Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lamented Monday that he wasn’t in the room during the raid and killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Instead, he was taking yet another trip to Kansas, his adopted home state where many think he may launch a Senate run.
Pompeo on his absence during the raid (he was in Kansas again) pic.twitter.com/J7jtDyBwP0
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 28, 2019
He said later in his “Fox and Friends” interview that the raid was “coordinated” and that “we’ve known for a little while, what we were intending to do,” raising questions about why the secretary of state would have chosen to travel to Kansas —for the fourth time this year — for meet-and-greets with local power players when he knew a high-profile raid was slated to be carried out.
The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that Pompeo met with big-time Republican donor Charles Koch and discussed the Senate race, questionable behavior as Pompeo traveled to Kansas in his capacity as secretary of state and funded by taxpayer money.
U.S. forces successfully raided Baghdadi’s compound after a two-hour effort Saturday night. The ISIS leader reportedly committed suicide with explosives.
