Headline RoundupMay 19th, 2020

Perspectives: The Trump Administration and Inspectors General

Inspector General, Politics, US Congress, Executive Branch, Donald Trump, State Department, White House

Summary from the AllSides News Team

The removal of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick on Friday marked the fourth time in six weeks a federal watchdog has been ousted by the Trump administration. Questions regarding what Linick and others did to deserve being fired are fueling speculation about possible White House retaliation against perceived internal threats; inspectors general are assigned to each executive branch agency to monitor agency operations and probe supposed cases of misconduct or abuse. Many reports indicate that Linick was investigating potential State Department misconduct in completing a $7 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia last year. Many left-rated voices have framed the firings as "dangerous" abuses of power, arguing that Trump is creating a tyrannical precedent for future presidents to follow. Some right-rated voices moved to justify Trump's purported efforts to fire officials who he thinks undermine his ability to fulfill presidential duties.

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From the Right

Trump Removes the State Department Inspector General

National Review (News)

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National Review (News)

Analysis

President Trump has ousted another inspector general, the fourth IG in the last six weeks. This time, Steve Linick of the State Department was cashiered. The White House says the president has his reasons for no longer having “the fullest confidence” in IG Linick. Perhaps . . . but it is curious how these removals always seem to happen late on Fridays, when administrations do things they’d prefer you didn’t notice.

I am not a fan of the institution of inspector general because it is constitutionally suspect, to say the...

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From the Left

Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump and the inspector-general purge: Why this is so dangerous

Salon

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Salon

Analysis

Never let it be said that the Trump administration can't walk and chew gum at the same time. Even as the president's minions work overtime to botch every single aspect of the federal response to the COVID-19 crisis and prepare to cover up the number of cases and the number of deaths in order to make his "numbers" look good, they still manage to find the time to complete the purge of Trump critics within the government and destroy all mechanisms for accountability.

Trump's forces have pretty much rendered the...

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From the Left

The Trump administration has recently moved to oust 4 government watchdogs. Here they are

USA TODAY

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USA TODAY

News

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's decision Friday to fire his department's inspector general marks the fourth time within the last three months that an internal agency watchdog has been targeted for removal by the Trump administration.

IGs are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Working within the agency they monitor, the inspector generals and their staffs are charged with reporting on government malfeasance and corruption.

Here's a look at the inspector generals who have been ousted recently:

State Department IG Steve Linick was appointed in...

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