Category: Representative Mike Pompeo

The Latest: WikiLeaks says it reveals CIA hacking tools

The Latest on the publication by WikiLeaks of what it described as thousands of pages of confidential files about CIA hacking activities : Among the confidential documents published by WikiLeaks were a series of files purportedly attached to the CIA’s Operational Support Branch.

Jennifer Burns:

Ayn Rand is dead. It’s been 35 years since hundreds of mourners filed by her coffin , but it has been only four months since she truly died as a force in American politics.

By backing Trumpa s Interior pick, De…

When Sen. Jon Tester , a Montana Democrat, vouched for President Trump ‘s pick to be the new interior secretary, there was perhaps more than a little self-interest involved. Rep. Ryan K. Zinke, a Republican and the administration’s secretary nominee, had been expected to challenge Mr. Tester in next year’s Senate race.

Officials: CIA chief to visit Turkey, discuss security

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, walks to greet Ethiopia’s President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, at the Presidential Palace, in Ankara Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, walks to greet Ethiopia’s President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, at the Presidential Palace, in Ankara Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.

Trump: McConnell should nix filibuster if Democrats block Supreme Court nominee

Mitch McConnell Trump: McConnell should nix filibuster if Democrats block Supreme Court nominee Ryan tiptoes around deficit concerns for 2017 legislation The Hill’s 12:30 Report MORE to kill the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his upcoming pick, who is expected to be announced next week. Trump told Fox News that he “would” back getting rid of the 60-vote threshold for high court nominees if he can’t win over the support of at least eight Democrats.

Trump signals changes to US interrogation, detention policy

President Donald Trump’s renewed embrace of torture in the fight against Islamic extremism sets up a heated dispute with a long line of opponents both at home and abroad of Bush-era interrogation policies and CIA-run “black site” prisons. “We have to fight fire with fire,” Trump told ABC in an interview aired Wednesday after The Associated Press and other news organizations obtained a copy of a draft executive order that signals sweeping changes to U.S. interrogation and detention policy.

Trump signals changes to US interrogation, detention policy

President Donald Trump ‘s renewed embrace of torture in the fight against Islamic extremism sets up a heated dispute with a long line of opponents both at home and abroad of Bush-era interrogation policies and CIA-run “black site” prisons. “We have to fight fire with fire,” Trump told ABC in an interview aired Wednesday after The Associated Press and other news organizations obtained a copy of a draft executive order that signals sweeping changes to U.S. interrogation and detention policy.

Trump says US getting back control over border

The Latest on President Donald Trump : 3:10 p.m. President Donald Trump says in a speech at the Department of Homeland Security that his executive actions on immigration show that “beginning today,” the U.S. will get back “control of its border.” Trump says his administration will be working in partnership in Mexico to improve safety and economic opportunity for both countries and will have “close coordination” with Mexico to address drug smuggling.

Pompeo sworn in as CIA chief amid opposition from surveillance critics

Mike Pompeo was sworn in late Monday by U.S. Vice President Michael Pence as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency, amid protests from surveillance critics who worry about his conflicting views on a number of key issues. Critics of Pompeo, a Republican representative from Kansas, are concerned that he may weigh in with the government on a rollback of many privacy reforms, including restrictions on the collection of bulk telephone metadata from Americans by the National Security Agency under the USA Freedom Act.

President Trump’s first days in office: Highlights

As US President Donald Trump begins his four-year term in the White House, here’s a look at the key meetings he chaired, decisions he took and promises he made since taking the oath of office on January 20: The US Senate confirmed Trump appointee Mike Pompeo as the director of CIA. Trump’s choice for secretary of state, former Exxon Mobil Corp Chairman Rex Tillerson, narrowly won the Senate committee approval is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.

Vice President Mike Pence, right, swears in CIA Director Mike Pompeo, …

Mike Pompeo was sworn in Monday night as director of the CIA at a crucial time for U.S. national security as intelligence – traditionally a nonpartisan issue – has been thrust into the political arena. “You are stepping up to lead the finest intelligence-gathering operation the world has ever seen,” Vice President Mike Pence said during the nighttime swearing-in ceremony.

Trumpa s First 100 Days: Delivering on campaign promises

President Trump spent much of his first Monday in office delivering on campaign promises: he withdrew the United States from a major trade agreement, ordered a hiring freeze for most federal agencies, and blocked foreign aid for organizations that perform or discuss abortion. President Trump hosts a reception for House and Senate leaders including, from left, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Trump assures CIA of support

President Donald Trump visits the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., where he told members of the intelligence community, “I am so behind you.” President Donald Trump visited the CIA’s headquarters in northern Virginia on Saturday afternoon, his first full day in office, making a gesture of goodwill after he criticized the intelligence community in the run-up to his inauguration.

Obama CIA director slams Trump’s ‘self-aggrandizement’

Former CIA Director John Brennan criticized President Trump ‘s decision Saturday to address agency officials while standing in front of a wall memorializing fallen agents, arguing Trump “should be ashamed of himself” for choosing that location for a speech that included jokes about the media and about agents’ support for his campaign. “Former CIA Director Brennan is deeply saddened and angered at Donald Trump ‘s despicable display of self-aggrandizement in front of CIA’s Memorial Wall of Agency heroes,” the former Obama official said in a statement circulated to reporters.

Trump’s Pledge of Quick Action Stymied by Cabinet-in-Waiting

U.S. President Donald Trump formally signs his cabinet nominations into law during the 58th presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20. President Donald Trump vowed to bring swift change to Washington in a fiery inaugural address, yet that promise is colliding with the reality that only two members of his Cabinet cleared the Senate by the end of his first day in office.  Unlike his successors Barack Obama and George W. Bush — who each had seven of their cabinet members confirmed on Inauguration Day — Trump saw votes only for Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

Senate confirms Trump’s picks for defense, homeland security

The Republican-led Senate, taking little time to fill two critical national security posts, overwhelmingly confirmed a pair of retired Marine generals tapped by President Donald Trump to run the Pentagon and secure America’s borders. A little more than an hour later, Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to James Mattis to be defense secretary and John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

In opening act, Trump’s light side on display with lawmakers

Seated at a desk in an ornate room steps from the Senate floor, Trump the showman emerged, giving running commentary as he went. He joshed about his proposed repeal of President Barack Obama’s health care law as he signed legislation granting a special waiver so James Mattis can become Pentagon chief despite having recently served as a general in the Marines.

Obama’s Iranian Nuke Deal is a Major Challenge for Trump

How can the author of that article not know that the Iran deal was not actually signed? It was the State Department’s Julia Frifield who sent a letter to Rep. Mike Pompeo saying that the Iran deal is “not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document.” Rather, she wrote, this deal represents “political commitments” between Iran and other nations.

Kansas lawmakers move quickly on new special elections rules

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, right, confers with Bryan Caskey, left, his elections director, during a state Senate committee hearing on a bill that would rewrite the state’s rules for special congressional elections to give military personnel overseas more time to cast their ballots, in Topeka, Kan. The bill arose from President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., as Central Intelligence Agency director.

CIA nominee Pompeo agrees Russia behind election hacks

Donald Trump’s pick to run the CIA on Thursday sided with intelligence officials who have determined the Kremlin was behind election cyberattacks, and he took a tough stand against Russia, distancing himself from the president-elect, who wants to warm relations with Moscow. Rep. Mike Pompeo, a four-term conservative Kansas Republican, spoke at his confirmation hearing before the Senate intelligence committee amid a testy standoff between Trump and the spy community over Russian activities during the presidential election.

Trump’s CIA choice to be questioned amid Russia hacking fury-Image1

Donald Trump’s pick to run the CIA faces a Senate confirmation hearing amid a testy standoff between the president-elect and the spy community. Rep. Mike Pompeo, a four-term conservative Kansas Republican, is a member of the House intelligence committee and also served on the partisan committee to investigate the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

Trumpa s CIA choice to be questioned amid Russia hacking fury

Donald Trump’s pick to run the CIA faces a Senate confirmation hearing amid a testy standoff between the president-elect and the spy community. Congressman Mike Pompeo is a member of the House intelligence committee and served on the committee to investigate the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

Trumpa s choices for top Cabinet posts face big tests this week

Senate confirmation hearings this week for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for top jobs – from secretary of state to attorney general – should provide a test of his ability to work with fellow Republicans in Congress to enact his agenda. Trump’s challenge is to ensure the 100-member Senate’s 52 Republicans stick together to confirm his Cabinet choices to provide a smooth transition to power when the real estate magnate takes over from Democratic President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. A total of seven confirmation hearings are expected this week, starting on Tuesday with hearings for U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions on his bid to become attorney general and a session for retired Gen.

Dem rep unsure why Trump has ‘taken a shine’ to Assange

“I watched him for a long time and look, I think he is a dangerous guy,” Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House NSA and Cybersecurity Subcommittee, said of Assange in an interview with John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York. “He is dedicated to the idea that there shouldn’t be secrets — and that might be an interesting philosophical point — but he doesn’t seem to worry too much about Russian secrets or Chinese secrets.

Several Trump picks’ ethics reviews incomplete

Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices have not completed a full review to avoid conflicts of interest, the government’s ethics office says, even as Republican senators move quickly to hold at least nine confirmation hearings next week. In a letter to Senate leaders, the director of the Office of Government Ethics described the current status of several nominees, some of whom are billionaires and millionaires, in the ethics process and expressed concern about the lack of ethics reviews just days from committee hearings.

Ethics reviews incomplete for several Trump Cabinet choices

In this Dec. 12, 2016, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The government’s ethics office says several of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices have not completed a review to avoid conflicts of interest even as Senate Republicans move rapidly to hold at least nine confirmation hearings next week.

Pressure’s on for Trump to make diplomats safer

Donald Trump hammered rival Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign for failing to prevent the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, when she was secretary of state. Soon he’ll be the one responsible for protecting America’s diplomats, but he’s offered little insight into how he’ll do that.

Trump’s path to a diplomatic nightmare

Donald Trump hammered rival Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign for failing to prevent the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, when she was secretary of state. Soon he’ll be the one responsible for protecting America’s diplomats, but he’s offered virtually no insight into how he’ll do that.