The inspector general (IG) at the U.S. Department of State has requested to provide an “urgent” briefing related to Ukraine to congressional staffers on Wednesday afternoon on a matter that he was made aware of four months ago, Breitbart News has learned.
A Trump administration official told Breitbart News that Steve Linick, the IG at the State Department who began his tenure under former President Barack Obama in 2013, “has been sitting on the alleged ‘urgent’ matter for four months.”
Citing anonymous sources, ABC News first reported the upcoming IG briefing to staffers from various committees in the House and Senate, noting that it came at the behest of Linick.
Linick is expected to focus on “documents obtained from the department’s Office of the Legal Adviser related to the State Department and Ukraine,” ABC News reported.
The administration official indicated to Breitbart News that the documents were initially turned over to a non-political lawyer in the civil service, who in turn gave them to Linick four months ago.
Echoing ABC News, the administration official identified the subject of the briefing as Rudy Giuliani, U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and Ukraine.
The details behind the “urgent” briefing “remain unknown,” ABC News acknowledged. However, it added:
Linick is expected to meet with congressional staff in a secure location on Capitol Hill.
The unusual nature and timing of the briefing – during a congressional recess – suggests it may be connected to a recent intelligence community whistleblower allegation which describes, in part, the State Department’s role in coordinating interactions between Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, and Ukrainian officials.
On Wednesday, hours before the briefing, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that he was on the July 25 call between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. The call is at the center of imminent impeachment proceedings that Democrats in the House have vowed to pursue.
Democrats argue that Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Linick serves as the State Department’s chief internal investigator and the watchdog. The Office of the IG is expected to operate independently of political leadership at the State Department.
In recent weeks, the State Department has faced criticism for linking Giuliani with several Ukrainian officials in a bid to investigate Joe Biden and his son.
In 2016, the former U.S. vice president pressured Ukraine to remove its top prosecutor. He is heard on tape bragging last year about bullying Ukraine into firing the official.
Biden threatened to cut off $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to the Eastern European nation as it faced ongoing Russian aggression, if it refused to play ball.
Even liberal news outlets like the New York Times have criticized Joe Biden’s push in Ukraine.
In April 2014, Hunter Biden began serving on the board of energy company Burisma Holdings — whose owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, had been under investigation by the fired prosecutor.
Joe Biden’s supporters argue that the prosecutor’s probe into Zlochevsky had gone dormant when the former vice president pushed Ukraine into firing the investigator.
Moreover, Joe Biden’s camp argues that the West was all in on getting the official fired for failing to combat corruption.
Joe Biden, now the leading Democrat presidential candidate, argues that he never discussed his son’s business dealings in Ukraine while serving as vice president.
A recently surfaced photo, however, suggests otherwise.
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