'The crazies have taken over': What Mike Pompeo told a colleague when Trump started pushing election fraud theories - and feared foreign adversaries would take advantage of the US during the post-election turmoil, book claims
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a colleague 'crazies' had taken over as Donald Trump pursued election fraud claims in his final weeks in office, a report on Thursday claimed.
'The crazies have taken over,' Pompeo warned a colleague amid fears that foreign adversaries he spent his time contending with as the nation's top diplomat might exploit the volatile situation.
Pompeo also shared concerns that Trump might even be willing to take part in an international conflict as part of a ploy to remain in office, according to the new book Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,' by Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender.
'The crazies have taken over,' former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a colleague amid election overturn efforts in the last days of the Trump Administration
The reported comments came during Trump's tense final weeks in office, while Trump and his allies were putting forward repeated claims of election fraud, while allies including Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, attorney Sidney Powell, and lawyer Lin Wood were filing 'Kraken' lawsuits asking courts to cast aside votes for Joe Biden.
According to the book, Pompeo organized daily calls with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
But other reporting since Biden took office has revealed Meadows' own efforts to contact state election officials seeking to get them to hear Trump's claims of fraud.
Pompeo served as Secretary of State and director of the CIA
Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters, Thursday Nov. 19, 2020, in Washington during a press conference where they claimed election fraud
Trump consulted with a circle of loyalists including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in the last days of his administration
Laywer Lin Wood pushed election fraud claims in Georgia
Pompeo organized daily calls with General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and White House chief of staff Mark Milley, according to the book
And Pompeo himself, days after the election, called for a 'smooth transition to a second Trump administration.' Pompeo, who also served as CIA director under Trump, delivered the line with a grin even after returns showed Biden had won, as electoral votes certified by states also showed.
Days before Trump was to leave office without conceding, European officials snubbed Pompeo, who was forced to cancel his final trip to the continent following the Jan. 6th Capitol riot. Pompeo is considered a potential 2024 candidate for president.
The book also details Trump's growing dissatisfaction with Attorney General Bill Barr, who despite himself earlier raising doubts about mail-in ballots became convinced there had been no widespread fraud that would change the results -- infuriating Trump.
Trump secretly offered Barr's job to loyalist Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe in mid-November, according to the book.
Ratcliffe would have been 'expected to refute' briefings he provided assessing no foreign powers hacked into voting machines, a theory some Trump allies were pushing, and turned down the offer, according to the book.
Trump was making personnel moves inside the Pentagon, he and Meadows were reaching out to state and local election officials overseeing vote counts, and according to the book Trump was personally phoning prosecutors urging them to focus on election fraud claims.
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