Documents reveal Fox personalities filled Mike Pompeo’s taxpayer-funded political dinners: report

Documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request indicate that Fox News personalities filled the controversial "Madison Dinners" hosted by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The dinners cost taxpayers nearly $65,000 — including more than $16,000 spent on custom pens and journals.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released 64-pages of FOIA records documenting the organizing of the events.

"While previous reporting has shown that the Madison Dinners hosted by the couple—lavish dinner parties attended by a mix of celebrities, political operatives, government officials and public figures, planned with the help of State Department staff—had little to do with State Department business, the new records reveal the Pompeos repeatedly jumped at the opportunity to abuse taxpayer funds for their own gain," CREW said in a release. "Invitees were meticulously broken down into four sections: media, foreign diplomat, government and private sector."

The media section was dominated by Fox News.

The documents list Fox News personalities Shannon Bream, Brit Hume, Dana Perino, Martha MacCullum, and Bret Baier along with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.

NBC News previously reported Fox News personalities Laura Ingraham and Brian Kilmeade attended.