The disclosures regarding the plot to oust Ambassador Yovanovitch from her post have sent shockwaves through the diplomatic community—and amplified the deafening silence of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
as “bad news” and, in what felt like a thinly veiled threat, that the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was “going to go through some things,” members of the typically staid diplomatic corpswith shock and disbelief. And yet, like so much of what Trump says, his remark lacked clarity.
Diplomats I’ve spoken with have expressed shock at the notion that Yovanovitch—who was, in many ways, a victim of her own competence—was under surveillance by Giuliani associates. “We expect threats from ISIS, we expect threats from Hezbollah. We do not expect threats from a guy running for Congress in Connecticut who is a friend of the president,” the former ambassador said. “It was very menacing. I don’t think there is any other way to read those texts.
Pompeo is not only missing in action in the Yovanovitch saga. At this point, Pompeo’s absenteeism has become more of a brand than a quirk. While the secretary has had a ubiquitous presence on cable news over the past two weeks, delivering the administration's talking points on the killing of Qasem Soleimani, on Tuesday he skipped a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Trump’s Iran policy. Instead, [Pompeo was in California] .
Veterans of Foggy Bottom also took note of Pompeo’s absence from the delegation to Oman this week to pay respects upon the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said. Instead, Secretary of Energyled the delegation—a dynamic diplomats told me was highly unusual given the history of the U.S.-Oman relationship, particularly as it pertains to containing Iran in the region.
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