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22 Oct, 6 tweets, 3 min read
In May, President Trump fired then-State Dept. Inspector General Linick, reportedly at the request of Sec. of State Mike Pompeo.

We obtained new emails related to Linick’s firing that shed new light on who at State was involved.

americanoversight.org/document/state…
Around 6:45 PM on May 15, 2020—a few hours before @Politico first reported on Linick’s firing—James Bacon, an aide to Trump’s controversial director of presidential personnel, responded to an email about “IG” from Nilda Pedrosa, then the White House liaison to State.
Later that night, Pedrosa forwarded the email to two of Pompeo’s top aides: Brian Bulatao and Ulrich Brechbuhl. Brechbuhl also re-forwarded some redacted content on the IG on both Friday night and Saturday.
We previously uncovered the partly redacted complaint submitted to Linick’s office regarding Pompeo’s conduct — which confirmed that the investigation was still ongoing as of July. americanoversight.org/whistleblower-…
While these documents are mostly redacted, the records show the involvement of the Presidential Personnel Office in Linick’s dismissal. PPO has reportedly been conducting interviews to determine political appointees’ personal loyalty to the president.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Five months later, Pedrosa has been promoted. This week, @playbookplus reported that she is now the acting undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs. politico.com/newsletters/pl…

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More from @weareoversight

American Oversight Profile picture
23 Oct
This week, OSC opened a case file after we called for an investigation into whether Mike Pompeo’s rush to release Hillary Clinton’s emails violates the Hatch Act.

So, for #FOIAFriday we’re reviewing why the Hatch Act matters.

americanoversight.org/who-really-car… Image
The Hatch Act prohibits partisan election work while on official duty. But it isn’t just about election fairness & preventing a candidate from deploying power for their own advantage; it also ensures that public service & governance come before political ambitions.
Employees across the government take great pains to obey the Hatch Act. Employees of federal agencies are suspended or face serious consequences for violations. In June, for example, two federal workers were suspended without pay for Hatch Act violations.
Read 11 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
23 Oct
A new report says the parents of 545 children separated at the border can’t be found.

We obtained a January 2018 memo from DHS highlighting problems with the early “pilot” family-separation program.

One “negative impact” listed: “New populations of U.S. orphans.” Image
The memo was based on DHS Civil Rights/Civil Liberties office’s investigation of 27 of the 950 “family separation matters” the office had received since 2016.

It cited problems with “inconsistent, inaccurate, or no record-keeping for all arriving family members” in DHS systems; Image
a “lack of communication” between DHS and HHS, which is charged with caring for unaccompanied minors, leading to “family fragmentation”; and “problematic outcomes” such as “nursing mothers and infants separated.”
documentcloud.org/documents/6257…
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
21 Oct
We obtained nearly 400 pages of Mike Pompeo’s personal emails from his time as CIA director.

These records reveal a problematic amount of official business conducted over private email and show Pompeo fielding questionable investigation requests.
americanoversight.org/pompeos-use-of…
The emails also include multiple indications of Mike Pompeo’s wife Susan Pompeo’s engagement with CIA officials during his tenure as director, adding to public reporting of her extensive and potentially inappropriate level of involvement at both the CIA & State.
Throughout his time as director, Pompeo appears to have regularly received official schedules at his personal email account — an unusual arrangement for high-level government officials, who generally have access to government systems at their home offices and on work phones.
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
20 Oct
We obtained documents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that add further detail to the deaths of two people detained at the border: Jakelin Caal Maquin and Felipe Gómez Alonzo.

americanoversight.org/document/ice-e…
Customs and Border Protection produced reports and documentation relevant to deaths in DHS custody that were used as briefing materials in preparation for the Mar. 6, 2019 House Homeland Security Committee hearing, "The Way Forward on Border Security."
These materials Included Incident Reports completed by the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility in response to the deaths of Jakelin Caal Maquin & Felipe Gomez Alonzo.
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
20 Oct
On October 6, President Trump tweeted that he “fully authorized the total declassification” of documents connected to the Russia investigation.

Now, Trump’s chief of staff signed a sworn declaration that the president said he didn’t mean it.

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
After the Oct. 6 tweets, Buzzfeed News filed 3 emergency motions to release the Russia-related documents it had FOIA’d. The federal judge presiding over the cases ordered DOJ to get a declaration from Trump clarifying his intent.
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
This is the latest instance of the president’s tweets sowing confusion or controversy. Such posts are often depicted as “rogue” statements. DOJ has previously argued that both that his tweets are presidential actions and that they are not.
reuters.com/article/legal-…
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
19 Oct
Breaking: The Office of Special Counsel confirmed that it will open a case file to address the complaint we submitted last week calling for an urgent investigation into whether Sec. of State Pompeo’s rush to release Clinton’s emails before the election violates the Hatch Act.
On October 8, President Trump publicly criticized Pompeo for not ensuring that Hillary Clinton’s emails were released. The next day, Pompeo said that State would work to release more info from the emails “before the election,” strongly suggesting his intent to sway voters.
While Pompeo committed to release this info in a matter of weeks, State has consistently maintained that it is largely unable to process FOIA requests because of the pandemic. This contradiction seemingly reveals the underlying political motivations.
Read 4 tweets

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