Pompeo: Russia will be held accountable
Secretary of State defends Trump’s policies before Senate committee
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo strongly defended the administration’s policies on Russia and North Korea on Wednesday, assuring skeptical senators President Donald Trump has taken “a staggering number” of steps to protect U.S. interests abroad.
Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pompeo said emphatically that Trump will hold Russia accountable for its aggressive actions across the globe and its interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“He has a complete and proper understanding of what happened,” Pompeo said.
Seeking to ease bipartisan concerns that the administration is soft on Russia, the State Department released a statement ahead of Pompeo’s appearance before the committee declaring that the U.S. rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea.
In his testimony, Pompeo said there would be no relief of Crimea-related sanctions imposed on Russia until Moscow returns control of the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine.
Pompeo’s appearance on Capitol Hill marks the first time lawmakers have had a chance to grill a top administration official since Trump touched off bipartisan alarm and outrage at his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki this month.
At a joint news conference with Putin after the two leaders met privately, Trump downplayed the conclusions of America’s intelligence agencies and said he appeared to accept Putin’s assertion that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump later walked back his remarks, but he has not disclosed what he and Putin discussed during their closed-door tete-a-tete.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the panel’s Republican chairman, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, stressed that senators have “serious doubts” about how the White House conducts foreign policy.
“The administration tells us, ‘Don’t worry, be patient, there is a strategy here,’” Corker said. “But from where we sit, it appears that in a ‘ready, fire, aim’ fashion, the White House is waking up every morning and making it up as they go.
“I can’t say it more forcefully,” Corker added. “We really need a clear understanding as to what is going on, what our president is agreeing to, and what our strategy is.”
New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the committee, pressed Pompeo to divulge what Putin and Trump discussed in their meeting at the Helsinki summit.
Menendez asked whether Trump discussed relaxing economic sanctions on Russia and whether he confronted Putin about its aggression in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea, among other topics.
After initially offering a vague response, Pompeo eventually said that “no commitment has been made” to change U.S. sanctions on Russia and that the president was “very clear” about U.S. policy opposing Russia’s incursions in Ukraine and Crimea.
Pomepo also faced questions on North Korea’s pledge to denuclearize after a summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un in June. Pompeo said he’s confident North Korea understands the U.S. definition of denuclearization and remains committed to it.