US: Democrat-led House launches contempt proceedings against Mike Pompeo

The Democrat-led House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Friday, August 28 announced that it will work on a resolution holding Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in contempt. House Rep. Eliot Engel, Chairman of the Committee, said that refusal by Secretary Pompeo to comply with the subpoena issued last month is one of the reasons behind the contempt resolution being drafted by the Congressional committee. 

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Engel also slammed the Republican leader for his RNC speech from Jerusalem, Israel, which is also being investigated by the Foreign Affairs subpanel on oversight as critics allege that the address was in violation of the Hatch Act, which prevents government officials from participating in political activity while on official duty. 

Read: Castro: Pompeo's Speech An Example Of Corruption

"From Mr. Pompeo’s refusal to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry to his willingness to bolster a Senate Republican-led smear against the President’s political rivals to his speech to the RNC which defied his own guidance and possibly the law, he has demonstrated alarming disregard for the laws and rules governing his own conduct and for the tools the constitution provides to prevent government corruption," Engel said in a press statement issued on Friday.

"He seems to think the office he holds, the Department he runs, the personnel he oversees, and the taxpayer dollars that pay for all of it are there for his personal and political benefit," he added. 

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is seeking documents purportedly dealing with the Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden and Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings that the State Department had already produced to Republican-led Senate committees.

Read: US Secy Pompeo Terms Israel As America's 'most Reliable Partner In The Middle East'

'Political theatrics' 

A State Department spokesperson on Friday said that Pompeo's office had previously offered to provide the copies of the records but had asked the Committee to first submit a letter explaining what foreign policy issue it was investigating that requires these documents.

The spokesperson said that once the letter is received the department is ready to produce the documents. The spokesperson further dubbed the contempt proceedings as 'political theatrics' ahead of the upcoming presidential poll. 

(Image Credit: AP)

Read: Pompeo's Jerusalem Speech Violated Hatch Act, Complaint Says