(CNN)Three top congressional Democrats and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General are calling for a Trump political appointee, one of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's top aides, to be disciplined for allegedly refusing to comply with a State Department investigation into claims of political vetting and retaliation while she worked there.
Christine Ciccone, now a senior-level appointee at DHS, served as the deputy chief of staff under Tillerson. A source close to her denies that she was aware of any retaliation while at State, but the State Department Inspector General has email evidence showing she was involved in taking "personnel actions" against three career State Department employees, according to member of Congress.
On Thursday, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) released a memo from the DHS OIG that raised concerns over Ciccone's alleged noncompliance with the State Department OIG review.
The message, dated Wednesday, was addressed to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and recommended that she "take appropriate disciplinary action against Ms. Ciccone for failing to cooperate."
"Beginning in September 2018, our colleagues at the Department of State Office of Inspector General (State OIG) have been attempting to interview Ms. Ciccone," the memo from acting Inspector General John V. Kelly said. "Ms. Ciccone is a key witness in State OIG's review; however, she has been unwilling to schedule an interview despite repeated requests made to both her and her attorney over many months."
"Ms. Ciccone's handling of this situation is not consistent with her obligations as an employee under this directive," Kelly continued. "Further, Ms. Ciccone's refusal to comply with State OIG's request for an interview sets a dangerous precedent contrary to the fundamental tenants of the IG Act, with the potential to undermine our critical oversight function."
Another source close to Ciccone told CNN Thursday that she was "completely dumbfounded" by the memo.
However, Ciccone emphatically denies that she hasn't complied. She told CNN that she is willing to sit down and talk with investigators.
"I have never refused to interview with the OIG," she said. "I order to cooperate, I proactively asked for materials from my tenure so I can be helpful in the OIG's process. I take their responsibility and mine seriously, and look forward to the opportunity to address the false implication that there was anything other than professional and appropriate management of personnel decisions."
Sources close to Ciccone say that not only has her attorney maintained contact with investigators but that a date for her interview has now been set.
"Christine is in no way refusing to do an interview. They've been going back and forth on dates," one said. "She has a long paper trail on this, between her lawyer and investigators. She's been trying to set up the process, and feels she's done everything she can to cooperate."
Her lawyer and the State OIG have also been in touch on a request from the lawyer to access emails sent by Ciccone that are in the possession of the OIG, the sources said. The DHS memo said that the lawyer "has made demands to review documents and interview memoranda as a precursor to her interview taking place."
"While State OIG will not, and is not required to, provide access to all of the requested information, arrangements have been made to provide Ms. Ciccone access to her State Department email account once her attorney provides a date certain for the interview," it said.
Tyler Houlton, a spokesperson for DHS, where Ciccone now handles legislative affairs, says the matter is being reviewed, calling Ciccone "an exceptional member of the DHS team" who "has helped advance crucial efforts to secure our homeland during her time with the department."
Lawmakers from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Oversight Committee, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were briefed on Monday. The State OIG said it had evidence of Ciccone's involvement in "personnel actions" against at least three career employees, but that it couldn't finish its review without her interview.
Engel, Cummings and Menendez -- who serve as the top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, House Oversight Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively -- called for Ciccone to be held accountable.
"It is outrageous that a senior Department of Homeland Security official has not complied with requests of the Inspectors General of the Departments of State and Homeland Security. We strongly support the call for appropriate disciplinary action against the official, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Christine Ciccone," they said in a joint statement.
"Targeting of career government employees at the State Department, US Agency for International Development or any federal agency is unacceptable, and it is imperative that this kind of behavior not be tolerated. We ask that Secretary Nielsen report back to our Committees by Friday to update us on how the Department is ensuring that Ms. Ciccone upholds her responsibility to cooperate with the Inspector General's review," the lawmakers said.
The State OIG launched an investigation last year into allegations of retaliation against career employees during Tillerson's tenure. Among those alleged acts of retaliation, as reported by CNN in January 2018, was the reassignment of career officials from their policy areas to work clearing a backlog of FOIA requests. The officials claimed they were reassigned because of their previous work on policy priorities associated with President Barack Obama and in offices the Trump administration was interested in closing.
One of the sources close to Ciccone said "she doesn't know of anyone at State who was retaliating."
"They were just trying to staff up. The White House had its own process for vetting political appointees and ambassadors. At State they just moved the paper. As for trying to remove the so-called 'Obama holdovers' — the State Department just couldn't function if that was your criteria," they said. "There was none of that, at Christine's level. She has no knowledge of anything like that. Maybe there are a few disgruntled people who didn't get the jobs they want, and now are saying these things."
According to a letter from Engel and Cummings sent to the White House and State Department last March, a whistleblower had documents showing that Trump political appointees -- including Ciccone -- had "characterized career State Department employees in derogatory terms."
A Hill source told CNN that this is part of a broad review that includes Mari Stull, the wine blogger and lobbyist turned Trump administration appointee who allegedly vetted and blacklisted State Department employees for "disloyalty." Stull, nicknamed the "Vino Vixen" for the name of a blog she maintained before joining State, served as a senior adviser in the State Department's Bureau of International Organization Affairs until her departure last month.