Watchdog: State Dept. Retaliated Against Career Diplomat

The State Department forced a career official out of her job because of her "perceived political views, association with former administrations, and perceived national origin," the Office of Inspector General announced in a report on Thursday.

The OIG found that Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, a longtime civil servant, was reassigned from the Policy Planning office because of her Iranian heritage and doubts about her loyalty to the Trump Administration. Other employees in the department referred to her and other career staffers as “Obama/Clinton loyalists” who were “not supportive” of “Trump’s agenda,” according to the report. State staffers also said that Nowrouzzadeh was “born in Iran,” and claimed this created a conflict of interest for her.

The report concludes that Nowrouzzadeh’s "perceived political opinions, perceived association with former administrations, and her perceived national origin played at least some role in the expressed opinions that" she should not be in the Policy Planning office.

The OIG found that Brian Hook, the State Department’s special representative on Iran and formerly the director of policy planning who terminated Nowrouzzadeh’s employment in that office, did not provide a “convincing explanation” for firing her.

The State Department’s counselor told The Hill that it “disagrees” with the report’s conclusion, while Nowrouzzadeh hailed the report’s findings on Twitter.

“It is my hope that the Inspector General's findings pertaining to my case help prompt action that will guard against any further such misconduct by members of this or any future administration,” she wrote in the first of several tweets on the report.

The OIG reviewed two other cases in the report and determined that there was no evidence of wrongdoing in either.

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