CIA/MIKE POMPEO/RUSSIA: “CIA Director Mike Pompeo recently met with his Russian counterparts when they traveled to the US, according to US ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman.
Russian media is reporting those who met with Pompeo may have included the country’s sanctioned spy chief, Sergey Naryshkin.
Talks between top US and Russian intelligence officials occurred just days before Pompeo once again warned that Russia will attempt to meddle in the 2018 US midterm elections and the Trump administration released a sweeping list of prominent Russian political and business figures in defiance of Moscow.
While neither US nor Russian officials explicitly said that Pompeo and Naryshkin met, both sides confirmed that talks occurred between intelligence counterparts and Russia’s US ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, said that Naryshkin made a trip to the US for discussions…
Timothy Barrett — a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — responded to CNN’s request for comment with the following statement: ‘While we do not discuss the schedules of US intelligence leaders, rest assured that any interaction with foreign intelligence agencies would have been conducted in accordance with US law and in consultation with appropriate departments and agencies.’
Both US and Russian officials indicated that the discussions had centered on cooperative efforts to combat terrorism, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding to know the details.”
-Zachary Cohen, “CIA director Pompeo met top Russian spies,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Jan. 31, 2018 06:51am