New Documents Show Pompeo Failed To Disclose Additional Business Ties To China

Source: HuffPost



The secretary of state nominee continued to deny his foreign entanglements in response to a question submitted by a senator.

By Molly Redden and Doha Madani

CIA Director Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, came under fire earlier this month for failing to disclose business ties to two companies controlled by the Chinese government.

Now new documents reviewed by HuffPost show that Pompeo’s links to foreign-owned oil and gas companies are even more extensive than was previously reported. But, despite the evidence, Pompeo continues to deny his foreign entanglements, according to a Senate source who asked to remain anonymous to talk to HuffPost about proceedings that haven’t been made public yet.

Republicans expect to bring Pompeo’s nomination up for a vote before the full Senate this week. Several Democrats have signaled they intend to support him, making it likely he will be confirmed. But his failure to be forthright about his business ties to a foreign-owned company has raised questions about how he will perform as the nation’s top diplomat, especially in the midst of an escalating trade conflict between the US and China.

“Director Pompeo either was somehow unaware he was doing business with a Chinese government-controlled company, or he knew and decided to hide that fact from Congress,” Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat on the intelligence committee, said after the initial reports that Pompeo had failed to disclose foreign ties. “Neither option is acceptable for a man who would be responsible for our nation’s most sensitive diplomatic matters.”

Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/mike-pompeo-chinese-ties-disclosure_us_5ae10e97e4b04aa23f1f0103