A State Department Office of Inspector General report found no wrongdoing in the U.S. government's emergency arms sales in May 2019 in an effort to "deter further Iranian adventurism" in the Mideast.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came under fire from Democrats and some members of the media after declaring an emergency to bypass Congress and make the quick sale of upwards of $8 billion-worth of bombs and other weapons, mostly to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In a press release Monday, the State Department spokesperson's office noted that the IG's final report said the department "acted in complete accordance with the law and found no wrongdoing in the Administration’s exercise of emergency authorities available under the Arms Export Control Act."
The transfers, the press office noted, "were essential to bolster the security of the Gulf region and our ally Israel against the sharp increase in Iranian aggression in 2019."
Further, the IG found that the same emergency authority has been used by five of the seven presidents: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump.
The review began in June 2019 after every Democratic Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee signed a letter requesting it.
"Now that the OIG has completed its work, we hope these Members and media outlets who echoed their baseless accusations will publicly accept the findings of the report they requested from the OIG and immediately retract their statements from the past year," the press office stated.
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