US State Department ‘refusing to pass on messages’ for Biden from foreign leaders

Mike Pompeo has promised a ‘smooth transition… to a second Trump administration’

(AP)

The US State Department is reportedly refusing to pass on messages sent for president-elect Joe Biden by foreign leaders, in yet another sign of the impact on the administration of Donald Trump’s refusal to concede defeat in the election. 

It has now been five days since all major US media outlets called the election for Mr Biden, projecting 290 electoral college votes in his favour compared to 214 for the Republican incumbent.

Subsequently most leaders from across the world have congratulated the Democrat leader in phone calls, letters and messages posted on social media platforms, though there have been notable exceptions including Russia and China.

It would normally fall to the State Department to act as an intermediary in such missives, but according to CNN the government body under Mike Pompeo is preventing Mr Biden and his transition team from accessing them.

Secretary of State Pompeo has continued to be an outspoken advocate for President Trump, and said on Tuesday that there would indeed “be a smooth transition… to a second Trump administration”.

The roadblock with the State Department has forced some foreign governments to reach out directly to ex-Obama administration officials with whom they still have contact, or else seek to reach Mr Biden directly through other means. 

It’s only the latest way in which the Trump administration is frustrating attempts by the Biden camp to initiate a transition process. The General Services Administration has also refused to recognise Mr Biden as president-elect, meaning the Democrat cannot receive intelligence briefings or access transition resources that usually rack up into the millions of dollars.

Mr Biden’s team is now considering legal action to force the transition process to begin.

But Mr Trump’s refusal to concede has been accompanied by his own string of lawsuits in several states, challenging the results and alleging voter fraud, without providing any hard evidence to back up such claims. 

Not everyone in the Republican party has supported him in these efforts, with prominent figures including former president George W Bush already congratulating Mr Biden on his victory.