Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo on Thursday sought to quell concerns his judgment as CIA director would be colored by partisan motivations, telling members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence he agreed with the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia had interfered in the U.S. election.
Speaking of the current skepticism circulating around the legitimacy of the election results, Pompeo told the committee he has “no doubt that the discourse that’s been taking place is something [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would look at and say, ‘That was among the objectives that I have.'” Earlier in the hearing, Pompeo said he believed a recent report from the intelligence community concluding that Russia tried to help Republican President-elect Donald Trump by “discrediting” his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, was “sound.” If confirmed as CIA director, he added, “I will continue to pursue foreign intelligence with vigor no matter where the facts lead.”
