Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed his predecessor on Fox News this week; saying “it’s true” that John Kerry has violated the Logan Act with his ongoing talks with top Iranian officials since leaving the State Department.
“It’s true. I was there in Munich … I saw not only Kerry … [others] met with the Iranian leadership,” Pompeo said during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.” “It’s unusual, but more importantly, it’s wrong,” said Pompeo.
“Every American should support America’s foreign policy. They had their moment, they had their day, it’s time to get off the stage. We all know the Logan Act, we all know the risk that is taken when people act as private citizens on behalf of the United States government,” he added.
President Trump slammed Kerry’s ongoing relationship with Iran while speaking with reporters at the White House this week; saying he clearly “violated” the Logan Act.
“You know John Kerry speaks to them a lot, and John Kerry tells them not to call. That’s a violation of the Logan Act, and frankly he should be prosecuted on that,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“But my people don’t want to do anything, only the Democrats do that kind of stuff. If it were the opposite way, they’d prosecute him under the Logan Act,” he said.
Watch: Trump says former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry "should be prosecuted" under the Logan Act for interfering with potential negotiations with Iran: "Plain and simple, he shouldn't be doing that." https://t.co/2Ejtn8R7Wu pic.twitter.com/3LCaXJ1g8A
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 9, 2019
Kerry made global headlines last year when he admitted to continued contacts with Iranian officials, saying “What I have done is tried to elicit from him what Iran might be willing to do in order to change the dynamic in the Middle East for the better.”
Iranian officials reportedly ordered a massive increase in the production of enriched Uranium this week; openly defying the Trump administration as tensions between Tehran and Washington rapidly escalate.
“Iran has quadrupled its production of enriched uranium amid tensions with the U.S. over Tehran’s unraveling nuclear accord, two semi-official news agencies reported Monday, an announcement that came just after President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister traded threats and taunts,” reports the Associated Press.
“This follows days of heightened tensions sparked by the Trump administration’s deployment of bombers and an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf over still-unspecified threats from Iran. While Trump’s dueling approach of flattery and threats has become a hallmark of his foreign policy, the risks have only grown in dealing with Iran, where mistrust between Tehran and Washington stretch back four decades,” adds the author.
DEEP STATE DEPARTMENT: John Kerry BRIEFED on ‘Trump Dossier’ in 2016
Former Secretary of State John Kerry was reportedly briefed on the infamous ‘Trump Dossier’ in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, raising new and alarming questions over the relationship between former British spy Christopher Steele and the Obama administration as Americans headed to the polls.
According to the Washington Post, John Kerry was the last senior Obama official to review the salacious material in “late 2016,” adding that “It’s not uncommon for private consulting or intelligence reports to be consumed by State Department officials.”
“There’s nothing nefarious about the State Department accepting material from Steele from 2014 to 2016,” writes the Post. “At that time, he was a well-respected former intelligence official from an allied country with deep experience in Russia. Officials couldn’t have known that Steele would become controversial for reporting on Trump, because that hadn’t happened yet.”
The left-leaning newspaper was commenting on a recent report from the Washington Examiner detailing the relationship between Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele, and the Trump Dossier to former President Barack Obama’s State Department.
“They’re also seeking to learn what individual State Department officials did in relation to Steele, and whether there were any contacts between the State Department and the FBI or Justice Department concerning the anti-Trump material,” wrote the Examiner.
DEEP STATE DEPARTMENT: Trump BLASTS Kerry Over ‘Shadow Diplomacy’
President Trump unloaded on former Secretary of State John Kerry Monday morning; accusing the senior Obama aide of engaging in “illegal shadow diplomacy” over his alleged involvement in trying to save the failing Iranian nuclear agreement.
The Commander-in-Chief called-out Kerry on social media after multiple media reports accused the former diplomat of working behind-the-scenes to help salvage Barack Obama’s signature international “achievement.”
“The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!” Trump tweeted.
The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018
The President’s comments come just days before he’s expected to announce his decision regarding the Iranian nuclear deal; calling on American allies like the UK and France to help “re-negotiate” a better agreement.