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In
a letter to Senator Bob Menendez, top Democrat on the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, Pompeo also accused journalists of
“slander” for reporting on the lawmaker’s request for the review
by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
The agency investigates alleged breaches of the 1939 Hatch Act
barring federal workers from engaging in political activities
while acting in their official capacities.
Menendez in October asked the OSC to assess the legality of
three official visits that Pompeo made to his home state of
Kansas at a time that news reports said the Republican former
congressman was mulling a U.S. Senate run.
The State Department on Thursday released a copy of Pompeo’s
letter to Menendez. It also released a Jan. 21, 2020, letter to
Pompeo from the OSC in which the agency said it found he was not
“currently” a Senate candidate and there was “no evidence to
conclude that you violated the Hatch Act.”
Pompeo wrote that Menendez appeared not to acknowledge that
finding in a recent interview and that he wanted to make sure
the lawmaker was aware of it.
“The OSC response to your hackery makes clear your continued
effort to politicize legitimate and important diplomatic and
national security activity was without merit,” Pompeo wrote.
Zachary Kurz, an OSC spokesman, said a copy of the letter had
previously been sent to Menendez.
“Clearly the Secretary of State feels deeply disturbed by the
ongoing oversight work of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee," Menendez said in a statement. "High-level temper
tantrums will not stop the committee from conducting our
oversight responsibilities."
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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