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bigtree

(85,919 posts)
Tue May 19, 2020, 11:41 PM May 2020

Pompeo's elite taxpayer-funded 'Madison' dinners w/CEOs, Supreme Court justices, politicial cronies




WASHINGTON — As federal workers file out of the State Department at the end of a Washington workday, an elite group is often just arriving in the marbled, flag-lined lobby: Billionaire CEOs, Supreme Court justices, political heavyweights and ambassadors arrive in evening attire as they're escorted by private elevator to dinner with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Until the coronavirus shut them down in March, the gatherings were known as "Madison Dinners" — elaborate, unpublicized affairs that Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, began in 2018 and held regularly in the historic Diplomatic Reception Rooms on the government's dime.

State Department officials involved in the dinners said they had raised concerns internally that the events were essentially using federal resources to cultivate a donor and supporter base for Pompeo's political ambitions — complete with extensive contact information that gets sent back to Susan Pompeo's personal email address. The officials and others who attended discussed the dinners on condition of anonymity.

An NBC News investigation found that Pompeo held about two dozen Madison dinners since taking over in 2018. NBC News obtained a master guest list for every dinner through the end of 2019, as well as internal State Department calendars from before the pandemic emerged, showing that future dinners were on the books through at least October. The master list includes the names of nearly 500 invitees and specifies who accepted, although it is possible some individuals RSVP'd but did not show up in Foggy Bottom for dinner.

The records show that about 29 percent of the invitees came from the corporate world, while about a quarter of them hailed from the media or entertainment industries, with conservative media members heavily represented...

read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/pompeo-s-elite-taxpayer-funded-dinners-raise-new-concerns-n1210746


An invitation to a Madison Dinner from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, obtained by NBC News.
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Pompeo's elite taxpayer-funded 'Madison' dinners w/CEOs, Supreme Court justices, politicial cronies (Original Post) bigtree May 2020 OP
He's feeling out who with money or power believes his crazy philosophy Ilsa May 2020 #1
it's not a one-dimensional scandal bigtree May 2020 #5
Madison hosted his dinners, but Pompous Ass had we, the taxpayers, foot the bill for his benefit. alwaysinasnit May 2020 #2
Drain the swamp. What a joke. mobeau69 May 2020 #3
Trump plugged up the swamp drain with Pompeo and the like Demovictory9 May 2020 #4
Ashley Madison? tanyev May 2020 #6
Don't forget REPUBLICAN ONLY Madison dinners. There were no democrats on the guest list uponit7771 May 2020 #7
Gorsuch, Alito, Ingraham - always preaching holier - how can they NOW or UTUSN May 2020 #8
"on the government's dime" crickets May 2020 #9
same time he was bashing John Kerry as an elitist bigtree May 2020 #10
Typical. nt crickets May 2020 #11

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
1. He's feeling out who with money or power believes his crazy philosophy
Tue May 19, 2020, 11:49 PM
May 2020

about the presidency, religion, etc. This could be a long term project with results shared among other politicians coming later into public service.

He shouldn't use Madison this way, IMO.

alwaysinasnit

(5,038 posts)
2. Madison hosted his dinners, but Pompous Ass had we, the taxpayers, foot the bill for his benefit.
Wed May 20, 2020, 12:05 AM
May 2020

Did I get that right?

mobeau69

(11,079 posts)
3. Drain the swamp. What a joke.
Wed May 20, 2020, 12:44 AM
May 2020

We’re gonna need a ton of new laws after the obese one is thrown out if we survive that long.

UTUSN

(70,497 posts)
8. Gorsuch, Alito, Ingraham - always preaching holier - how can they NOW or
Wed May 20, 2020, 10:08 AM
May 2020

even at the time they were attending, did irony or second thughts cross their minds?







crickets

(25,896 posts)
9. "on the government's dime"
Wed May 20, 2020, 10:49 AM
May 2020

No, that would be the taxpayers' dime, OUR dime. This weasel thought no one would ever notice or call him on it? Ugh.

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