Trump's latest IG purge trashed by ex-national security official: He wants 'fraud and abuse to run rampant'

On Saturday, former national security official Samantha Vinograd tore into President Donald Trump for the firing of the State Department inspector general.

"The timing could not be worse, when you think of how IG to IG transmission is supposed to happen," said Vinograd. "The U.S. government is under increased pressure right now because of the pandemic. That means officials at the State Department and inspector general's office are doing things like working from home. It seems almost impossible that it will be feasible for the current inspector general to do a sequence transmission to the acting inspector general without dropping the ball ... it will likely limit the ability of the sitting inspector general to fully transmit his case load to his successor."

"Samantha, let's talk about the trend," said anchor Victor Blackwell. "The third IG replaced or, rather, removed or fired in the last 45 days or so. Add to that Christi Grimm, who was the placeholder at HHS, after she announced the shortages of PPE that was announced with Health and Human Services. The significance of the trend in the last days?"

"The latest spring cleaning by President Trump really just amplifies the narrative over what constitutes job security under this administration," said Vinograd. "Keeping your job means not doing it. These inspectors general were ostensibly removed without cause. They fulfilled their roles and responsibilities. And domestically, the removal of inspectors general, who again are doing their jobs, is threatening to allow fraud and abuse to run rampant in the U.S. government as long as it benefits the president."

"Globally, President Trump is his own worst enemy," added Vinograd. "How can we credibly promote the rule of law, accountability, and oversight, core U.S. foreign policy priorities, overseas, when President Trump is dismantling them here at home?"

Watch below: