Tag Archives: Mike Pompeo

Furious Pompeo Claims Reporter “Lied To Me, Twice”

USA Today reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday accused an NPR reporter of lying to him after he made news Friday for allegedly shouting at her after an interview about Ukraine. Pompeo suggested she could not point out Ukraine on a map, contrary to her account of the testy conversation. But he did not dispute Kelly’s most explosive …

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Sec. Mike Pompeo Screamed F-Bombs At NPR Reporter: “Do You Think Americans Really Care About Ukraine?”

USA Today reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used the “F-word” and other expletives after a testy interview with an NPR host on Friday, the news outlet said Friday. Pompeo unloaded on NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly after an interview in which she questioned him on Ukraine and Iran, among other issues. He grew extremely irritated by Kelly’s Ukraine questions. “‘Do …

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Pompeo Refuses To Defend His Ousted Ambassador

Bloomberg News reports: Secretary of State Michael Pompeo refused to defend his ousted ambassador to Ukraine despite being pressed multiple times, maintaining his long-running refusal to mention former envoy Marie Yovanovitch by name. “I’ve defended every single person on this team,” Pompeo told National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, when asked why he hadn’t stood up for Yovanovitch. “I’ve done what’s …

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Pompeo Claims He’ll Look Into Stalking Of Ambassador

CNN reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday publicly committed to look into the possible surveillance of former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch — more than 48 hours after the evidence of potential monitoring emerged and more than 24 hours after Ukraine announced its own investigation into the matter. “We will do everything we need to do to …

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Pompeo And Mnuchin Unveil New Sanctions On Iran

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin detailed new sanctions on Iran at the White House Friday morning — the response President Donald Trump chose after backing away from further military conflict after Iran fired missiles at U.S. forces following his order to kill Iran’s top commander, Qassem Soleimani. Mnuchin said the administration was …

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Iraqi PM To Pompeo: Advise Us On When US Will Leave

The Associated Press reports: Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq, according to a statement released Friday. The statement, from the office of the Iraqi caretaker prime minister, said the request came in a telephone call …

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Pompeo Bans War Crimes Investigators From US Entry

Reuters reports:  The United States will withdraw or deny visas to any International Criminal Court personnel investigating possible war crimes by U.S. forces or allies in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday. The court, which sits in The Hague, responded that it was an independent and impartial institution and would continue to do its work “undeterred” by …

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REPORT: It Was Pompeo Who Pushed Trump To Strike

The New York Times reports: Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the loudest voice in the administration pushing President Trump to kill Iran’s most important general. This week, he is back in his role as the nation’s top diplomat, trying to contain the international crisis the general’s death created. True to form, Mr. Pompeo is not backing down. …

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REPORT: Pompeo Decides Against 2020 Senate Run

The New York Times reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday told Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, that he does not plan to run for Senate in 2020, most likely ending Republicans’ hopes of securing a potentially dominant candidate for the open seat in his home state of Kansas, according to four people briefed on the meeting. Mr. …

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Pompeo: Trump Just Made The World Safer [VIDEO]

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” that the world is a safer place as a result of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani’s death. “This was a bad guy, we took him off the playing field. And that’s important because this was a fella who was the glue, who was conducting active plotting against …

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Pompeo: Iraq Airstrike Was Due To “Imminent Threats”

CNN reports: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the airstrike ordered to kill top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani “saved American lives,” after Pompeo said on Twitter Friday morning that the decision to eliminate Soleimani was in response to “imminent threats to American lives.” “I can’t talk too much about the nature of the threats. But the American people …

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Pompeo Postpones Ukraine Trip Due To Iraq Protests

CNN reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo postponed a planned trip to Ukraine to deal with the ongoing developments out of Baghdad, the State Department announced Wednesday. Following a second day of protests, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday that “the situation around Embassy Baghdad has improved,” but that efforts by Iraqi government security forces “to clear militia members from …

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Pompeo To Make First Ukraine Visit As Trial Looms

The Associated Press reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Ukraine this week, making his first trip to the country at the heart of President Donald Trump’s impeachment. As the Senate weighs options for a trial, Pompeo will depart Thursday on a five-nation tour of Europe and Central Asia. Ukraine will be the first stop on the trip, the …

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Trump Already Looking For Next Secretary Of State

The Washington Post reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he isn’t running for Senate next year. Those close to him say he hasn’t made a final decision yet. But that hasn’t prevented a barely concealed competition from breaking out within the administration over who might replace him as the nation’s top diplomat. President Trump has fueled the fire by …

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State Department Battles Latest Sanctions On Russia

The Daily Beast reports: The Trump administration is quietly fighting a new package of sanctions on Russia, The Daily Beast has learned. A Trump State Department official sent a 22-page letter to a top Senate chairman on Tuesday making a wide-ranging case against a new sanctions bill. Sen. Lindsey Graham—usually a staunch ally of the White House—introduced the legislation earlier …

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US Ambassador To Ukraine To Step Down In Weeks

ABC News reports: The veteran U.S. diplomat who was a key witness in impeachment hearings is departing his post in Ukraine, according to two State Department sources. Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Kyiv who was recruited by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to fill in after President Donald Trump abruptly recalled Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, will depart in early …

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McConnell Is Pitching Pompeo On 2024 WH Bid

From the conservative Washington Examiner: When Mitch McConnell pitches Mike Pompeo on running for the Senate in 2020, a periodic occurrence, the majority leader does not fail to mention that the chamber is a great steppingstone should the secretary of state harbor higher aspirations. Fearing former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach could win the Republican nomination to succeed retiring …

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Pompeo Signals Senate Bid With New Twitter Account

The Kansas City Star reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has launched a personal Twitter account in anticipation of a run for an open Senate seat in Kansas. A source close to Pompeo said that the Republican “needed to set up a personal Twitter account for future plans,” strongly indicating the secretary is laying the groundwork for a run. A …

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Linda Ronstadt Blasts Pompeo At Kennedy Center Fête

The Associated Press reports: Actress Sally Field, singer Linda Ronstadt and the disco-funk band Earth Wind and Fire awaited their turn in the spotlight Sunday night as part of the latest group of recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievements in the arts. Also in this year’s class are conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and long-running children’s TV show …

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Pompeo Hits Up Sheldon Adelson To Back Senate Run

McClatchy reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reached out to Sheldon Adelson, the Republican Party’s largest donor, in recent weeks to “gauge interest” in his potential run for an open Senate seat in Kansas next year, three sources familiar with the matter told McClatchy. It is the latest evidence of Pompeo’s outreach campaign to rally donor support around a …

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