Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo fully vindicated from baseless claims reported as fact by Democrats and Media
The State Department's Office of Inspector General released its report to Congress today on the representational travel by the spouse of the Secretary of State. The report alleges that the OIG "received a whistleblower complaint related to travel by the spouse of the Secretary of State."
ALL ACTIONS LEGAL AND JUSTIFIED
After a nearly year-long investigation by the OIG interviewing dozens of employees and reviewing thousands of pages of documents, the report cleared the Secretary, his family, and his entire team, finding:
- There was no violation of any law or statute;
- There was no violation of any regulation; and
- There was no violation of any provision of the Foreign Affairs Manual policy.
The report also confirms that, as a matter of law, the Department has the authority to pay for official travel of the spouse of the Secretary of State and found that "justification documentation" was provided for each and every trip reviewed.
NOT ONLY LAWFUL, BUT RECORDKEEPING ON TRIP JUSTIFICATIONS WAS COMPLIANT TOO.
Having found the proper justification for each trip, the OIG went on a frolic to a review of administrative and recordkeeping questions. This review continued in spite of the fact that the OIG acknowledges that the governing statute, regulations, and policies authorizing such travel do not require particular documentation. Moreover, with respect to these purely administrative recordkeeping issues, the report concluded that "the Department had documentation that purportedly demonstrated justification for all eight trips" undertaken by Mrs. Pompeo in a representational capacity.
In other words, the recordkeeping work was excellent as the written materials justifying all eight trips were easily retrieved and provided to the OIG for inspection. The current team and Executive Secretary have been extremely diligent in ensuring the appropriate use of public funds and has repeatedly sought, and then complied with, guidance from the Department's Office of the Legal Adviser.
OIG WASTING MONEY AND TIME
There was no wrongdoing by the Secretary of State, his spouse or family, or the State Department. The OIG wasted both time and taxpayer resources on this report. Jeff McDermott, Assistant Inspector General for Evaluations and Special Projects, knows this. It is unfortunate that Mr. McDermott, the media, and Democrats in Congress have wasted so much energy on multiple fraudulent "investigations" into Secretary Pompeo and his family that have resulted in vindicating all of them. We look forward to seeing the media correct its stories [footnote] and issue new reporting on the facts. These reporters and Mr. McDermott, and Democrats in Congress owe the Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo an apology.
Politico: Memo reveals State Department dispute over Susan Pompeo's travel
Politico Magazine: State Department Insiders Ask: What Is Susan Pompeo Really Up To?
