Office of Inspector General U.S. Department of State
UNCLASSIFIEDUNCLASSIFIEDESP-21-02 What OIG ReviewedIn response to a whistleblower complaint, OIG reviewed allegations that Department staff members were asked to complete tasks of a personal nature by U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo (the “Secretary”) and his spouse, Susan Pompeo (Mrs. Pompeo). What OIG RecommendsOIG made three recommendations to the Department. OIG recommended that the Office of the Legal Adviser update its guidance to the Office of the Secretary to include guidance on the use of Department funds to pay for gifts to U.S. citizensand the use of Department employees to arrange personal dinners and entertainment. OIG recommended that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security amend its Protection Handbook to include examples of appropriate and inappropriate requests to agents performing protective functions, and direction concerning what to do when an agent is tasked with an inappropriate request and who to contact to address concerns. Finally, OIG recommended that the Under Secretary for Management draft and publish guidance on the use of a subordinate’s time for tasks of a personal nature, including direction concerning what to do and who to contact when a Department employeeis tasked with an inappropriate request. The Department concurred with all three recommendations. April2021OFFICE OF EVALUATIONS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS Review of Allegations of Misuse of Department of State ResourcesWhat OIG FoundOIG reviewed allegations that former U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo directed Department of State (Department) employees to carry out tasks of a personal nature to benefit him and Mrs. Pompeo. The allegations stated that the Secretary hired a political appointee to complete such tasks and assigned such work to other employees in the Office of the Secretary and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. OIG found that both Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo requested that the political appointee and other employees in the Office of the Secretary undertake work of a personal nature, such as picking up personal items, planning events unrelated to the Department’s mission, and conducting such personal business as pet care and mailing personal Christmas cards. OIG found that such requests were inconsistent withDepartment ethics rules and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.However, with only a few exceptions, OIG did not find that Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo made personal requests to the special agents in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security who were protecting them. These agents generally told OIG that the Pompeos did not ask them to undertake tasks of a personal nature.
UNCLASSIFIEDUNCLASSIFIEDESP-21-02 What OIG ReviewedIn response to a whistleblower complaint, OIG reviewed allegations that Department staff members were asked to complete tasks of a personal nature by U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo (the “Secretary”) and his spouse, Susan Pompeo (Mrs. Pompeo). What OIG RecommendsOIG made three recommendations to the Department. OIG recommended that the Office of the Legal Adviser update its guidance to the Office of the Secretary to include guidance on the use of Department funds to pay for gifts to U.S. citizensand the use of Department employees to arrange personal dinners and entertainment. OIG recommended that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security amend its Protection Handbook to include examples of appropriate and inappropriate requests to agents performing protective functions, and direction concerning what to do when an agent is tasked with an inappropriate request and who to contact to address concerns. Finally, OIG recommended that the Under Secretary for Management draft and publish guidance on the use of a subordinate’s time for tasks of a personal nature, including direction concerning what to do and who to contact when a Department employeeis tasked with an inappropriate request. The Department concurred with all three recommendations. April2021OFFICE OF EVALUATIONS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS Review of Allegations of Misuse of Department of State ResourcesWhat OIG FoundOIG reviewed allegations that former U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo directed Department of State (Department) employees to carry out tasks of a personal nature to benefit him and Mrs. Pompeo. The allegations stated that the Secretary hired a political appointee to complete such tasks and assigned such work to other employees in the Office of the Secretary and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. OIG found that both Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo requested that the political appointee and other employees in the Office of the Secretary undertake work of a personal nature, such as picking up personal items, planning events unrelated to the Department’s mission, and conducting such personal business as pet care and mailing personal Christmas cards. OIG found that such requests were inconsistent withDepartment ethics rules and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.However, with only a few exceptions, OIG did not find that Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo made personal requests to the special agents in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security who were protecting them. These agents generally told OIG that the Pompeos did not ask them to undertake tasks of a personal nature.
CONTENTSBACKGROUND ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1RELEVANT LAWS AND POLICIES ………………………………………………………………………………………… 2Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch ………………………………… 2Protective Authorities of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security …………………………………………….. 3FINDINGS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4The Pompeos Made Over 100 Requests to Employees in the Office of the Secretary to Conduct Work that Appeared to be Personal in Nature ……………………………………………………. 4The Pompeos Generally Did Not Request Bureau of Diplomatic Security Agents to Undertake Tasks of a Personal Nature ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12RECOMMENDATIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13APPENDIX A: PURPOSE, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………. 16APPENDIX B: DEPARTMENT RESPONSE ……………………………………………………………………………. 17APPENDIX C: COMMENTS FROM COUNSEL TO SECRETARY POMPEO ………………………………….. 18ABBREVIATIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 21OIG OFFICE OF EVALUATIONS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS TEAM MEMBERS …………………………….. 22
BACKGROUNDIn 2019, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received a whistleblower complaint related to allegations that U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo (the “Secretary”) was misusing U.S. Department of State (Department) resources by, among other things, requesting employees to conduct tasks of a personal nature. Specifically, the complainant alleged that the Department hired an employee as a Senior Advisor who was assigned to assist the Secretary and his spouse, Susan Pompeo (Mrs. Pompeo), in matters of a personal nature. The complainant also alleged that other Department employees in the Office of the Secretary (S) and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) were assigned such work by the Pompeos. After receiving the complaint, OIG conducted preliminary work and determined that the Secretary hired a GS-15 Schedule C employee who began work as an advisor to the Secretary in May 2018.1 The position description for the Advisor to the Secretary (Senior Advisor) states that she reports directly to the Secretary and that her official duties include: attending meetings held by the Secretary and serving as a point of contact between the Secretary and other officials within the Department, carrying out special and confidential assignments on behalf of the Secretary, and serving as the Secretary’s scheduling coordinator for travel.The Senior Advisor described her relationship with the Pompeos as dating back to the early 1990s.2 The Senior Advisor and Mrs. Pompeo initially became acquainted while serving as community volunteers and later they lived in the same neighborhood. The Senior Advisor worked for Secretary Pompeo’s congressional office when he was a member of Congress and at the Central Intelligence Agency when he served as Director. In his interview with OIG, theSecretary described the Senior Advisor as a longtime friend of the Pompeo family.OIG’s investigative work revealed that while the Senior Advisor performed the duties listed in her position description, she also received many additional assignments that were communicated through (on behalf of the Secretary) or directed by Mrs. Pompeo, who was not a Department employee.3 Specifically, OIG’s review of email records showed that on an almostdaily basis since the start of the Senior Advisor’s employment, Mrs. Pompeo would email the Senior Advisor’s official Department email account, asking her to undertake various tasks. Mostof these tasks involved adding events to Mrs. Pompeo’s personal electronic calendar. While some of these events related directly to the Department (such as meetings with foreign delegations in which Mrs. Pompeo would accompany the Secretary), others were purely personal (such as meals with friends). 1 Schedule C positions are “positions which are policy-determining or which involve a close and confidential working relationship with the head of an agency or other key appointed officials.” 5 C.F.R. § 213.3301(a). 2 During the course of this review, the Senior Advisor testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. During this testimony, the Senior Advisor answered questions on some of the same issues covered by this review. 3 The Senior Advisor testified before Congress that “the work that I get assigned is from the Secretary. There are times that Mrs. Pompeo relays that work to me.” The Secretary corroborated this in his interview with OIG, explaining that when Mrs. Pompeo interacted with the Department “team,” she did so “at my direction,” though he suggested that there may have been instances when that was not the case.UNCLASSIFIEDESP-21-022UNCLASSIFIEDMrs. Pompeo often asked the Senior Advisor to carry out other tasks as well. Some of these clearly related to the business of the Department, such as selecting gifts to present to foreign leaders, creating a challenge coin4 for the Secretary, and selecting the Secretary’s meals on official travel. However, OIG found that some of the requests from Mrs. Pompeo included taking care of personal duties for the Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo, which generally fell into several broad categories: requests to pick up personal items, planning of events unrelated to the Department’s mission, and miscellaneous personal requests. OIG further found that in addition to the Senior Advisor, several other employees of the Department were asked by the Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo to undertake tasks of a personal nature. The Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, described in greater detail below, limit the personal use of Department resources. After OIG’s preliminary review revealed that the Pompeos had asked Department employees to undertake work of a personal nature, OIG conducted an in-depth review of the allegations, the findings of which are reported in the following sections. OIG completed most of its fieldwork for this review by August 2020. On September 11, 2020, OIG requested an interview with Secretary Pompeo. OIG made multiple follow-up requests over the next three months. In mid-December, Secretary Pompeo finally agreed to sit for an interview, which was conducted on December 23, 2020. The delay in obtaining an interview with the Secretary delayed completion of the review and this report. …CONT…
