The U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan, Matthew Clemo, was appointed by President Donald Trump and his appointment took effect Monday, the State Department’s Inspector General confirmed to CNN. Clemo plans to return to Turkmenistan by the end of the year, the office said.
A State Department spokesman said Thursday that the State Department appreciates Ambassador Clemson’s return to Washington, DC, and his role as executive observer by the end of 2020.
Two congressional aides also said they were informed that Klamo was nominated for the role. One of those assistants said he is believed to be close to senior officials in the department.
Clamo, a career civil servant, was a senior adviser to the Office of the Under Secretary of Management immediately before his position as ambassador. He also served in the State Department and other roles in the White House and the military. Kilow’s son is an attorney in the state department according to his biography.
Politico was the first to report that Clemo has been named acting inspector general.
The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed inspector general since Linick was fired late May 15 at the behest of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Linick, the acting oversight general to replace Stephen Accord, resigned in early August. Deputy Inspector General Diana Shaw is serving in the interim role.
Democrats in Congress are investigating pressure on top US diplomat Jettison Linnick. As part of the investigation, Link testified in early June that his office was investigating five possible misconduct cases at the State Department, including possible misuse of taxpayer resources and the sale of emergency weapons to Gulf allies.
A subsequent report was released last month and found that the agency complied with legal requirements in declaring a state of emergency to sell billions of dollars worth of weapons to Gulf allies, but did not fully assess the risks to civilians involved in the sale.
Pompeo has repeatedly denied retaliation for Linik’s ouster and reprimanded Democratic lawmakers, including Elliott Angel, chairman of the New York House Foreign Affairs Committee, over the investigation. Last month, Pompeo told Angel that he had urgently instructed state department officials as part of the investigation not to “appear for registered deposits, until mutually acceptable accommodation is found.”
Last week, Angel announced that his committee was moving toward arresting Pompeo for congressional contempt, as he repeatedly refused to comply with subpoenas of records related to “his transparent political misuse of department resources.”
CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Kylie Atwood contributed to the report.
