During a hearing in June last year, Levin R. Clarke asked Cooper, the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, when an emergency arose that necessitated the sale of arms in the days between May 20 and 21, when Pompeo legislators informed in a classified institution, and May 24, when the department declared the need. Cooper responded in the affirmative.
However, an unedited version of the IG report on the transfer shows that Pompeo told the department to begin the emergency declaration much earlier on May 4th.
‘In short: Mr. Cooper left. Secretary Pompeo directed the invention of a state of emergency more than two weeks before informing Congress. One did not occur in three days, as Mr. Cooper told me, “Levin said in a statement. This report confirms what we already know: this administration has no power to lie to the American people. Rarely, however, are these lies as blatant and as dangerous as these. If they are ready to lie about national security, what’s next? “
A State Department spokesman did not immediately respond to Levin’s accusation that Cooper was lying, and instead said the situation in the Persian Gulf at the time was “very clearly justified” the use of emergency authorities.
“It is clear that the IG also agrees that legal requirements have been met as they did not find fault in the emergency arms sale and made it clear that the Secretary carried out the certification properly and complied with the requirements described in the Act on ‘ the arms export control, “said the spokesman, who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.
The unclassified version of the report published Tuesday concluded that, technically speaking, Pompeo acted within its authority to declare the declaration of emergency, given that the regulations involved give it considerable discretion. However, the IG also states that the department did not fully consider the risks of civilian casualties surrounding the transfer.
The online publication reports that Pompeo was quick to address an urgent issue, informed Congress of Iranian threats on May 21 and approved the paperwork two days later. But an unedited version shared with lawmakers Tuesday reflects a much longer timeline, showing, for example, that State Department employees proposed to the emergency authorities on April 3rd.
The unredacted report also shows that by the time the IG began testing sales in October, foreign partners had included only four of the cases of 22 arms transfers in emergency shelters. The low number of deliveries also raises questions about the nature of the emergency.
“The report released today is alarming for a number of reasons,” Levin said. “But this report also has personal significance for me. It proves that, on June 12, 2019, the State Department lied to me – and, by extension, to Congress and the American people.
The report drew headlines even before its release, when Pompeo made the fire this year from Steve Linick, the inspector general who began the investigation. Linick also investigated whether Pompeo and his wife, Susan, misused State Department funds for personal reasons.
Since then, the state department has been trying to check the story on the IG’s conclusions, and requirements for major editorial boards prior to Tuesday’s release. And on Monday, the department held a background letter with reporters designed to highlight the finding that Pompeo acted appropriately in issuing the emergency statement, but made no mention of the shifting timeline or the provision regarding civilian casualties. The department gave the full report only until the next day.
Foreign Ministry faction leader Eliot Engel (DN.Y.) jumped at the chance to put an early spin on the IG’s findings before the report was released, comparing it to Russia’s research interference.
“The people who informed the press were the subjects of the IG’s probe, not the authors of the report,” Engel said in a statement. “This obvious pre-spin of the findings stems from an attempt to distract and mislead. Mike Pompeo pulls right out of the Bill Barr playbook.”
