Letter to the Hon. Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State - Foreign Relations Committee Democrats Demand Sec. Pompeo Recuse Himself from Ukraine Related Matters

Letter

Dear Secretary Pompeo,

We write to express our deep concern that you continue to impede congressional inquiries into the Trump-Ukraine scandal. Given your direct involvement in the scandal, you have a profound conflict of interest and you must recuse yourself.

As you reluctantly admitted several weeks ago, you were on the infamous July 25 call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. We now know, according to today's testimony from Ambassador Gordon Sondland, that you were fully aware of President Trump's scheme to withhold urgently needed security assistance to Ukraine for his personal and political gain.

Yet, you have continued to impede the House impeachment inquiry, including by refusing to produce any State Department records on the Trump-Ukraine scandal--including those that may shed further light on your own complicity. As Ambassador Sondland testified, the Department also refused to provide him access to his own materials as he prepared to testify.

These acts leave us with little doubt that you are blocking the Congress and American people from obtaining a full account of the scandal solely because the facts are damaging to your and the President's personal and political interests.

The only legitimate option is for you to recuse and to delegate the Department's response to the Trump-Ukraine scandal to a senior career Department official. We urge you to do so immediately.