Trump's own secretary of state doesn't believe his 'deep state' nonsense

Trump’s minions are willing to go pretty far to support his lies. But that doesn’t always extend to doing so under oath, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showed Wednesday.

At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) pressed Pompeo about Trump’s latest unhinged Twitter declarations.

“He said there is a ‘criminal deep state.’ And as you know, Representative Nunes has said he’s also going to investigate the state department,” Lieu said. “Do you believe there is a criminal deep state at the State Department?”

Pompeo said he hadn’t seen the comments, but he was clear as to his thoughts on the matter.

“I don’t believe there is a deep state at the State Department,” he stated. And when Lieu asked if Pompeo, a former CIA director, believed his colleagues at that agency were “part of the ‘criminal deep state,'” the secretary again repudiated the notion.

“You know, this term ‘deep state’ has been thrown around,” Pompeo said. “The employees that worked for me at the CIA nearly uniformly were aimed at achieving the president’s objectives, and America’s objectives.”

Lieu asked if the Justice Department is also free of criminal deep-staters, which Pompeo confirmed, while acknowledging that there may be “bad actors” in any department.

“But in general, you are confident that the members of the various agencies are honoring their oaths to the United States Constitution?” Lieu asked.

“Yeah, in general, yes, sir,” Pompeo said.

Trump has been pushing “deep state” conspiracy theories for over a year now. But the latest iteration is a troubling one.

He and his minions are trying to out an FBI informant. And he has demanded access to other evidence from the investigation into Trump and his campaign. All because he has convinced himself that he shoulders none of the blame for his political jeopardy. Rather, it can all be pinned on the “deep state” and the Obama administration.

It’s anyone’s guess how much of his own nonsense Trump actually believes. But that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. And Pompeo’s testimony is stark evidence that the Republican lawmakers and officials who play along with him are doing so in incredibly bad faith.