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State Dept. Acting Inspector General Abruptly Quits, Weeks After Trump Fired Predecessor

HeadlineAug 06, 2020

At the State Department, acting Inspector General Stephen Akard resigned abruptly on Wednesday — less than three months after his predecessor was fired by President Trump. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave this brief explanation for Akard’s sudden departure:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “He left to go back home. This happens. I don’t have anything more to add to that.”

In May, President Trump fired the State Department’s inspector general, Steve Linick, who was probing whether Secretary Pompeo used a political appointee to perform personal tasks for himself and his wife, including walking his dog and taking care of his dry cleaning. Pompeo was also under scrutiny for using an emergency declaration to bypass Congress in fast-tracking over $8 billion worth of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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