State Department IG requests 'urgent' meeting with Congress: Pompeo's team smears own ambassador

[essentialsaltes]

The State Department’s inspector general is expected to give an "urgent" briefing to staffers from several House and Senate committees on Wednesday afternoon about documents obtained from the department’s Office of the Legal Adviser related to the State Department and Ukraine, sources familiar with the planned briefing told ABC News.

Details of the briefing, requested by Steve Linick, the inspector general at State, remain unknown. Linick is expected to meet with congressional staff in a secure location on Capitol Hill.

The State Department's press office and the State Department's inspector general's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The committees expected to be part of the briefing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

[essentialsaltes]

He's in there now, briefing them in a closed door session. All we know is that it's about Ukraine.


The State Department inspector general has already been investigating allegations of "improper personnel practices in the office of the Secretary," though he has yet to release the findings the probe. Linick testified in July that the report -- the second of two inquiries into retaliation at the Department -- was expected to be sent to the Department in August, and he declined to discuss the findings in that hearing. Months later, that report still has not been published.

 

[essentialsaltes]

(per @Yamiche)

Confirmed: A source familiar tells me the State Department IG briefing on the Hill is about retaliation against State Department officials who are trying to cooperate with House Democrats.

 

[evoeth]

Coverup.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The U.S. State Department inspector general plans to brief congressional committees on Wednesday about recent instances of potential political retaliation by agency leaders against career officials over Ukraine, two sources familiar with matter said.

 

[Kentonio]

Coverup.

They never learn..

 

[Paulos23]

The U.S. State Department inspector general plans to brief congressional committees on Wednesday about recent instances of potential political retaliation by agency leaders against career officials over Ukraine, two sources familiar with matter said.

That, that.....

That should not be happening. Any glimmer of doubt I had that impeachment is wrong has gone out the window.

 

[evoeth]

That, that.....

That should not be happening. Any glimmer of doubt I had that impeachment is wrong has gone out the window.

But but but... Trump is defending us from the corruption of Democrats! For which, we should absolve him of any crimes! /S

 

[essentialsaltes]

“These documents provide further evidence of a concerted, external effort to conduct a disinformation campaign against a career U.S ambassador, who has been the subject of baseless attacks, including by the President himself,” Menendez said.

He demanded an explanation of Pompeo’s role as it appeared that he had discussed the materials with a top aide and the documents were “distributed at the highest levels of the State Department.”

 

[TLK Valentine]

“These documents provide further evidence of a concerted, external effort to conduct a disinformation campaign against a career U.S ambassador, who has been the subject of baseless attacks, including by the President himself,” Menendez said.

He demanded an explanation of Pompeo’s role as it appeared that he had discussed the materials with a top aide and the documents were “distributed at the highest levels of the State Department.”

Those "highest levels" wouldn't happen to be the ones who report directly to the president, would they?

 

[essentialsaltes]

People there have described the briefing as 'strange'. It was a weird document dump without much context or explanation provided.

From what I gather, it contained (perhaps among other things) misinformation about the (removed by Trump) Ukrainian ambassador addressed (in calligraphy yet) to Pompeo. Whether this was the original source of such misinformation, the same misinformation has emerged from Trump and his administration.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The plot thickens, stupidly. Rudy Giuliani admits to being the source of the smear documents.

The packet is largely the work of Giuliani, which he used to bolster unproven allegations that Biden pressured Ukraine in order to protect his son, Hunter Biden, who has been involved with a business interest there, and that the Obama administration was using Ukraine to help Hillary Clinton win the 2016 election. The documents were handed over to Congress on Wednesday by the State Department's inspector general.

Giuliani told NBC News that he handed the documents “directly to the Secretary of State,” Mike Pompeo, on March, 28, 2019.

In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said: “We understand that the Department’s Inspector General has provided relevant Congressional Committees materials relating to Ukraine. The State Department can confirm that these materials were provided by the Department to the Inspector General on May 3, 2019 for his review and for such action as the Inspector General deemed appropriate. We refer any further questions relating to these materials to the Inspector General.”