Washington—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today announced that Under Secretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao will testify before the full Committee on Thursday, July 2 at 9:00 am as part of the joint committee investigation into the firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.

“The American people deserve to know the truth about why the President sacked one of our government’s independent watchdogs. Up to this point, the administration has hidden behind smears and conspiracy theories instead of answering questions. I’m glad that Mr. Bulatao has decided to comply with the Committee’s request to appear on the record. I look forward to his testimony, and I encourage the administration to make available the other witnesses we’ve requested,” said Chairman Engel.

Mr. Bulatao has emerged as a central figure in the removal of Mr. Linick—including calling Mr. Linick on a Friday night to deliver the news of his firing—and in the two investigations Mr. Linick’s office was conducting that touched on Secretary Pompeo’s conduct.  Mr. Linick testified that Mr. Bulatao had tried to bully him and argued that he should not pursue his investigation into the 2019 emergency declaration used to push through more than $8 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other countries. Mr. Linick also said that Mr. Bulatao, a close friend of Secretary Pompeo’s, was aware of the investigation into misuse of State Department resources by Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo.

More information can be found here.

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