Before Mike Pompeo makes his appearance at CPAC this morning, we wanted to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of his greatest foreign policy failures when he served in the Trump administration. Not only did Mike Pompeo spend four years enabling Donald Trump as he appeased Russia, but he praised Putin as he prepared to launch a war.
Like his former boss, Mike Pompeo is still openly praising Putin as “savvy,” “talented,” and a “capable statesman.”
MSNBC: “It’s not just Trump: Mike Pompeo also offered praise for Putin”
Kansas City Star: “Mike Pompeo has lauded the Russian strongman over the past month as a “talented,” “savvy,” “capable statesman,” offering his praise during a slew of interviews after his political action committee spent $30,000 on improving his performance in media appearances.”
Newsweek: “Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also repeatedly praised Putin in the runup to the invasion. His praise has even been rebroadcast on Russian television.”
Who can’t forget how Pompeo dutifully followed Donald Trump’s lead to sell out Ukraine and used the Department of State to advance Trump’s political goals?
Foreign Policy: “In Foggy Bottom, Pompeo has gone silent since the president’s meeting in Helsinki, where the secretary of state met on the sidelines with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, then refused to answer any questions from the press.”
New York Times: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has for months deflected questions about whether the Trump administration demanded political favors from Ukraine in exchange for military aid. He has refused to explain why he recalled the American ambassador, declared that it was ‘inappropriate’ for his diplomats to testify before Congress and declined to hand over documents to impeachment investigators.”
As secretary of state, Mike Pompeo peddled debunked conspiracy theories to deflect blame from Russia for 2016 election interference.
Reuters: “Pompeo suggests debunked Ukraine election meddling theory should be probed”
NPR: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he thinks the U.S. should investigate a conspiracy theory — debunked by American intelligence services — that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the Democratic National Committee’s computer server in 2016… Last week, Fiona Hill, a former Russia expert at the National Security Council, testified before the House impeachment inquiry against President Trump that the notion that Ukraine, a U.S. ally, was responsible for election meddling was ‘a fictional narrative being perpetrated and propagated’ by Russian security forces.”
And for good measure, Pompeo spearheaded the negotiations with the Taliban, which led to the release of thousands of their fighters and strengthened the Taliban as they took over Afghanistan.
Politico: “The negotiations Pompeo helped conduct as secretary of State resulted in a four-part withdrawal deal with the Taliban that committed the U.S. to a phased, conditions-based removal of all troops in a 14-month period. The U.S. called on the Taliban to cut ties with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda and refrain from any threats to the U.S. or allies, but it also made concessions, like the release of 5,000 combat and political Taliban prisoners and a review of sanctions against the organization.”
New York Times: “As secretary of state, Mike Pompeo helped negotiate that agreement with the Taliban.”
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