Pompeo says there was a ‘peaceful transition of power’ on Jan. 6

Former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in a new interview that there was a “peaceful transition of power” on Jan. 6, 2021, despite the attack on the Capitol.

“There was a bad day at the Capitol,” Pompeo told Sky News’ Beth Rigby in an interview released on Friday. “The security team there failed to prevent these guys from rioting there.”

“That part of the day, I regret. It’s terrible when folks commit these kinds of acts of violence, and I hope they’ll be prosecuted appropriately for doing that,” he added. “But make no mistake about it, that night, America also showed its strength. Vice President [Mike] Pence finished the election. We had a peaceful transition of power.”

Pompeo declined to accept the results of the 2020 election in the months after it was declared for President Biden, maintaining that there would be a “smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” His remarks came as former President Trump refused to concede to Biden.

However, after the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, Pompeo denounced the riot, calling it “unacceptable.”

“But violence, putting at risk the safety of others including those tasked with providing security for all of us, is intolerable both at home and abroad. Let us swiftly bring justice to the criminals who engaged in this rioting,” he said in a tweet at the time.

Pompeo, who is considering a 2024 bid for the presidency, walked a careful line when discussing his former boss in Friday’s interview. Trump launched his own campaign in November 2022, just one week after the midterm elections.

“I think President Trump has made it clear he intends run,” Pompeo told Rigby in response to a question about Trump’s campaign. “He’ll go make his case to the American people.” 

“I’m confident that there will be many others, and from both parties, who will also believe they should be the next leader,” he added. “I have enormous in the American people that they’ll sort it all out.”