Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding a report issued by the State Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) on former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s violation of federal ethics rules: 

“Today’s report from the State Department Inspector General affirms what the Foreign Affairs Committee’s own investigation showed last year: that Mike Pompeo abused his position as Secretary of State to benefit himself, his family, and his future political ambitions.  The OIG found that the Pompeos ‘made over 100 requests to employees in the Office of the Secretary that appeared to be personal in nature.’ 

“More disturbing are the multiple months that the Pompeos directed a State Department employee to spend planning events that had nothing to do with the important work of the State Department, and everything to do with Mike Pompeo’s potential run for the U.S. Senate.  As OIG noted: ‘The list of trip participants prepared by Mrs. Pompeo . . . stressed the prior political support of several members to Secretary Pompeo’s campaigns for the House of Representatives, but did not reference any connection between the visit and Departmental business.’ 

“While Mike Pompeo used the State Department to lay the groundwork for his future political career, America’s standing in the world and morale at the Department continued to plummet.  I ask the Department to explore whether Mr. Pompeo’s abuses violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, the Hatch Act, or other laws, and to make referrals to the Justice Department, as appropriate, to recoup the taxpayer money wasted by former Secretary Pompeo and his family.  I welcome Secretary Blinken’s effort to restore professionalism to the department and for his engagement with the Committee to make sure that abuses like this can never happen again.”

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