This archive report was first published on 6 October 2019.
Pompeo Defends Trump's Ukraine Conspiracy Theory ¶
Published on October 6, 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended the Trump administration's request for Ukraine to investigate claims of election interference in the 2016 US presidential campaign, despite the claims being widely debunked.
In comments made in Athens, Greece, Pompeo said it was the 'duty' of the Trump administration to pursue whether efforts to tamper in the United States election were rooted in Ukraine, even though the American intelligence agencies have long concluded Russia was to blame.
'It is not only appropriate, but it is our duty to investigate if we think there was interference in the election of 2016,' Pompeo said. 'I think everyone recognizes that governments have an obligation — indeed, a duty — to ensure that elections happen with integrity, without interference from any government, whether that's the Ukrainian government or any other.'
Pompeo's comments come as the Trump administration faces increasing scrutiny over its handling of the Ukraine situation, including the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump asked Zelensky to investigate claims of Ukrainian election meddling in 2016.
However, American intelligence officials and prosecutors have cited ample evidence that it was Russia that stole the emails to embarrass Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic challenger in 2016.
Earlier this week, Kurt D. Volker, the Trump administration's special envoy to Ukraine, testified in a closed-door hearing that he became aware of an 'emerging negative narrative' earlier this year that some Ukrainians tried to influence the 2016 vote in the United States to help Clinton.
Volker said the claim was fueled by Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine's top prosecutor, who had also investigated a Ukrainian energy company that had employed Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Volker described the conspiracy theories as self-serving, and designed to make Lutsenko appear valuable to the United States.
Mr. Pompeo also appeared to try to shift blame for the election interference — which has overshadowed Mr. Trump and his government since taking office — onto the Obama administration.
'I only wish that the previous administration had protected our elections back in 2016,' he told journalists. 'You'll recall that the interference that took place took place under the previous administration.'
