The State Department's inspector general for investigation, potentially embarrassing files for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, resigned in a surprise move yesterday, Wednesday, a few months after the dismissal of his predecessor.
The State Department's inspector-general, Stephen Accard, has worked for a long time as assistant to Vice President Mike Pence.
In May, Accord's accession to the position of Inspector General intended to oversee the work of the State Department was widely interpreted as a way to protect Pompeo, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said that Accord told his colleagues that he was "returning to the private sector after years of public service." "We are grateful to him for his dedication to the ministry and our country."
Pompeo, for his part, declared at a news conference that he had "nothing to do" with Accord leaving office.
Accard's resignation comes as the Office of the Inspector General is finalizing a report on Pompeo's launching an emergency measure a year ago that allowed the presidency to bypass Congress to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Trump had sacked former inspector Steve Linnic at the express request of Pompeo, while Link was working on an investigation into the case.
Linnek had also opened an investigation into complaints accusing Pompeo of mandating a government employee to remove his dog or bring his clothes from the grille, and even to make a reservation in restaurants on his behalf.
Accord will be temporarily assigned by his deputy, Diana Shaw, a long-standing lawyer in the Office of the Inspector General.