Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is defending the Trump administration’s handling of reports suggesting Russian operatives placed bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
During his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) asked Pompeo if he raised the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Pompeo insisted he has raised all of his concerns with Russia.
“Yes, I can assure you and the American people that each time I’ve spoken with Foreign Minister Lavrov, I have raised all of the issues that put any American interests at risk, whether it’s our soldiers on the ground in Syria, soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, the activities that are taking place in Libya, the actions in Ukraine,” Pompeo said.
He added, “Each and every one of these that potentially threaten American interests are things that I raised in my conversations with Foreign Minister Lavrov and I speak with him with some frequency.”
Watch his testimony below:
WATCH: Exchange between @SenatorMenendez and @SecPompeo on Russia offered bounties for killing American troops in Afghanistan and the firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 30, 2020
Full video here: https://t.co/VCbwie2NCD pic.twitter.com/tc0vw24an2
Pompeo’s comments come just one day after President Donald Trump said he has not confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin on whether Russia paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops, as IJR previously reported.
Trump also suggested intelligence never reached his desk because it was not considered “real.”
Earlier this month, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said Trump was not briefed on intelligence because the allegations were “uncorroborated,” as IJR previously reported.
Menendez pressed Pompeo on whether he addressed the bounty issue with Lavrov.
“Make no mistake about it, the proper people have been aware of every single threat to our soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan whether that was General Miller or my team at the embassy there in Kabul,” Pompeo said.
He continued, “Anytime there was a tactical threat on the lives or the health or the safety and security or our assets in place, we have raised this with our Russian counterparts.”