WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo is defending the Trump administration and its efforts to push back against Russia.
Pompeo is answering questions at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He says the list of actions the administration has taken is “long.”
But Pompeo also says that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet “received the message sufficiently” about troubling behavior by Moscow. Pompeo suggests the U.S. needs to impose more sanctions on Russia.
Pompeo also refused to answer questions about the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections during the same hearing Thursday.
Asked whether he agrees with President Donald Trump that the probe is a “witch hunt,” Pompeo declined to offer his opinion.
He also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he is in no position to know whether it would be legal for Trump to fire any of those overseeing the investigation.
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