Ms. Nowrouzzadeh also sent the article to Brian H. Hook , who at the time was the director of policy planning, to defend herself and ask for his guidance on how to respond. She told investigators that she did not receive an answer, nor from a second email, even though she had reminded Mr. Hook that she began working for the United States government during the George W. Bush administration, and was concerned about her physical and online safety after the article was published.

In a meeting in late March , Ms. Nowrouzzadeh again informed Mr. Hook she was worried about threats against her; investigators reported that Mr. Hook advised her to ignore the article. But by early April , investigators reported, Mr. Hook informed other senior officials that he would not object to removing Ms. Nowrouzzadeh from the office because he did not consider her to be a “go-getter” and did not engage with him on ideas.

Mr. Hook, who is now the State Department’s special envoy for Iran policy, declined to comment. But in an eight-page response to the inspector general that was included in the report, he said he had already identified a replacement for Ms. Nowrouzzadeh in February, before the Conservative Review article was published, and had not acted on the recommendations to remove her by Mr. Lacey or Trump administration political appointees.

“I did not know Employee One’s political beliefs, her service in the Bush and Obama administrations or her national origin,” Mr. Hook wrote in his response. “ I did not care . This is true not only for Employee One but for every person I inherited on the policy planning staff and for every person I have ever worked with during 12 years of federal public service.”

Ms. Nowrouzzadeh’s work in the policy planning office ended in mid-April of 2017 — nearly three months early , investigators found. She was sent back to the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs , where she had worked earlier.

The articles and emails about Ms. Nowrouzzadeh that were “circulated within the Office of the Secretary suggest that improper factors likely influenced the requests to end her detail,” the inspector general concluded. The report noted her “perceived political views, association with former administrations, and perceived national origin, which are non-merit factors that may not be considered in assigning career personnel under the department’s policies.”

In a statement released under her name on Thursday morning, Ms. Nowrouzzadeh said she hoped the inspector general’s findings would “help prompt action that will guard against any further such misconduct by members of this or any future administration.”