AFP
In the United States, State Department Chief Inspector Stephen Akard announced on Wednesday that he will unexpectedly resign. According to a spokesman for the State Department, Akard had said he would return to the private sector after years spent on the public side.
Akard’s predecessor, Steve Linick, was fired in May. President Donald Trump fired Linick, who reportedly investigated complaints against, among others, Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo. Pompeon had been reported, for example, to have commissioned government employees for work related to their personal lives, such as walking a dog. Pompeo has confirmed reports that Trump fired Linick on his recommendation.
Akard is a former assistant to Pompeo, and he will be leaving office as soon as his office finalizes a report on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, for example. The Democratic Party believed Linick’s resignation was also influenced by the fact that he was reportedly investigating arms deals.
Now Diana Shaw takes over. As a deputy overseer, he would have been next in line after Linick left, so Akard’s choice aroused astonishment from a fresh point of view.