Trump’s Purge of the Watchdogs

May 19, 2020

It used to be rare for a president to fire an inspector general, a position created within government agencies after Watergate and assigned to fight waste and corruption. Today, we look at what President Trump’s pattern of replacing inspectors general reveals about the nature of the independent office — and about presidential power. Guest: Maggie Haberman, who covers the White House for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

Background reading: 

• Mr. Trump decided to fire Steve A. Linick, the Department of State’s inspector general, last week. Mr. Linick had opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s spending habits. Congressional Democrats have now opened an investigation into the firing.
• The president also recently fired the intelligence community’s inspector general. Our chief White House correspondent explains why Mr. Trump’s drive against those he considers disloyal continues even during a pandemic.

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