Trump fires State Dept watchdog said to be probing Pompeo

WASHINGTON, May 16, (AFP) - A government watchdog fired by Donald Trump was investigating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said a Democratic lawmaker who accused the president of committing a potentially illegal act of retribution.

Trump sacked State Department Inspector General Steve Linick on Friday in his latest abrupt dismissal of an official tasked with monitoring wrongdoing inside a government agency.

Washington's top diplomat has raised eyebrows for frequently traveling the world on his government plane with his wife Susan Pompeo, who has no official role. A whistleblower had complained that 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 the family dog and takeout food.