Pompeo adviser to decry politicization of State Dept. in impeachment probe testimony

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pompeo-adviser-to-decry-politicization-of-state-dept-in-impeachment-probe-testimony/2019/10/16/a43eec04-ffa5-4189-9845-dc8ad3be190b_story.html

By Carol Morello and John Hudson

Oct. 16, 2019 at 9:55 a.m. EDT

Michael McKinley, the former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo until his sudden resignation last week, will tell House impeachment investigators Wednesday that career diplomats were mistreated during his tenure and some had their careers derailed for political reasons, according to a person familiar with his testimony.

McKinley will outline how his concerns culminated with the recall of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, a punitive action he and many other rank-and-file diplomats viewed as wholly unjustified.

“The unwillingness of State Department leadership to defend Yovanovitch or interfere with an obviously partisan effort to intervene in our relationship with Ukraine for the political benefit of the president was too much for him,” said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.

McKinley’s last day was Friday, though he had informed Pompeo more than a week earlier that he was resigning. The split has been bitter, as shown by the absence of a statement from Pompeo expressing gratitude for McKinley’s 37 years of service.

The person familiar with McKinley’s statement said the veteran diplomat will not criticize Pompeo directly, though he will discuss his concern over the politicization of the agency in the Trump administration.

McKinley arrived on Capitol Hill with an intimate understanding of how Pompeo wielded power in the highest echelons of the State Department given his proximity to the top diplomat on his many trips abroad. McKinley flew on Pompeo’s plane, advised him on a broad array of issues and used his connections throughout the Foreign Service to help Pompeo take the temperature of the building.

</snip>

[Mike 03]

1. "The split has been bitter."

You can't treat people this badly and expect them to stay in line. Although it's tragic for these people individually, it's a great thing for justice that this administration has been so abusive to career diplomats.

[Whiskeytide]

2. trump expects these people to be loyal ...

... TO HIM. Is beyond his capacity to understand that they might have an allegiance to something greater than him.