Mike Pompeo releases scathing statement against NPR reporter

Photo: Ezequiel Becerra/AFP via Getty Images

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a scathing statement on Saturday against NPR's Mary Louise Kelly following an interview, claiming, their talk "is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this Administration," but not denying her account.

Context: Kelly interviewed Pompeo on Jan. 24 regarding U.S. policy in Iran and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Kelly claims Pompeo used multiple expletives in a private meeting that followed the interview.

---

What they're saying:

"NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly lied to me, twice. First, last month, in setting up our interview and, then again yesterday, in agreeing to have our post-interview conversation off the record. It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency.

This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this Administration. It is no wonder that the American people distrust many in the media when they so consistently demonstrate their agenda and their absence of integrity.

It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine."

Mike Pompeo's full statement

What she's saying: "I was taken to the secretary's private living room where he was waiting and where he shouted at me for about the same amount of time as the interview itself. He was not happy to have been questioned about Ukraine," Kelly said in her report on NPR's "All Things Considered."

• She previously confirmed to Axios that Pompeo brought out an unlabeled map and asked her to point out Ukraine.

NPR's senior vice president of news, Nancy Barnes: “Mary Louise Kelly has always conducted herself with the utmost integrity, and we stand behind this report.”   

Go deeper:

• Pompeo on Trump's Iran threat: "We'll behave lawfully"
• Pompeo postpones Ukraine trip to monitor tensions in Iraq