Report: State Dept flushing out 'deep state' bureaucrats

The social-media posts of State Department employees are being vetted by a senior agency adviser for any signs of opposition to President Trump's policies, according to a report from Foreign Policy.

Mari Stull, a senior adviser at the agency's Bureau of International Organization Affairs, is "making lists" of employees whose loyalty to President Trump she questions, the Hill reported.

A senior diplomat told Foreign Policy that Stull "is actively making lists and gathering intel."

"She is gunning for American citizens in the [United Nations] to see if they are toeing the line," the diplomat said.

Foreign Policy said that as a result of Stull's efforts, at least three senior officials in the bureau, Molly Phee, Erin Barclay and Nerissa Cook, are expected to leave the agency or move to different positions.

She's targeting employees that support Obama administration policies opposed by the Trump administration.

Stull is a former food and beverage lobbyist who was appointed by Assistant Secretary of State Kevin Moley in April.

When Moley was appointed to his position, she tweeted "the global swamp will be drained." Foreign Policy said her tweets have since been hidden from public view.

President Trump has charged that a "criminal deep state" of bureaucrats from previous administrations is seeking to undermine his agenda.

Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State. They go after Phony Collusion with Russia, a made up Scam, and end up getting caught in a major SPY scandal the likes of which this country may never have seen before! What goes around, comes around!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018

Last month, at a hearing before the House Affair's Committee, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked by Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., whether he agreed with the president.

"I haven’t seen the comments from the president. I don't believe there is a deep state at the State Department," Pompeo said.

Democratic lawmakers, The Hill reported, have accused the White House and State Department of conspiring with conservative activists to purge agency employees regarded as disloyal to Trump or supportive of the Obama administration.

"We have obtained extremely disturbing new documents from a whistleblower indicating that high-level officials at the White House and State Department worked with a network of conservative activists to conduct a "cleaning" of employees [disloyal to Trump]," said a letter in March from Reps. Elijah Cumming, D-Md., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.