Pompeo’s Staff Say He Was Cleared in Watchdog’s Saudi Arms Probe

(Bloomberg) -- The State Department inspector general’s office exonerated Secretary of State Michael Pompeo for his emergency certification to bypass congressional opposition in approving the sale of more than $8 billion in weapons to the Middle East last year, according to a department official.

The Pompeo deputy briefed reporters on condition of anonymity Monday on a report that has yet to be made public, making it impossible to judge the accuracy of the official’s remarks. It was the latest unusual move in a chain of events that included Pompeo getting President Donald Trump to fire the inspector general who began the inquiry.

Pompeo’s use of the emergency certification to allow the transactions with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan last year was found to be consistent with statutory requirements and within his authority, the official said.

The official hinted at some disagreement, saying without elaboration that the inspector general had “misidentified” the status of some previous findings, and that “there was a significant amount of edification that had to be provided.”

Timing of Findings

The investigation into the arms sales became highly charged because of the role it might have played in Pompeo’s decision to get Trump to fire State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, who was leading the inquiry. The official said Monday that the initial findings were made before Linick was removed.

Democratic lawmakers have suggested a connection to Linick’s firing, and pointed to testimony he gave saying Pompeo had refused a face-to-face interview to discuss the issue -- agreeing only to submit answers to written questions.

Pompeo has repeatedly denied Linick’s firing was politically motivated, saying Linick was a “bad actor” who “didn’t take on the mission of the State Department to make us better.”

In a letter at the time of the arms sales, Pompeo said Iran’s “malign activities” in the region necessitated the decision to sidestep congressional approval. He said the weapons sales “must occur as quickly as possible in order to deter further Iranian adventurism in the Gulf and throughout the Middle East.”

Congressional Tensions

Congress is typically notified by an administration of arms sales that exceed a certain threshold before the deals are completed. If the top Republican or Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs or Senate Foreign Relations Committees have concerns, they can place an informal hold by refusing to consent to the notification process. This allows for those concerns to be worked out between the parties.

For more than a year, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate panel, had kept a hold on $2 billion in precision-guided munitions kits for Saudi Arabia and an additional $1 billion sale to the United Arab Emirates over concerns about civilian casualties from the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.

Underscoring the politicized nature of Pompeo’s handling of the report, the State Department released a statement after the call branding the investigation by the Office of the Inspector General an “inquisition” and an “astounding expenditure of taxpayer resources.”

“Now that the OIG has completed its work, we hope these Members and media outlets who echoed their baseless accusations will publicly accept the findings of the report they requested from the OIG and immediately retract their statements from the past year,” the department said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.