published: 19:32 BST, 16 May 2020 | Updated: 23:08 BST, 16 May 2020

China has acknowledged it destroyed early samples of COVID-19, confirming a claim put forward by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late last month.  

On Friday, Liu Dengfeng, a supervisor with China's National Health Commission, admitted that 'the Chinese government issued an order on January 3 to dispose of coronavirus samples' at unauthorized laboratories, according to Newsweek. 

But Liu denied that the samples were destroyed as part of a cover-up, insisting that they were disposed of so as to 'prevent risk to laboratory biological safety and prevent secondary disasters caused by unidentified pathogens.'

He stated that the labs were 'unauthorized' to handle such samples, and they had to be terminated in order to comply with Chinese public health laws.  

Liu did not specify how many labs destroyed coronavirus samples. 

China has acknowledged it destroyed early samples of COVID-19, confirming a claim put forward by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late last month. A worker is pictured inside a laboratory in Wuhan, China 

Liu Dengfeng (pictured), a supervisor with China's National Health Commission, admitted that early samples of the coronavirus had been destroyed

The admission comes amid souring diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China over the COVID-19 outbreak. China's President Xi is pictured left, U.S. President Trump is seen at right 

The admission comes amid souring diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China over the COVID-19 outbreak - which originated in Wuhan late last year. 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month accused the Asian superpower of not being transparent about spread of the coronavirus. 

'The Chinese Communist Party still has not shared the virus sample from inside of China with the outside world, making it impossible to track the disease's evolution,' Pompeo stated at a briefing on April 22. 

'We strongly believe that the Chinese Communist Party did not report the outbreak of the new coronavirus in a timely fashion to the World Health Organisation,' he added. 

'Even after the CCP did notify the WHO of the coronavirus outbreak, China didn't share all of the information that it had.'

Pompeo continued: 'Instead it covered up how dangerous the disease is, It didn't report sustained human-to-human transmission for a month until it was in every province inside of China. It censored those who tried to warn the world in order to halt the testing of new samples, and it destroyed existing samples.'

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 4.59 million people around the world have tested positive to COVID-19. At least 309,000 have died. 

The United States has been disproportionately affected by the disease, with the country accounting for almost a quarter of global cases and deaths. 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month accused the Asian superpower of not being transparent about spread of the coronavirus 

Earlier this week, President Trump gave an interview with Fox Business Network, where he claimed he was he was 'very disappointed in China'. 

The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan in December and was spreading silently as the U.S. and China signed a Phase 1 trade deal hailed by Trump as a major achievement.  

'They should have never let this happen. So I make a great trade deal and now I say this doesn't feel the same to me. The ink was barely dry and the plague came over. And it doesn't feel the same to me.'

Trump's pique extended to Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom, Trump says repeatedly, he has a good relationship. 

'I just - right now I don't want to speak to him. I don't want to speak to him,' Trump said.  

'I don't want to speak to him ': The once-rosy relationship between President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping has now turned very frosty 

Meanwhile, a Department of Homeland Security report shared last Sunday revealed US officials believe China 'intentionally concealed the severity' of the pandemic in early January and hoarded medical supplies.

The four-page report dated May 1 that was obtained by the Associated Press notes that China downplayed the virus publicly but increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies.

The document accuses China of covering their tracks by 'denying there were export restrictions and obfuscating and delaying provision of its trade data.'

It lends weight to a leaked dossier drawn up by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance which describes how Beijing made whistleblowers 'disappear', destroyed early virus samples and scrubbed the internet of any mention of the disease in the early stages. 

The 15-page document brands Beijing's secrecy over the pandemic an 'assault on international transparency' and points to cover-up tactics deployed by the regime. 

It claims that the Chinese government silenced its most vocal critics and scrubbed any online scepticism about its handling of the health emergency from the internet.

China has roundly come under fire for suppressing the scale of its early outbreak which did not afford other nations time to react before the disease hit their shores.

Chinese workers are pictured inside a laboratory in Wuhan in 2017. US officials believe China deliberately downplayed the threat of COVID-19 late last year 

Elsewhere, the CIA believes that China pressured the World Health Organization into delaying public warnings about coronavirus early in the outbreak, according to a report recently published in Newsweek.  

The alleged delay came at a crucial time in January, as the virus was spreading around the world undetected and China was stockpiling medical equipment and protective gear made in the U.S. and elsewhere. 

The contents of the the CIA document, called 'U.N.-China: WHO Mindful But Not Beholden to China,' were confirmed to Newsweek by two U.S. intelligence officials.

It is the second Western intelligence report to indicate that China strong-armed the WHO into downplaying the risks of the epidemic, after a German intelligence document reported by Der Spiegel suggested that Chinese leader Xi Jinping personally pressured WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (left) and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands in Beijing on January 28, 2020

The German newspaper cited intelligence from the country's Federal Intelligence Service, known as the 'Bundesnachrichtendienst' (BND). 

According to the BND: 'On January 21, China's leader Xi Jinping asked WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to hold back information about a human-to-human transmission and to delay a pandemic warning. 

'The BND estimates that China's information policy lost four to six weeks to fight the virus worldwide'.

The WHO released a statement shortly after the publication of the shock claims, calling them 'unfounded and untrue'.  

As of Saturday morning, there have been more than 1.47 million confirmed cases of coronavirus across the U.S. At least 88,8363 Americans have died from the virus

Read more:

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2020-05-16 23:10:46Z
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Most wanted fugitive in Rwanda's genocide arrested in France after 23 years on the run - Sky News

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1. Most wanted fugitive in Rwanda's genocide arrested in France after 23 years on the run  Sky News
2. Félicien Kabuga: Rwanda genocide suspect arrested in France  BBC News
3. French police arrest Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga  The Guardian
4. French police arrest Africa's most wanted man, 84, for 'arming militias in 1994 Rwandan genocide'  Daily Mail
5. Most wanted fugitive in Rwanda's genocide arrested after 23 years on the run  Sky News
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2020-05-16 19:21:38Z
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Most wanted fugitive in Rwanda's genocide arrested after 23 years on the run - Sky News

One of the most wanted fugitives in Rwanda's genocide has been arrested near Paris after more than two decades on the run.

Felicien Kabuga, who had a $5m (£4.1m) bounty on his head, is accused of financing the 1994 genocide, which killed more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus who tried to protect them.

A millionaire businessman, Kabuga was accused by Rwandan prosecutors of using his companies to import vast quantities of machetes that were used to slaughter people.

Image: The building where Felicien Kabuga was arrested

The UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda indicted Kabuga in 1997 on charges related to conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution and extermination.

Kabuga was also close to former president Juvenal Habyarimana, whose death sparked the 100-day genocide after his plane was shot down over Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

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In a statement, the French justice ministry said Kabuga had been arrested at a block of flats in Asnieres-sur-Seine on Saturday morning.

The 84-year-old had been living in France under an assumed name, the statement said.

More from Rwanda

Kabuga is expected to be transferred to UN custody and stand trial.

Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, who ran the investigation with the French police, said: "The arrest of Kabuga today is a reminder that those responsible for genocide can be brought to account, even 26 years after their crimes."

Officials in Rwanda hailed the arrest and said the East African nation would continue to collaborate with the UN mechanism to ensure that justice is served.

According to Rwandan prosecutors, other top fugitives still at large include Protais Mpiranya, the former commandant of the presidential guards, and former defence minister Augustin Bizimana.

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2020-05-16 15:50:41Z
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Restrictions are eased in Italy after three months of lockdown with people free to fly from June 3 - Daily Mail

Italy reopens: Restrictions are eased after three months of lockdown with people free to fly from June 3 and shops set to reopen on Monday

• Italy will be open to European tourists from June 3 after three-month lockdown
• Regions could also reopen their economy fully under strict safety measures
• Country did not specify which foreign nationals would be allowed to enter Italy
• In a press release, the government said it respected the 'legal order' of the EU
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By Chris Jewers For Mailonline and Afp

Published: 12:46 BST, 16 May 2020 | Updated: 15:52 BST, 16 May 2020

Italy will reopen to European tourists from June 3 and scrap a 14-day mandatory quarantine period, the government said on Saturday, as it accelerated its exit from the coronavirus lockdown.

The move will also apply to countries in the Schengen Area, and comes as the Italian government announced plans to also lift some travel restrictions on people within the country.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte enforced an economically crippling shutdown in early March to counter a pandemic that has so far killed more than 31,500 people in Italy.

The Prime Minister has resisted calls from some regions to open sooner, and has instead lifted measures gradually fearing a second wave of the virus. 

From the same date, regions will be allowed to reopen all sectors of the economy, providing strict safety and social distancing measures are observed.

This includes restaurants so long as customers are kept one meter apart, with staff wearing mandatory face masks. Customers will also be required to wear face masks if they are not sitting at tables.

Italians return to the streets, all wearing face masks, as the country enters phase 2 of its pandemic response. Pictured: Viale Papiniano market, Milan, May 16

Italy will reopen to tourists from June 3, by which point regions will also have been allowed to reopen all sectors of their economy, providing strict safety measures are followed. Pictured: Thermal cameras are use to monitor body temperature at Fiumicino airport, near Rome, May 15

Shops in Italy are set to reopen on May 18, and people will be allowed to move freely within individual regions, allowing people to visit their friends.

Italy is holding off lifting travel restrictions further until after its June 2 Republic Day in an attempt to limit any mass travel over the long holiday weekend. 

The shutdown halted all holidaymaking in a country heavily dependent on the tourism industry.

Although Italy never formally closed its borders and has allowed people to cross back and forth for work or health reasons, it banned movement for tourism and imposed a two-week isolation period for new arrivals.

A man wearing a protective face mask has his temperature taken on the street in Milan, May 16

Italy is holding off lifting travel restrictions further until after its June 2 Republic Day in an attempt to limit any mass travel over the long holiday weekend

In March, the European Union banned foreign nationals from entering its Schengen zone, an open border zone comprising 22 of 27 member states, with exceptions for medical workers and essential travel.

But on Wednesday, the EU set out plans for a phased restart of summer travel, urging member states to reopen its internal borders, while recommending that external borders remain shut for most travel until at least the middle of June.

In a press release, Italy's government did not explicitly state which foreign nationals would be allowed to enter, but said its new measures respected the 'legal order of the European Union'.

A barber in Catania, Italy tests the new safety measures with a visor and gloves, ready for the reopening of barbers on May 18 across the country

Bars and restaurants will be allowed to open by June 3. In restaurants, customers must be kept one meter apart, with staff wearing mandatory face masks, and customers wearing face masks when not sitting at a table. Pictured: A worker in a hazmat suit disinfects a Rome bar, May 16

Beginning on June 3, visitors within the Schengen zone will be allowed to enter Italy with no obligation to self-isolate. Italians will also be able to move between regions, though local authorities can limit travel if infections spike.

Movements to and from abroad can be limited by regional decree 'in relation to specific states and territories, in accordance with the principles of adequacy and proportionality to the epidemiological risk', the government said.

The latest decree is also a boon to Italy's agricultural sector, which relies on roughly 350,000 seasonal workers from abroad.

Farming lobby group Coldiretti said farms were already preparing to organise some 150,000 workers from places including Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.

Pictured: A nun wearing a face masks walks through St. Matk's Square in Venice, Italy, as the country prepares for the return of tourists, set for June 3

Church services will also begin again, but attendees will be required to follow social distancing rules. Holy water fonts will be empty. Pictured: Men wearing protective overalls and mask clean the floor and surfaces of the churchyard of the Basilica of Saint Paul in Rome, May 16

The peak of Italy's contagion passed at the end of March but with experts warning a second wave cannot be ruled out, Conte had been reluctant to lift the lockdown quickly.

His approach frustrated many of Italy's regions, with some already allowing businesses to reopen before the restrictions were lifted.

Restaurants, bars and hairdressers are being allowed to reopen on Monday, two weeks earlier than initially planned.

Shops will also open and Italians will finally be able to see friends, as long as they live within their same region.

Church services will begin again but the faithful will have to follow social distancing rules and holy water fonts will be empty. Mosques will also reopen.

Beaches in Italy also opened on Saturday, but gatherings of large groups are still banned across the nation.

As of May 15, Italy had recorded 223,885 cases on the coronavirus, with 31,610 related deaths. 

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2020-05-16 15:20:33Z
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