Pompeo was raised in California, graduating from Los Amigos High School in Santa Ana. He graduated third in his high school class. His first trip East of the Mississippi River was when he enrolled at West Point Academy in New York.

He graduated first in his class at West Point in 1986, and two days later married Leslie Libert, of Islip, New York. Pomeo then reported to Fort Knox, Ky. for 16 weeks of armor training before being assigned to an Army unit in West Germany.

Pompeo was a Cavalry officer serving along the Berlin Wall, serving during peacetime. He served with distinction. He started law school at Harvard University in Massachusetts in the fall of 1991, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1994, and passed the California Bar in 1994.

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and Germany was officially reunified October 2, 1990. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August of 1990. Pompeo started law school in the fall of 1991. Pompeo was not involved in Operation Desert Shield or Operation Desert Storm to eject Iraq from Kuwait. Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 and President Bush declared a cease fire on February 28, 1991 after American forces ejected Iraq from Kuwait.

After graduating from law school in the spring of 1994, Pompeo worked for several years for a high-powered Washington, D.C. law firm, Williams & Connolly. From what I can tell, he worked for that firm for about four years or so, and it seems he moved to Kansas in 1998. His name shows up in appellate cases for Williams & Connolly in 1997 and even 1998, and his California law license expired in 1999, as he was then involved in the aerospace industry in Kansas.

Pompeo has lived in Kansas for a dozen years for sure. He's been in Kansas a long time. But he's not the right person to criticize Wink Hartman for "not being a Kansas resident." I am flattered that Pompeo chose Kansas to launch his career in business. And by all accounts, he's been very successful and is a great guy. Kansas needs more smart, motivated people like Pompeo and his family.

But Wink Hartman's family has been in the oil business in Kansas seemingly forever. Wink was born and raised in Kansas. Hartman has a branch office in Great Bend, and he has always kept a close eye on the candy jar.

As a lawyer, our firm has had dealings with Hartman during the time in question, and I was surprised to learn Sunday that he even had a vacation home in Florida. The fact that he had a vacation home there and registered to vote there and got a Florida driver's license at one time is a non-issue to anyone who knows what Hartman is like. He's kind of a control freak about his Kansas concerns, so this vacation home in Flordia is truly a red-herring.

Pompeo is a very accomplished man and obviously bright and patriotic and a fine Christian with a fine military record. However, he is not the right person to mudwrestle with Wink over who is more authentically Kansan. You have to choose your battles.

If Pompeo wins the primary, two Harvard law grads will face off in November: Raj Goyle and Mike Pompeo. As a lawyer, I admire both of them for their academic prowess and legal achievements. Raj Goyle was raised in Wichita, so even in the general election, Pompeo should drop this issue about who is really a Kansan and who isn't.
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Source: "Santa Ana Cadet Wins Top West Point Honor," Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1986