Pompeo says he did not interact significantly with toppled Ukrainian ambassador Marie Yovanovitch


“You might think these questions are silly, but when someone works their entire career for the State Department and is slandered with lies and fired for no reason, that sends a message that couldn’t be clearer to other Department of State officials. State”. Kaine said. “And it can only be a great joke. I mean, hey, look at you smiling and laughing and calling him a fool. I don’t think it’s silly for Marie Yovanovitch or the people who work for you. “

Pompeo also defended the Trump administration’s approach to Russia, as well as its push to oust an inspector general amid withering criticism from Senate Democrats.

Pompeo listed a series of measures the administration has taken, including imposing sanctions on prominent Russians, to protect the United States against disinformation efforts by the Kremlin and other measures.

However, citing classification concerns, Pompeo did not specifically say whether he pressured his Russian counterparts on charges that Moscow is offering rewards to the Afghan Taliban for killing US soldiers. He more broadly insisted that the State Department raises all issues of concern with Russia.

“I can assure you and the American people that every time I have spoken to [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov, I have raised all the issues that put American interests at risk, be it our soldiers on the ground in Syria, the soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, the activities taking place in Libya, the actions in Ukraine, “Pompeo said during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Pompeo’s comments followed President Donald Trump’s acknowledgment in a recent interview that he has not raised the issue of rewards in talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump has indicated that he does not believe the reports on the rewards and that the intelligence is not final.

It was the first time in more than a year that Pompeo appeared before the Republican-led Senate committee. The hearing was supposed to be on Trump’s latest budget request for the State Department, once again proposing massive cuts that Congress will surely ignore, but the senators took the opportunity to question Pompeo on a number of foreign policy issues. .

Democrats in particular flogged the secretary, arguing that the State Department is fighting under his leadership. Earlier this week, Democratic committee staff released a report that pointed to numerous problems in the department, including a large number of vacancies in key positions.

“The best people don’t seem to want to work for you,” Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey told Pompeo on Thursday.

Pompeo has dismissed concerns about morale in the department. He also blamed Democratic senators, especially Menendez, for holding onto nominees for vacant positions. Democrats say the nominees are unqualified or flawed.

Pompeo also faced questions about his decision to ask the president to fire State Department inspector general Steve Linick. Trump ousted Linick in mid-May. Linick was supervising two probes that dealt with Pompeo’s behavior.

Pompeo insisted again Thursday that he only knew of one such investigation, citing an investigation into his decision to boost arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite resistance from Congress. The other investigation involves whether Pompeo and his wife, Susan, have misused State Department resources.

In defending the vigilante’s firing, Pompeo has claimed that Linick was not doing a good job and was not supporting the State Department mission.

On Thursday, he alleged that Linick had not adequately supervised the department’s finances. He claimed, for example, that the inspector general’s office had conducted fewer audits of diplomatic posts worldwide. He also insisted that Linick’s office had low morale.

“He refused to care for his team in any important way,” Pompeo said of Linick.

Linick has told lawmakers that his dismissal took him by surprise. He was one of several inspectors general fired by Trump in recent months in what Democrats say is an attempt by the president to escape responsibility.