WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said his recommendation to President Donald Trump that the inspector general of the State Department be fired was not an act of retaliation as he was not aware of any investigations the employee was carrying out, he told the Washington Post in an interview.
“It is not possible that this decision, or my recommendation rather, to the president rather, was based on any effort to retaliate for any investigation that was going on, or is currently going on,” he said. “Because I simply don’t know. I’m not briefed on it.
He declined to address allegations that he misused a taxpayer-funded political appointee to perform personal tasks for himself and his wife, such as walking their dog.
Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chris Reese
