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Pompeo Address to Republican Convention Draws Scrutiny

VOA News

   U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a recorded address to the
   Republican National Convention from Jerusalem, drawing calls from
   Democrats for an investigation into what they called "highly unusual"
   participation in a partisan event.

   Pompeo is traveling in the Middle East this week and made his first
   stop in Jerusalem. In his address, he praised the Trump
   administration's foreign policy, citing Trump's decision to move the
   U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, his negotiations with North
   Korean leader Kim Jong Un, efforts to defeat the Islamic State group
   and opposing what Pompeo called China's "predatory aggression."

   Before his remarks were played during Tuesday night's convention
   broadcast, Pompeo's remarks drew the attention of Democrats, including
   Congressman Joaquin Castro, who called for an investigation.

   Castro, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight
   and Investigations, sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of State Stephen
   Biegun asking for written answers to his questions and a briefing with
   the State Department by September 1.

   "It is highly unusual, and likely unprecedented,for a sitting Secretary
   of State to speak at a partisan convention foreither of the political
   parties," Castro said. "Itappears that it may also be illegal."

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