Mike Pompeo in Ballotpedia.org political website
On Government Reform:
Russian hacking impact 2016 election & not the first time
On intelligence reports of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Asked by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) if he accepts the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community on Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election,
Pompeo said, "Everything I've seen suggests to me that the report has an analytical product that is sound."Sen. Feinstein also asked Pompeo for his views on the report, to which he responded, "It's pretty clear what took place here, with
Russian involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on American democracy. I'm very clear-eyed about what that intelligence report says. This is very real. It is growing. It is not new, in that sense.
This was an aggressive action taken by the senior leadership inside of Russia and America has an obligation, and the CIA is part of that obligation, to protect that information."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings
Jan 13, 2017
On Technology:
Re-establish collection of all metadata; make it searchable
On government surveillance programs: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked Pompeo to elaborate on a recent op-ed that he wrote in The Wall Street Journal, in which he argued, "Congress should pass a law re-establishing collection of all metadata, and combining it
with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database. Legal and bureaucratic impediments to surveillance should be removed."
Pompeo, in response to Wyden, said, "I still continue to stand behind the commitment to keep Americans safe, and by conducting lawful intelligence collection." He added, "as the director of CIA, you have my assurance that we will not engage in unlawful
activity. [But] if someone's out there on their Facebook page talking about or plotting an attack on America, I think you would the director of the CIA and the intelligence community grossly negligent if they didn't pursue that information."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings
Jan 13, 2017
On War & Peace:
I opposed Iran deal; I'll gather clear-eyed info about it
Pompeo discussed how his transition would relate to specific policies areas such as the Iran nuclear deal and Russia. He said, "While as a Member of Congress I opposed the Iran deal, if confirmed, my role will change.
It will be to drive the Agency to aggressively pursue collection operations and ensure analysts have the time, political space, and resources to make objective and methodologically sound judgments.
If confirmed, I will present their judgments to policymakers. The same goes for Russia.
It is a policy decision as to what to do with Russia, but I understand it will be essential that the Agency provide policymakers with accurate intelligence and clear-eyed analysis of Russian activities."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings
Jan 13, 2017
Page last updated: Sep 02, 2024