CIA/MIKE POMPEO/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday 5[5-23-18] that he ‘does not believe there is a deep state’ at the State Department or the CIA — contradicting President Donald Trump’s repeated assertion that there are forces within the government conspiring against him. Just hours after Trump tweeted about the existence of a ‘criminal deep state’ within the government seeking to sabotage his presidency, Pompeo was asked point blank by lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee whether believes there is a deep state at the State Department…Pompeo was also asked if a ‘deep state’ existed at the CIA where he formerly served as director…Trump and his political allies have made accusations about a shadowy entity within the government bureaucracy bent on de-legitimizing his administration since his inauguration. And the unsubstantiated claim has largely fueled some of the President’s most controversial attacks against the government he runs — including charges that the FBI secretly placed a confidential source in his 2016 campaign.”
-Zachary Cohen and Jamie Crawford, “Pompeo contradicts Trump on ‘deep state’ accusations,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 23, 2018 2:33 pm