State Department’s Investigation Into Mike Pompeo’s Missing $5,800 Whiskey Ends With no Answers

An expensive bottle of Japanese whiskey gifted to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is still missing after an investigation by the State Department. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

In 2019, Japan gifted a bottle of Suntory Hibiki 30-year-old whiskey — valued at $5,800 — to Mike Pompeo, who at the time was the U.S.’s secretary of state. Shockingly, the bottle went missing (before Pompeo received it or even knew of its existence, his lawyers have said), along with a number of other items stored in a vault where foreign gifts to U.S. government officials are kept, and to this day has not been found. In August, the State Department opened an investigation into the disappearance of the pricy bottle. Three months later, the State Department concluded that investigation, and the whiskey is still missing.

In a report released Thursday, reported on by The Washington Post, the department’s Office of Inspector General said it located a number eight missing porcelain and copper vases, valued at a total of $20,000, which were purchased for G-7 leaders. They were meant to be given out at Camp David in March 2020, but Camp David was canceled. Investigators found the vases in storage, according to the report.

The whiskey, however never turned up. Neither did several other missing items.

OIG said it was unable to locate the missing items due to a lack of an inventory system and security cameras.

Seventy-seven individuals used their ID cards to access the vault a total of 3,051 times between Aug. 3, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2021.

“Many of these individuals had left government service, so OIG could not compel their cooperation,” the report said.

Furthermore, not everyone who accessed the vault may have used their ID cards, and thus their entries may not have been recorded, as the security office suggested eliminating “piggy-backing” of unauthorized personnel being let in by someone with access.

Japanese whiskey is a hot commodity that continues to grow in popularity, so whoever made off with the $5,800 whiskey is surely happy to have it — if they haven’t already sold it.

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