Mike Pompeo

Watchdog: Pompeo Changed State Dept. Rules, Violated Hatch Act With Convention Speech

Pompeo delivered his precedent-busting convention speech from Jerusalem

A video of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking during the Republican National Convention plays from the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Washington.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo changed longstanding State Department policy and violated the Hatch Act with his speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention, a government watchdog concluded in a report released Tuesday.

The Office of Special Counsel's 59-page report found Pompeo was one of at least 13 high-level Trump administration officials who violated the 1939 law designed to prevent the mixing of governmental authority with political campaigns.

Pompeo delivered his precedent-busting convention speech from Jerusalem, where he was on official State Department business at the time. His office maintained he was making the speech in his personal capacity, not as the nation's top diplomat.

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

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