“Rejecting the invitation now could be seen as a lack of courtesy, but there is no significant interest in foreign policy here other than the issue of courtesy,” argued the State Department’s Near East Affairs office, which oversees the Middle East. , on the six pages. memorandum. The document was dated January 7, 2019, the same day the trip began.
Despite the reservations declared by the Middle East office, the memo, labeled “sensitive but not classified,” recommends that Susan Pompeo’s trip be approved and partially paid for by government funds. It was unclear whether then Under Secretary of State John Sullivan, to whom the memo was addressed, formally signed or not. Either way, Susan Pompeo went on a trip with her husband.
The memo sheds new light on the unusual and controversial role Susan Pompeo has played in the State Department since her husband took office as the United States’ chief diplomat in April 2018. Susan Pompeo has been an unusually active wife, both so the State Department The inspector general’s office is investigating whether she and her husband misused public resources.
Mike Pompeo has vigorously defended his wife’s behavior in the past, dismissing criticism of her role as “sexist” and “poorly dated and offensive.” In a statement Thursday, a spokesperson said that the “State Department’s legal and ethical team determined that Ms. Pompeo’s role in this trip advanced our administration’s foreign policy goals for our country.”
“As the secretary already explained to Politico,” said the spokesperson, “Ms. Pompeo gives our diplomatic mission a big boost by meeting with the spouses of new foreign service officers, talking to families heading overseas to doing homework for the first time and making sure foreign diplomats and their spouses are always treated with kindness and warmth, reflecting America’s best tradition. “
Sullivan, who is now the U.S. ambassador to Russia, did not respond to a request for comment.
Pompeos’ trip in January 2019 lasted eight days, covering Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. In embarking on the journey, Susan Pompeo fulfilled one of the memo’s predictions: “There is a risk that Mrs. Pompeo’s trip during a shutdown could attract media attention and possible criticism in Congress and elsewhere.”
Certainly, several news reports emerged in which unidentified US diplomats were annoyed at the idea that they would have to hire the secretary’s wife even when they faced licenses and payment delays.
But the secretary insisted that bringing his wife was good for America’s morale and foreign position. He called her a “force multiplier” and noted that she visited the families of American diplomats to get an idea of their quality of life.
Former State Department officials have mixed feelings about whether it is a good idea for a spouse to travel with the secretary, although everyone acknowledges that it is unprecedented. Some who support the idea say the cost is generally minimal, especially if there is space on the plane and the secretary and spouse share a room.
Foreign Service experts say there is no clear budget line in the appropriations bills to cover the expenses of the spouse of a secretary of state. However, the attorneys who helped draft the memo noted that there are provisions that allow US funds to be used when a member of the secretary’s family is acting in a “representative” capacity, and that Susan stops Pompeo in Cairo and Abu Dhabi would qualify.
According to the few lines in the memorandum credited to the Middle East office, the invitations to Susan Pompeo had been “extended and accepted.” The invitations had been extended in 2018; The events included dinners and a meeting with the minister of culture and youth of a country.
What made the January 2019 trip even more difficult to tackle was the government shutdown. The shutdown was sparked by President Donald Trump’s fight with Congress over funding to build a wall along the southern border.
The memo goes deeper into what Susan Pompeo’s travel taxpayers’ trips would cover – essentially, the costs related to Abu Dhabi and Cairo were largely. But it also makes clear that the Pompeos must personally pay for various other pieces of Susan Pompeo’s journey.
The memo does not detail the exact costs, and the State Department has not responded to POLITICO’s previous requests for details on how much money the Pompeos spent on the trip to the Middle East.
Some former top department officials who reviewed the memo at POLITICO’s request were the most shocked by the carefully calibrated sentences from the Middle East office. They said it indicated clear divisions over whether Susan Pompeo should go on a trip, but she was hesitant to turn the issue into a total internal battle.
In the note, State Department executive secretary Lisa Kenna, one of Mike Pompeo’s top aides, argued that Susan Pompeo’s presence on duty in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt met the requirements to spend amid the Closing because she was invited by government ministers from those countries, “they reflect the importance they give to the event to strengthen bilateral ties.”
This was one of the points on which the Office of Near East Affairs differed, saying that “there is no significant interest in foreign policy here except the issue of courtesy.”
The head of that office at the time was David Satterfield, a decades-long career member of the United States Foreign Service. He is now the United States Ambassador to Turkey. He did not respond to a request for comment.
