Ex-NSC Russia Expert Dr. Fiona Hill Appears For Transcribed Deposition

October 15, 2019 By in Impeachment Inquiry, Top Ranks, Trends, Trump Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

 

@StateDept Website Promotes Pompeo’s “Being a Christian Leader”

October 15, 2019 By in Foreign Policy, Huh? News, Leadership and Management, Mike Pompeo, Politics, Pompeo, Secretary of State, Spectacular, State Department, Trends, Trump Tags: , , Leave a comment

 

Mike Pompeo Insults Reporters Who Ask Questions He Doesn’t Like #OhGoodness!

October 15, 2019 By in Hall of Shame, Huh? News, Impeachment Inquiry, Leadership and Management, Media, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Secretary of State, Spectacular, State Department, Trends Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, the 70th Secretary of State, whose predecessors include John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Dean Acheson,  and George C. Marshall, glaringly shows how small his shoes are for this job.  He may think he got swagger — he’s the least swaggerific person we could think of — but this secretary of state somehow also doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with asking a prospective foreign recipient of U.S. military aid to investigate a political opponent.  Close your eyes and imagine if this were a a president from a party you did not vote for making the same request, and see if you think this is okay. 
These reporters were doing their jobs, asking important questions of the day, but  instead of answering them, as Mr. Pompeo should — being a “public servant’ and all — he insulted them as being somehow working for the DNC? C’mon, that’s just lazy. He could not even get a little more creative with his insults? 
Were they too shy to call this part of the State Department’s “freethepress campaign? That is, he’s free to slam the press, if he doesn’t like the question? 
And then he said this to PBS’s Judy Woodruff:

Everyone keeps suggesting that somehow there was undue pressure.  I assure you countries all around the world every day call me to try and get America to behave in the way that’s in the best interests of their country.  They try to apply pressure to me.  And we work on it.  We work on it diplomatically to achieve good outcomes for the American people.  And the results – the results that President Trump has achieved with respect to our relationship with Ukraine I think will stand on their own as a hallmark of success of the State Department and what this administration has done.

“A hallmark of success,” no doubt, just as as soon as Ukraine President Zelensky and President Putin “get together” and “solve” their “problem” which by the way, is the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. If some country were to invade, say Alaska, should we get together and solve that problem with the invading forces? No?
When asked if he has decided that there will be cooperation with the House impeachment, his response was a familiar Pompeo quip, there’s always “oh goodness” and he or somebody is always clear: “Oh, goodness, I’ve made clear.  I think the White House has made very clear.  We will ensure that we do everything we’re required to do by the law and the Constitution.  Every time.”
It’s so clear we could see though the mud, every day and twice on Sunday like old Vaudeville shows.
Also see the transcript of Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Nancy Amons of WSMV-TV or click below for the link to the uncut 7-min interview which includes the secstate smileon/smileoff display. This is how all interviews with the secretary of state ought to be conducted.

Trump to Nominate @StateDept Deputy Secretary John Sullivan to be U.S. Ambassador to Moscow

October 11, 2019 By in EUR|Europe, Nominations, Political Appointees, Trump, U.S. Missions Tags: , ,

 

On October 11, the White House announced the president’s intent to nominate Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation. He would succeed Ambassador Jon Huntsman who announced his resignation this past August. Ambassador Huntsman’s resignation is effective October 3, 2019 according to his letter published by The Salt Lake Tribune. The WH released the following brief bio:

John Joseph Sullivan of Maryland, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Russian Federation.

John Sullivan currently serves as Deputy Secretary of State, a position he has held since May 2017. He also served in April 2018 as Acting Secretary of State. Earlier in his career, Deputy Secretary Sullivan served as Deputy Secretary of Commerce and held senior positions at the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Commerce, advising the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Counsel to the President on legal and policy issues. Deputy Secretary Sullivan has also had two decades of experience in private law practice, including as a partner in Mayer Brown LLP, where he was co-chair of the firm’s national security practice. He served as a law clerk for Associate Justice David H. Souter of the Supreme Court of the United States and for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Deputy Secretary Sullivan received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and law degree from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Teaching Fellow, and Book Reviews Editor of the Columbia Law Review.

 

Related posts:

 

 

Read: Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s Prepared Deposition Statement

October 11, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Congress, Foreign Service, FSOs, Impeachment Inquiry, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , ,

 

Excerpt from Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s prepared deposition statement:

Before I close, I must share the deep disappointment and dismay I have felt as these events have unfolded. I have served this nation honorably for more than 30 years. I have proudly promoted and served American interests as the representative of the American people and six different presidents over the last three decades. Throughout that time, I—like my colleagues at the State Department—have always believed that we enjoyed a sacred trust with our government.

We make a difference every day on issues that matter to the American people—whether it is war and peace, trade and investment, or simply helping with a lost passport. We repeatedly uproot our lives, and we frequently put ourselves in harm’s way to serve this nation. And we do that willingly, because we believe in America and its special role in the world. We also believe that, in return, our government will have our backs and protect us if we come under attack from foreign interests.

That basic understanding no longer holds true. Today, we see the State Department attacked and hollowed out from within. State Department leadership, with Congress, needs to take action now to defend this great institution, and its thousands of loyal and effective employees. We need to rebuild diplomacy as the first resort to advance America’s interests and the front line of America’s defense. I fear that not doing so will harm our nation’s interest, perhaps irreparably.

That harm will come not just through the inevitable and continuing resignation and loss of many of this nation’s most loyal and talented public servants. It also will come when those diplomats who soldier on and do their best to represent our nation face partners abroad who question whether the ambassador truly speaks for the President and can be counted upon as a reliable partner. The harm will come when private interests circumvent professional diplomats for their own gain, not the public good. The harm will come when bad actors in countries beyond Ukraine see how easy it is to use fiction and innuendo to manipulate our system. In such circumstances, the only interests that will be served are those of our strategic adversaries, like Russia, that spread chaos and attack the institutions and norms that the U.S.helped create and which we have benefited from for the last 75 years.

I am proud of my work in Ukraine. The U.S. Embassy, under my leadership, represented and advanced the policies of the United States government as articulated, first by the Obama Administration and then by the Trump Administration. Our efforts were intended, and evidently succeeded, in thwarting corrupt interests in Ukraine, who fought back by selling baseless conspiracy theories to anyone who would listen. Sadly, someone was listening, and our nation is the worse off for that.

Read in full here:

#

New motto: “Keep moving, people, nothing to see here …”

October 11, 2019 By in Acting Capacity, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Assistance, Foreign Policy, Foreign Service, FSOs, Realities of the FS, State Department, Top Ranks, Trends, Ukraine Tags: , , , , ,

 

Via NYT:

American diplomats who had pushed for the Trump administration to restore security funding to Ukraine were advised by the White House to play down the release of the money when it was finally approved, documents show.

“Keep moving, people, nothing to see here …” Brad Freden, the State Department’s acting deputy assistant secretary overseeing issues in Europe and Eurasia, wrote in a Sept. 12 email obtained by The New York Times.

He said the National Security Council would not publicly announce that $141 million in State Department assistance was being restored after being held up in what the White House described as a normal review.

Also @StateDept Bureau Junks Professional Ethos Big Time (Who Wanna Tell Mike?)

 

SDNY Alleges That Political Donors Target a Career U.S. Ambassador For Removal With Sludge People Assist

October 11, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Congress, Court Cases, Diplomatic Life, Foreign Service, FSOs, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Staffing the FS, State Department, Trends, Trump, U.S. Missions, Ukraine Tags: , , , , ,

 

It is no longer news when political donors end up with ambassadorships. We just did not know until today that political donors apparently are now also able to affect the removal or the recall of a career ambassador according to the indictment (see p.8) from the Southern District of New York. The SDNY alleged that these political donors sought assistance from “Congressman-1” in causing the U.S. Government to remove or recall the then U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (that would be Marie Yovanovitch). The effort was conducted in part at the request of Ukrainian officials.
Congressman-1 has not been indicted nor identified in the indictment. SDNY said that investigations are ongoing.
The recall of Ambassador Yovanovich in May 2019 followed a persistent campaign for her removal among conservative media outlets in the United States. The State Department reportedly told RFE/RL  on May 6,  that Ambassador Yovanovitch “is concluding her 3-year diplomatic assignment in Kyiv in 2019 as planned.” And that “her confirmed departure date in May aligns with the presidential transition in Ukraine,” which elected a new president in April.
We now know that none of that is true. What other truth-sounding stuff are they telling us?
Those who are quick to point out that she was appointed United States Ambassador to Ukraine by President Obama, should know that Ambassador Yovanovitch was first appointed United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan by President George W. Bush.  She was also appointed United States Ambassador to Armenia by President George W. Bush, but her tenure in Yerevan, as a career diplomat, spanned the Bush Administration and the  Obama Administration (2008-2011). We’ve seen folks insists on calling her an Obama “holdover,” perhaps they’ll think otherwise if they realize that she was a Bush “holdover” before she became an Obama “holdover. Career people do tend to serve from one administration to the next.
We expect that we’ll hear more about this case in the days ahead. What is clear to us right now is if this could happen to Ambassador Yovanovitch who has over three decades of dedicated service, this could happen to anyone in the U.S. diplomatic service.
Also, Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, Senior Advisor to Pompeo, Quits.
Read the full SDNY Indictment of Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman here (PDF).

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Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, Senior Advisor to Pompeo, Quits

October 10, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Resignations, Secretary of State, State Department, Top Ranks, Ukraine Tags: , ,

 

Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State has reportedly resigned from his post. Citing “a person familiar with the situation”, WaPo reported  that “McKinley felt that Pompeo had been a positive force compared to his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, in terms of encouraging alternative views within the department, as well as lifting a Tillerson freeze on promotions and prohibitions against spouses working abroad.”  Also that “Like many others, he was disappointed in the secretary’s lack of public support for diplomats who have been named in the Ukraine controversy and called to testify before House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry into the actions of Trump and his personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani.”
Pompeo ‘s statement about McKinley’s departure is reportedly forthcoming. We’re bracing for a revelation about this departure.  We hope Pompeo’s minders have a more creative excuse for this departure … like Ambassador McKinley is leaving because he wants to start a farm in Oregon, or Ambassador McKinley is writing a book, and going on a book tour. Something like that. We’re getting tired of being told that an official would like to spend more time with her/his family. Or that this departure is “as planned” as PA folks like to put it when things are certainly not “as planned.”

Via state.gov

P. Michael McKinley was appointed to the position of Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State in May 2018. He most recently served as the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil from 2017-2018, and as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2014 to 2016. He was also U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2013 to 2014. Ambassador McKinley was the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia from 2010-2013 and the U.S. Ambassador to Peru from 2007-2010. He was Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels between 2004 and 2007. From 2001-2004, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Between 1994 and 2001, Ambassador McKinley was Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’ Affaires at U.S. Embassies in Mozambique, Uganda, and Belgium. Earlier assignments include U.S. Embassy London (1990-94), three tours in Washington (1985-90), and Bolivia (1983-85). Ambassador McKinley joined the Foreign Service in 1982. Ambassador McKinley was born in Venezuela and grew up in Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He did his undergraduate and graduate studies in the United Kingdom, and has a doctorate from Oxford University. His history of colonial Venezuela was published by Cambridge University Press as part of its Latin America series, and also appeared in a Spanish edition.

Know Your Rights: Conversations with Congress (Via Just Security)

October 9, 2019 By in Congress, Impeachment Inquiry, State Department Tags: , , , ,
Via Just Security:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is asserting that Congress is exceeding its authority and trying to bully State Department employees by requesting their testimony about alleged White House and State Department misconduct. His intransigence not only threatens to topple our constitutional system of checks and balances, but it attempts to nullify a basic right federal employees have enjoyed for over a century: the right to communicate with Congress free from intimidation, bullying and unfair harassment.

The Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912, which granted federal employees this right, reads in relevant part:

The right of employees, individually or collectively, to petition Congress or a Member of Congress, or to furnish information to either House of Congress, or to a committee or Member thereof, may not be interfered with or denied.

As one of the first statutes enacted specifically to protect federal whistleblowers, the Lloyd-La Follette Act was passed, according to its accompanying House Report, “to protect employees against oppression and in the right of free speech and the right to consult their representatives.” This was especially pertinent in its time, as Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft had issued executive orders gagging federal employees from communicating with Congress, and punishing violators with termination.

This right applies to all State Department employees, current and former, who wish to testify before congressional committees.
[…]
Whistleblowers and the information they disclose are the life-blood of our system of constitutional checks and balances.  But their vital role means there is an equally strong imperative to silence or discredit them by those threatened by their truth-telling. They should prepare as if it were the most important test of their professional lives. Because it will be.

Read more:

Related items:

Pompeo’s Letter Is the Trump Administration’s Opening Salvo of Obstruction
Deciphering the Pompeo-House Clash Over Witnesses
Overwhelming Confirmation of Whistleblower Complaint: An Annotation
Trump’s Extortion of Ukraine Is an Impeachable Abuse of Power
Ukrainian Funding Delay Created a Paper Trail That Congress Should Follow
There Is No Constitutional Impediment to an Impeachment Inquiry that Concerns National Security
Top Expert Backgrounder: Trump’s Impeachment–What Comes Next?
The Iceberg’s Tip: Ukraine Phone Call and the Months-Long Conspiracy to Violate Federal Campaign Finance Laws
Whistleblower Says White House Took Unusual Steps to Limit Access to Ukraine Call Record
Trump’s Call to Ukraine May Constitute “Honest Services Fraud”—A Core Crime of Public Corruption

USEU Sondland Turns Over WhatsApp Messages and Other Docs to @StateDept

October 9, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Congress, Govt Documents, Huh? News, Impeachment Inquiry, Mike Pompeo, Political Appointees, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Secretary of State, State Department, Technology and Work, Trends, Trump, U.S. Missions, Ukraine Tags: , , , , , ,

 

Via Yahoo News:

The State Department waited until 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday to tell U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland not to show up for his scheduled deposition with three House committees later that morning, the ambassador’s lawyer told Yahoo News. Robert Luskin, Sondland’s attorney, said he got the extraordinary middle-of-the-night directive in a phone call from a State Department official he declined to identify. The official offered no explanation of the grounds on which the State Department was blocking Sondland’s appearance at the last minute.

Michael Isikoff reported that Luskin confirmed that Sondland has already turned over to the State Department WhatsApp messages, text messages and other documents in his possession relevant to the House investigation.
Also, which State Department official made the call to Sondland at 12:30 a.m.? Curious people wants to know.