Pompeo complains Congress is 'bullying' him by asking about Ukraine call he was on

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday sent a letter to the chair of the House Committee on Foreign Relations claiming that the committee is engaged in an “attempt to intimidate, bully, & treat improperly” himself and his officials by investigating him.

Pompeo was subpoenaed on Monday by the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight Committees after he failed to provide the committees with documents related to Ukraine. A whistleblower complaint and subsequent White House memo recently provided evidence that Trump tried to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden and may have held up foreign aid to that nation in the process.

In his letter, Pompeo also complains that “Committee staff has been sending intimidating communications to career Department professionals.”

“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,” Pompeo writes.

Pompeo also took to task the letter from committee chairs that warned the State Department that failing to comply with document requests “shall constitute evidence of obstruction.”

“There is no legal basis for such a threat,” Pompeo retorts. “I urge you to exercise restraint in making such unfounded statements in the future.”

He goes on to claim that the dates on which the committee has requested depositions from the department are “not feasible” without offering up alternatives.

Throughout the letter, Pompeo repeatedly invokes the career officials at the department without addressing the serious concerns that have been raised about his conduct in office.

Pompeo is central to the growing scandal, alongside Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr. He was one of the officials present during the July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that triggered the whistleblower complaint.

Yet when he was asked about the call during an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Pompeo pleaded ignorance about the entire affair.

Congress is attempting to get to the bottom of what Trump and his top lieutenants, like Pompeo, were up to and how they apparently tried to cover up their tracks. In response, Pompeo is whining about being bullied.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.