Intel: State Department official 'tried to bully' watchdog reviewing Saudi arms sale

The independent watchdog ousted by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that a high-ranking State Department official “tried to bully” him in part because of his review of last year’s emergency arms sale for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Former State Department Inspector General Steve Linick told lawmakers that Undersecretary of State for Management Mike Bulatao had sought to dissuade him from conducting a review of the $8 billion emergency arms sale that Trump and Pompeo approved last year, according to a transcript released today.