Pompeo Sounds Off on Classified Documents Scandal

Plus, Ronna McDaniel seeks to unite the RNC after her reelection.

By , and
46
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.)

Happy Monday! Welcome to Dispatch Politics, our newsletter chronicling the American contest for political power. In the months ahead, we’ll bring you blow-by-blow coverage of the storylines that matter as new candidates gear up to sell the public on why they’re the ones we’ve been waiting for. We hear the 2024 election is going to be a big one. Let’s get started.

Up to Speed

  • Former President Donald Trump hit the presidential campaign trail this weekend, venturing out from his Mar-a-Lago compound for stops in the key early states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. He used those appearances to fire shots at potential rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and roll out high-profile endorsements in both states—Sen. Lindsey Graham and Gov. Henry McMaster in South Carolina and outgoing state party chair Bill Stepanek in New Hampshire. (Notably absent from Trump’s New Hampshire event: Gov. Chris Sununu, who tells The Dispatch he’s mulling a presidential run of his own.)
  • Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel was elected to a fourth term on Friday, cruising to victory with 111 votes to challengers Harmeet Dhillon, a national committeewoman from California who won 51 votes, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who won four. The secret-ballot election came amid deep fractures among Republicans about how the party handled the 2020 election and last year’s lackluster midterm elections, when Republicans underperformed historical trends, failing to flip the Senate and only narrowly retaking the House.
  • Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein—who, at 89, is the oldest member of the Senate, and whose reportedly declining mental faculties have been the subject of intense scrutiny—hasn’t yet announced that she won’t seek another term. But the Democratic race to replace her is already starting to get crowded. Rep. Adam Schiff, who built a national profile during the Trump presidency as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and manager of Trump’s first impeachment trial, announced his candidacy for the seat last Thursday—the same week House Speaker Kevin McCarthy kicked him off the committee for pushing the later discredited Steele dossier. Schiff’s announcement comes weeks after Rep. Katie Porter, an Orange County progressive darling close to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, announced her own bid for Feinstein’s seat. Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee is also reportedly eyeing a bid.

Pompeo: ‘I Don’t Think I Have Any Classified Documents’

Has Mike Pompeo scoured his office and home recently for classified documents? 

Has the former secretary of state been contacted by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a part of investigations into potential improper possession of classified materials that now stretch from former President Donald Trump to current President Joe Biden, and that might now include former Vice President Mike Pence? 

Pompeo would not say. 

Keep reading with a free account
Create a free Dispatch account to keep reading Get Started ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN IN
46
By , and
Comments (46)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Avatar photo
    Mister D

    Partisanship aside, every single presidential nominee for the last three elections has had problems with their handling of classified documents. Either there is a problem with the system, a problem with the candidates, or both. If only we had sober, serious people in DC who could tackle this issue without using it to score points.

    Collapse
  2. Avatar photo
    David M

    Thanks guys, good newsletter!

    Collapse
  3. Gbm311

    John Bolton also panned Haley is his book about his time in the Trump administration. She was NOT a team player which is critically important in the sane and consistent construction of a national foreign policy. I think that she has a common vice of politicians -- an exaggerated sense of self. However, she might be a reasonable VP candidate.

    Collapse
    1. UGA Oldtimer

      John Bolton complaining that someone else is not a team player?

      Collapse
      1. Gbm311

        Read his book please. Yes, he has strong opinions but has always been willing to argue for his perspective. He has never gone outside of the bounds of his position to undermine others. I think that he actually is a gold standard for someone who knows how to stand up for his opinions WITHIN our system of government. He was prepared to resign when Trump fired him because Trump no longer had respect for his position. Of interest, there are many quotes from Trump about how much he valued Bolton's perspectives although he did not always agree PRIOR to his firing. After his firing, Trump typically had nothing good to say about Bolton. In my opinion, Bolton was quite professional in his description and criticism of the President and had no vindictiveness.

        Collapse
  4. Steve.Waters5149

    Thanks, much.

    Collapse
  5. Steve.Waters5149

    Never mind . . . .

    Collapse
  6. Steve.Waters5149

    Do we have to do something for this to come to our inboxes? I did not get this separately, but just clicked on the link you all put in Dispatch Live note.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      Stephanie

      Go to your account at the Dispatch homepage. There’s a list of all the content you can have emailed to you, and you can check/uncheck each one.

      Collapse
  7. James Morphew

    What I like about the Newsletter is that is is a summary of recent (even daily) items, hard to find in most periodicals. I am new Dispatch-er, following Kevin D. Williamson over recently. Hope you can keep it.

    Collapse
  8. Jwbeall

    I really liked this newsletter-I wasn't sure what it was going to look like or how it would be different from TMD, but I think it's going to be really helpful and informative. I think you're spot on-thank you!!

    Collapse
  9. Mikeroalkvam

    For the new Dispatch Politics, I find it interesting to know more about candidates backgrounds and experience beyond what gets briefly mentioned in sound bites. Experience can shape worldview, and might help to understand a candidate beyond the focus group tested campaign literature.

    Collapse
  10. Mary Stine

    One area I would like to see grow at TD is science, not just the science related to technology, but science related to everything, especially our environment, advances in health research and neurological research.
    If TD could bring its more fact driven, high quality reporting to scientific advances, (ideally in more laymen
    language) that would just be awesome!

    Collapse
Load More