Pompeo denies retaliation but won’t explain watchdog ouster

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday adamantly denied that he recommended firing the State Department’s independent watchdog in retaliation for investigations into Pompeo’s conduct as America’s top diplomat. But Pompeo again declined to provide specific reasons for Steve Linick’s dismissal as inspector general. Pompeo took an unusually harsh shot at the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, New Jersey…