Pompeo disregarded warnings of intel officials to push Saudi arms deal under investigation by fired IG: report

On Wednesday, Politico reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ignored warnings from senior administration officials against a controversial Saudi arms deal at the center of an inspector general investigation.

"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo disregarded the advice of high-level officials at the State Department, Pentagon and within the intelligence community in invoking an emergency waiver last year to circumvent congressional review of billions of dollars in arms sales to the Gulf, according to two former administration officials and three congressional sources," reported Lara Seligman, Andrew Desiderio, and Betsy Woodruff Swan.

"That decision was under investigation by a government watchdog who was fired last week at Pompeo’s urging, and it has fueled renewed accusations from lawmakers that the Trump administration bucked the will of Congress and even violated the law when it fast-tracked the weapons sales," continued the report. "The secretary of state is facing intense scrutiny over the inspector general’s ouster, which has unleashed a flurry of negative stories and a torrent of criticism on Capitol Hill."