BY MICHAEL WILNER UPDATED APRIL 26, 2022 6:49 PM FILE –
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference Feb. 25, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. Former President Donald Trump’s persistent flirtation with another White House run is doing little to discourage other potential Republican candidates from stepping up their activity in Iowa, the state that will formally launch the nomination process.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File) JOHN RAOUX AP WASHINGTON Iran’s attempts to assassinate former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are real and ongoing, his successor, Antony Blinken, told Congress on Tuesday. Testifying before a Senate panel, Blinken acknowledged details made public last month in a sensitive State Department report that outlined a security arrangement for the former secretary involving round-the-clock government protection. “I’m not sure what I can say in an open setting, but let me say generically that there is an ongoing threat against American officials, both present and past,” Blinken said. “We are making sure and we will make sure for as long as it takes that we’re protecting our people, present and former, if they’re under threat.” Pompeo, a former U.S. secretary of state and CIA director under President Donald Trump, was one of the architects of the Trump administration’s hardline approach to Tehran, reimplementing sanctions after the U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and supporting the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general. All former secretaries of state automatically receive protection from the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security for 180 days after leaving office. National Coverage. Local Perspectives. Impact2020 is your destination for curated election coverage, focusing on local topics influencing critical states like Florida, Texas, California and the Carolinas. Offer includes one-year digital subscription for $50; renewed at $124.99 annually unless you tell us to cancel. STAY INFORMED But Blinken has repeatedly extended that protection for 60-day increments due to “a serious and credible threat from a foreign power or agent of a foreign power arising from duties performed by former Secretary Pompeo while employed by the department,” according to the sensitive State Department report to Congress last month. The department is spending over $2 million per month to protect Pompeo and one of his top former aides, Brian Hook, and have spent over $13 million to date, according to the report. Blinken was responding to questioning from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who asked the secretary whether the Biden administration was requiring Iran to pledge “not to murder a former secretary of state.” “They know what they’d need to do to address this problem, and that’s pretty straightforward,” Blinken said. “Within the context of any engagements we have, directly or indirectly with Iranians, one of the strong messages we send to them is, they need to stop targeting our people – period.” The State Department did not respond to a request for additional comment. A representative of Pompeo did not provide comment.
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