Not long after Linick’s firing was announced, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Linick had opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo,” Engel said in his statement denouncing the firing. Engel did not provide any further details about the scope of this investigation or how he learned about it…

The inspector general investigation Engel referenced centers around possible misuse of a political appointee at the State Department to perform personal tasks for Pompeo and his wife, a Democratic congressional aide with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

A source close to Linick told CNN the allegation raised by the Democratic aide had previously been brought to Linick’s office but was not aware of an official investigation being opened into the matter.