Politics

Pompeo Letter Attacks Foreign Affairs Committee For Attempting To ‘Bully’ State Department

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefs reporters in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room (Fox News: September 10, 2019)

(Fox News: September 10, 2019)

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fired off a letter to Democratic New York Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, accusing the committee of attempting to “bully” the State Department.

Pompeo was responding to requests made in a Sept. 27 letter from the committee, namely, that five current and former members of his State Department be made available for deposition pursuant to reports that cooperative investigations regarding foreign meddling in the 2016 American presidential election were ongoing. (RELATED: ‘I’m Never Surprised’: Pompeo Gets Laughs In Press Briefing After Question About Bolton’s Exit)

“I’m concerned with aspects of the Committee’s request that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, & treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career FSOs,” Pompeo tweeted an excerpt of the letter along with an image of the full statement.

In the letter, Pompeo argued that simply sending out a letter was not in accordance with the established legal procedure and that no official “Notice of Deposition” had been provided.

Pompeo also added that the dates requested in the letter would be impossible to meet as they provided “woefully inadequate opportunity for the Department and requested witnesses to prepare.”

The Secretary of State followed with a second tweet, adding, “Let me be clear: I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead and serve alongside at the Department of State.”