Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on Capitol Hill today, speaking to the Senate about the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was tortured and killed inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, under what the CIA has concluded were the orders of Saudi Crown Price Mohammed bin Salman.
Pompeo previewed his argument against Senate intervention in a Wall Street Journal guest column in which he mocked the "caterwauling" of Senators upset about the Saudis torturing and murdering an American resident.
That tone reportedly continued in person, angering even GOP Senators who were included to give the Trump administration the benefit of the doubt.
Anchor John King said Pompeo was obviously smirking throughout his interviews following the appearance.
CNN White House correspondent Kaitlin Collins said word from the people who attended the briefing has been angry.
"If we're seeing these complaints from the Senators, this is going to end up backfiring for the administration because they're going to feel that they're not getting a sufficient response to this murder—they're going to take action," Collins said.
"Mike Pompeo, a former member of the House, was being smug here," King said. "Smiling, smirking, rolling his eyes."
"It continues the tone of his Wall Street Journal op-ed, where he talks about the caterwauling on Capitol Hill and dismisses those folks," said Nia Malika Henderson, a CNN senior political correspondent. "This seems to have made it worse, in terms of going up to the Senate—being smirky and jerky... really dismissing the role that these Senators have."
Correspondent Phil Mattingly, who was on the Hill, said these briefings are "usually very effective" but that Senators and staff he's talked to were angry with Pompeo.
"It had the opposite effect of maybe assuaging the concerns and maybe pulling them back from this resolution they'll vote on as soon as this afternoon," he said. "The posture that Secretary Pompeo took in that op-ed that you guys were discussing, that blew back in a major way."
Watch below.
