Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may be the target of an investigation by the State Department. The feds are looking into the disappearance of a bottle of whiskey that was given as a gift from Japanese officials and was meant for Pompeo.
The State Department is now searching for a $5,800 bottle of whiskey that Japanese officials gave as a gift to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019.
Federal officials are prohibited from accepting gifts valued above $390, although they are able to keep items over the limit if they purchase them. Two people briefed on the matter have claimed that the government was never paid for the whiskey, and therefore the department is requesting that its inspector general determine what happened to the bottle.
According to reporting from the New York Times, “Any officials caught accepting such gifts can face civil penalties, or impeachment if they are still in office.”
A new State Department filing in the Federal Register indicates that an investigation into the bottle’s whereabouts is being conducted. “The department is looking into the matter and has an ongoing inquiry,” the filing states.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-wing attack dog masquerading as a “non-partisan watchdog,” sent out a tweet about the investigation, writing:
“The State Dept. is investigating the whereabouts of a missing $5,800 bottle of whiskey the Japanese government gave to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019. It was against the law for him to accept gifts from foreigners worth more than $390.”
BREAKING: The State Dept. is investigating the whereabouts of a missing $5,800 bottle of whiskey the Japanese government gave to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019. It was against the law for him to accept gifts from foreigners worth more than $390. https://t.co/sujeCQJfDJ
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) August 4, 2021
Of course, the so-called watchdog, like most of the mainstream media, is leaving out a crucial detail from their headlines and tweets about the subject: it is unclear whether Mike Pompeo ever saw the gift, as he was traveling in Saudi Arabia on June 24, 2019, the day that the State Department accepted it on his behalf.
Through his lawyer William A. Burck, Pompeo has stated that he has no memory of every receiving the bottle of whiskey, noting that he has no knowledge about the department inquiry or the whereabouts of the bottle.
“He has no idea what the disposition was of this bottle of whiskey,” the lawyer said.
