CIA Director Mike Pomepo says US President Donald Trump has “difficult questions” for the agency and is an “avid consumer” of intelligence.
Trump has been blamed for pushing back against reports of Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
“I cannot imagine a statement that is any more false than one that would attribute President Trump of not being interested in the intelligence community. He is an avid consumer of the products the CIA provides,” the head of the CIA said in an interview aired Saturday on MSNBC. “President Trump is incredibly demanding of the intelligence community (and) asks incredibly difficult questions.”
Trump is particularly concerned about what the US refers to as North Korea’s nuclear threat, Pompeo said in his first media interview since his appointment at the helm of the CIA.
“I hardly ever escape a day at the White House without the president asking me about North Korea and how America is going to respond," he said during the interview, held at CIA headquarters. “It’s very much at the top of his mind."
Pompeo further commented on the issue of leaks, which has further harmed the American intelligence community recently.
“There have been failures… You have not only nation states trying to steal our stuff but ... folks like Wikileaks,” asserted the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. “We and all of President Trump’s government are focused on stopping leaks.”
He made the comments as the Republican president was being investigated for possible collusion with Russia, an allegation dismissed by both Trump and the Kremlin.
In a declassified report released in January, the intelligence community concluded that Russia helped with the New York billionaire’s campaign effort ahead of winning the White House.