SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Pompeo Denounced for 'Insulting and Contemptuous' Statement Lashing Out at NPR's Mary Louise Kelly
The secretary of state's statement was framed as "a shameful assault on press freedom."
Jan 24, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out at NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly in a statement Saturday a day after she pressed Pompeo on issues including former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and he reportedly yelled at her with expletives and demanded she identify Ukraine on a map.
In her Friday interview with Pompeo, Kelly asked about the administration's Iran policy and pressed Pompeo about when--since he said he has "defended every State Department official"--he had done so for Yovanovitch.
He did not point to any such remarks.
NPR reported,
Immediately after the questions on Ukraine, the interview concluded. Pompeo stood, leaned in, and silently glared at Kelly for several seconds before leaving the room.
A few moments later, an aide asked Kelly to follow her into Pompeo's private living room at the State Department without a recorder. The aide did not say the ensuing exchange would be off the record.
Pompeo then went on to attempt to berate Kelly.
Pompeo, in his statement, accused Kelly of lying about having the follow-up conversation off the record, asserted her conduct was "shameful," and called the indent "another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this administration."
He also suggested, contrary to Kelly's account, that she did not point to Ukraine on a map. "It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine," he wrote.
Pompeo's remarks drew condemnation from journalists including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who called them "a shameful assault on #PressFreedom. Americans deserve a Secretary of State that is diplomatic, can answer foreign policy questions honestly, upholds our values and respects the press. This one doesn't."
Wired also pointed to its reporting from October that "Pompeo seems to particularly bristle under tough questioning from female reporters."
Pompeo's Saturday attack on Kelly also sparked five Democratic senators--Robert Menendez (N.J.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), and Cory Booker (N.J.)--to write to Pompeo, denouncing the secretary of state's comments as "insulting and contemptuous."
"Instead of calling journalists 'liars" and insulting their intelligence when they ask you hard questions you would rather not answer," the senators wrote, "your oath of office places on you a duty and obligation to engage respectfully and transparently."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out at NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly in a statement Saturday a day after she pressed Pompeo on issues including former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and he reportedly yelled at her with expletives and demanded she identify Ukraine on a map.
In her Friday interview with Pompeo, Kelly asked about the administration's Iran policy and pressed Pompeo about when--since he said he has "defended every State Department official"--he had done so for Yovanovitch.
He did not point to any such remarks.
NPR reported,
Immediately after the questions on Ukraine, the interview concluded. Pompeo stood, leaned in, and silently glared at Kelly for several seconds before leaving the room.
A few moments later, an aide asked Kelly to follow her into Pompeo's private living room at the State Department without a recorder. The aide did not say the ensuing exchange would be off the record.
Pompeo then went on to attempt to berate Kelly.
Pompeo, in his statement, accused Kelly of lying about having the follow-up conversation off the record, asserted her conduct was "shameful," and called the indent "another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this administration."
He also suggested, contrary to Kelly's account, that she did not point to Ukraine on a map. "It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine," he wrote.
Pompeo's remarks drew condemnation from journalists including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who called them "a shameful assault on #PressFreedom. Americans deserve a Secretary of State that is diplomatic, can answer foreign policy questions honestly, upholds our values and respects the press. This one doesn't."
Wired also pointed to its reporting from October that "Pompeo seems to particularly bristle under tough questioning from female reporters."
Pompeo's Saturday attack on Kelly also sparked five Democratic senators--Robert Menendez (N.J.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), and Cory Booker (N.J.)--to write to Pompeo, denouncing the secretary of state's comments as "insulting and contemptuous."
"Instead of calling journalists 'liars" and insulting their intelligence when they ask you hard questions you would rather not answer," the senators wrote, "your oath of office places on you a duty and obligation to engage respectfully and transparently."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out at NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly in a statement Saturday a day after she pressed Pompeo on issues including former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and he reportedly yelled at her with expletives and demanded she identify Ukraine on a map.
In her Friday interview with Pompeo, Kelly asked about the administration's Iran policy and pressed Pompeo about when--since he said he has "defended every State Department official"--he had done so for Yovanovitch.
He did not point to any such remarks.
NPR reported,
Immediately after the questions on Ukraine, the interview concluded. Pompeo stood, leaned in, and silently glared at Kelly for several seconds before leaving the room.
A few moments later, an aide asked Kelly to follow her into Pompeo's private living room at the State Department without a recorder. The aide did not say the ensuing exchange would be off the record.
Pompeo then went on to attempt to berate Kelly.
Pompeo, in his statement, accused Kelly of lying about having the follow-up conversation off the record, asserted her conduct was "shameful," and called the indent "another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this administration."
He also suggested, contrary to Kelly's account, that she did not point to Ukraine on a map. "It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine," he wrote.
Pompeo's remarks drew condemnation from journalists including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who called them "a shameful assault on #PressFreedom. Americans deserve a Secretary of State that is diplomatic, can answer foreign policy questions honestly, upholds our values and respects the press. This one doesn't."
Wired also pointed to its reporting from October that "Pompeo seems to particularly bristle under tough questioning from female reporters."
Pompeo's Saturday attack on Kelly also sparked five Democratic senators--Robert Menendez (N.J.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), and Cory Booker (N.J.)--to write to Pompeo, denouncing the secretary of state's comments as "insulting and contemptuous."
"Instead of calling journalists 'liars" and insulting their intelligence when they ask you hard questions you would rather not answer," the senators wrote, "your oath of office places on you a duty and obligation to engage respectfully and transparently."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.