CIA Director Mike Pompeo's comments Thursday that Russian interference in the 2016 election was nothing new marked a "flippant answer for a serious situation," former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said Friday.
"I worked in the government for five years and I don't recall reading an intelligence report about Russian interference in the previous elections," McFaul told MSNBC'S "Morning Joe" program. "Maybe he should clarify what he meant by that."
Pompeo, answering questions at a national security forum in Aspen, Colo., said Russia has been meddling in elections, including, "the one before that and the one before that," instead of just 2016. Further, he said, Russia has "no intention of backing off."
"There may be something on his mind, but to somehow suggest that what happened in 2016 is just standard operating procedure is flatly incorrect," McFaul said during a panel discussion on the show.
Meanwhile, McFaul said he believes the main, two-hour meeting with Trump and Putin showed tactical mistakes on the part of the president.
"He should have had a national security adviser in the room," McFaul said. 'That's standard protocol . . . just remember, Putin has been doing this for 17 years. This is not his first rodeo. This is not his first president."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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