Multiple diplomats told CNN they received guidance from Washington instructing them not to circulate Goldstein's statement. The diplomats found this type of guidance about an official statement from the former Under Secretary was "bizzare" and "strange."
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White House officials said Chief of Staff John Kelly informed Tillerson in a phone call last Friday that he would be dismissed.
However, Goldstein's statement claimed that Tillerson found out that he was fired on Tuesday morning when President Donald Trump announced the news in a Twitter post.
Trump has appointed State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert to serve as acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy.
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