Democratic Rep. Trump dismissed the State Department's inspector general for his investigation of selling weapons to Riyadh

US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Elliot Engel announced that President Donald Trump dismissed State Department inspector Steve Lynnick because of his investigation into Trump's decision to sell billions of dollars to arms to Riyadh last year.

Engel, a Democratic lawmaker, said in a statement issued today, Monday, that Linnick's office was investigating - at his request - in declaring Trump a state of emergency so that he could enforce an arms deal for Saudi Arabia.

He added that the current administration must comply with the request for an investigation submitted by him and his Senate Democratic colleague Bob Menendez, and that by next Friday he should hand over all the documents the administration requested from the State Department.

In a message he sent last Friday to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the US President said he no longer had confidence in the ability of the Inspector General of the State Department to perform his duties, without mentioning a reason for that. Democrats described the dismissal of Trump's fourth government inspector-general as a political decision, noting that it might be against the law.

Later, the White House said that the president's decision to fire Inspector General Steve Linnick was made on the recommendation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, while a congressional source revealed that the article inspector was investigating complaints that Pompeo had exploited a person appointed by the political authority to carry out personal tasks for him and his wife.

To bypass congressional authority, a year ago Trump implemented the Arms Export Control Act with the goal of enforcing 22 deals worth $ 8 billion to sell weapons that include guided munitions, mostly to Saudi Arabia, despite opposition from Democrats and some Republicans.

Then, the US administration relied on a provision in the arms sales laws that allows to bypass the congressional vote by declaring a national emergency, which was adopted by the Trump administration, talking about tensions with Iran.