Pompeo confirmation hearing underway in Washington

A 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded that the techniques, decried as torture by many lawmakers and human rights experts, produced no significant intelligence.

It remains to be seen how Pompeo will deal with such disagreements when Trump is in the Oval Office.

Congressman Mike Pompeo is a member of the House intelligence committee and served on the committee to investigate the deadly attack on a USA diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

According to his sworn testimony today, however, Pompeo said he would defy such an order, setting up a potential showdown in the coming administration. The programs being used were within the law, within the Constitution, and conducted with the full knowledge of Sen.

That prompted a sharp rebuke from Sen. On Wednesday, he finally said he “thinks” the Russians were behind the election hacks and information leaks.

The hearing was not without humor, either, as Arizona Republican John McCain, a graduate of the Naval Academy, joked that Pompeo’s education was “very poor” because he was a graduate of West Point.

“The problem is you can’t assure us that HUD money – not of $10 varieties, but of multimillion-dollar varieties – will not end up in the president-elect’s pockets”, Warren said.

“While as a member of Congress I opposed the Iran deal, if confirmed, my role will change“, Pompeo said, noting his leadership in fighting to kill the deal during congressional debate in 2015.

“This is the most complicated threat environment the United States has faced in recent memory”, Pompeo plans to say, according to excerpts of his speech released ahead of time.

Pompeo said there is an obligation for the government to use publicly available information – like social media postings – to prevent terrorist attacks. When repeatedly asked by California senator Kamala Harris whether he acknowledges NASA’s conclusion that 97% of actively peer-reviewed academics believe in climate change, Pompeo attempted some clumsy dodges. Pompeo, who once worked in the oil and gas industry, has expressed skepticism in the past about the science behind global warming.

“I will make a long statement about North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, talking about the fact that many countries are not paying their fair share”, he said during a televised speech. The threat to national security posed by Russian Federation and its autocratic leader, Vladimir Putin. Trump has dismissed that analysis and questioned the agency’s credibility.

Pompeo broke with Trump on other matters.

“Can you commit to me that your personal views on this issue will remain your personal views and will not impact internal policies you put in place at the Central Intelligence Agency?” she asked.

It was an appropriate, if inauspicious, beginning to Thursday’s confirmation hearing for Mike Pompeo that the lights suddenly went out during opening statements.

“You have my commitment”, Pompeo said.