January 1, Mike Pompeo Goes After Oz

Mehmet Oz is under fire by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who sounded the alarm over his ties to Turkey.

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race over his rival, Dave McCormick.

Pompeo, supporting McCormick, put on a press conference to air his concerns about Oz at a press briefing, where he accused Oz of having ties to the Turkish government.

Reports emerged that Oz, who holds Turkish citizenship, voted in the country’s 2018 election despite saying he was never politically involved “in any capacity.”

A spokesperson for Oz confirmed that he voted in Turkey’s election, but denied that voting was tantamount to “political involvement.”

“Maybe it’s all innocent, maybe it’s all straight up, but we and the people of Pennsylvania and the Americans who he will be representing as one of the 100 members of the United States Senate voting on important national security matters need to understand the scope and depth of his relationship with the Turkish government,” Pompeo said.

“This isn’t about whether it’s lawful, it’s about who is best suited to be the next United States senator from Pennsylvania that’s been represented by a patriotic American conservative for an awfully long time,”

Oz’s campaign denounced Pompeo’s allegations.

“These are pathetic and xenophobic attacks on Dr. Oz by David McCormick, who should be ashamed of himself,” said Brittany Yanick, Oz’s campaign communications director.

“Now that he lost President Trump’s endorsement, he’s resorted to sad and desperate attacks that are no different than the tropes used against Catholics and Jews. Dr. Oz has already said when elected to the Senate he would renounce his citizenship. There is no security issue whatsoever, and David McCormick knows that Dr. Oz has maintained his dual citizenship to make it easier to help care for his mother who has Alzheimer’s and lives there.”

Source:

Pompeo holds briefing to raise concerns over Trump-backed Senate candidate in Pennsylvania