As Mike Pompeo heads to Columbus, Ohio, we wanted to make sure Ohioans don’t forget Pompeo used his position as secretary of state to defend China even as they failed to live up to Donald Trump’s trade deal, enabled Trump as he cozied up to Putin, and then as Putin prepared to invade Ukraine, Pompeo continued to praise him. 

As Trump’s secretary of state, Pompeo carried water for Chinese officials and defended China even as they failed to live up to their trade deal commitments. 

Pompeo in June 2020: “During my meeting with CCP Politburo Member Yang Jiechi, he recommitted to completing and honoring all of the obligations of Phase 1 of the trade deal between our two countries.”

Peterson Institute for International Economics: “Trump’s deal was agreed on December 13, 2019 and signed on January 15, 2020. By the end of June 2020, China’s purchases were at only 54 percent of the pro-rated target; they reached 59 percent of the year-end commitment for 2020.”

As secretary of state, Pompeo peddled debunked conspiracy theories, enabled Donald Trump as he cozied up to Putin, and used the State Department to pursue Trump’s political goals.

New York Times: “Yet during a combative three-hour Senate hearing, Mr. Pompeo repeatedly declined to provide specifics about a one-on-one meeting between President Trump and Mr. Putin last week in Helsinki, Finland — including the possibility of relaxing sanctions on Moscow, military cooperation in Syria or the future of Crimea.”

Reuters: “Pompeo suggests debunked Ukraine election meddling theory should be probed”

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.”

And lest we forget, Mike Pompeo praised Putin as “talented,” “savvy,” and a  “capable statesman” in remarks that were repeatedly broadcast on Russian state media.  

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.”

MSNBC: “It’s not just Trump: Mike Pompeo also offered praise for Putin”

The Independent: “Mike Pompeo dodges questions on his praise for Putin as ‘talented’ and ‘savvy’”

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.”

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