The US State Department found at least two ways to skirt Congress’ freeze on $8.1 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of them legal, according to an inquiry report released just days after the department’s inspector general resigned.

The State Department inspector general report submitted Monday says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acted in accordance with US law when he issued an “emergency” certification in May 2019 to bypass Congress’ order to halt controversial arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A redacted, unclassified version of the report was released today. 

Lawmakers from both parties ordered a hold on arms transfers in response to the Saudi-led coalition’s repeated bombing of civilians in Yemen’s civil war. Some in Congress further justified the freeze after the Saudi government was implicated in brutally murdering Washington Post columnist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi.

Pompeo cited threats to US partners in the Gulf by Iran when he issued the emergency exception in May 2019. This week's report did not assess whether Iran’s activities justified Pompeo’s use of the emergency option, noting that the law does not define “emergency.”