Pompeo’s Pugnacious Testimony

A reader chides the secretary of state for being “pompous and sarcastic” at a Senate hearing on U.S. relations with Russia.

July 26, 2018

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“You somehow disconnect the administration’s activities from the president’s actions,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. CreditCreditErin Schaff for The New York Times

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is no wallflower. He’s a West Point graduate, at the top of his class, and I remember his grilling then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her 11 hours of testimony on the Benghazi hearings when he was a representative. His questions were withering, but Mrs. Clinton held her own and then some.

So I expected Mr. Pompeo to be a bulldog in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But I also expected a fierce pushback from the senators on that committee. These men and women are our elected representatives, and I expect them to react to stonewalling by breaking through that wall — although I do applaud Senator Bob Corker for his principled stand as committee chairman.

Mr. Pompeo’s performance was pompous and sarcastic. He was incredibly disrespectful to duly elected officials, and he was among their ranks at one time! He referred to backing up a truck with documents to prove Donald Trump’s zeal in holding Russia accountable. The only truck I want backing up is a moving van to the White House door.