Pompeo blasts deposition demands for State Dept. officials
House demands to depose 5 current and former employees; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough lashed out at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday and accused him of being a "common thug" and a "criminal" who has been "lying through his teeth" for President Trump.
Scarborough claimed Pompeo should have known better than to side with Trump over his controversial phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because he attended West Point.
"That guy went to West Point. What a thug," he said on "Morning Joe." "He's acting like a common thug. He's lying about our country. He was in on [the Ukraine] call that he knows crossed every line of propriety. He was taught that at West Point, and he's behaving like a thug.
"Now he's behaving like a thug in trying to basically tell Congress that he can do whatever he wants to do and not to reach out to anybody at the State Department," Scarborough continued. "It's as if he's adopted Donald Trump's view of the Constitution, that the Second Amendment gives the executive branch unlimited power."
POMPEO HOPES GOVERNMENT CAN 'GET TO THE BOTTOM' OF ANY POSSIBLE BIDEN WRONGDOING
Scarborough's comments came after Pompeo was subpoenaed by House Democrats as part of the impeachment inquiry launched by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., against Trump.
The House is seeking to subpoena five current and former State Department employees, drawing pushback from Pompeo, who said executive branch attorneys must be present for any preliminary interviews. He also called their efforts an attempt to bully and intimidate his staff in service of a political agenda.
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“Let me be clear: I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead and serve alongside at the Department of State,” Pompeo tweeted in response to the demands.
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Scarborough doubled down on his West Point angle before the end of the segment and said Pompeo is bringing shame and disgrace to the nation by defending the president.
"Let me say it again, this guy went to West Point. He knows better, and he's acting like a common criminal," he said. "He's acting like a thug. He's lying through his teeth. He's shaming himself. He's shaming State Department employees. And he's shaming the United States of America. He has no excuse."
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