Mike Pompeo abused taxpayer-funded resources: State Department IG

A government watchdog has found that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo improperly used taxpayer-funded resources when he and his wife, Susan, asked State Department employees to carry out tasks for the couple's own personal benefit, POLITICO reports.

"By digging through emails and other documents and interviewing staff members, investigators uncovered scores of instances in which Mike or Susan Pompeo asked State Department staffers to handle tasks of a personal nature, from booking salon appointments and private dinner reservations to picking up their dog and arranging tours for the Pompeos' political allies," POLITICO's Nahal Toosi writes. "Employees told investigators that they viewed the requests from Susan Pompeo, who was not on the federal payroll, as being backed by the secretary."

Speaking to investigators, Pompeo insisted the tasks were small and inconsequential, but the inspector general's office says the investigation said the ethics rules governing such interactions are clear and make no exception, regardless of how small the task is.

Read the full report over at POLITICO.