The head of the State Department said that information about possible “Ukrainian interference” in the elections should be thoroughly investigated.
The head of the US diplomatic Department refused to rule out suggestions that Ukraine, not Russia, was behind the interference in the US presidential election in 2016.
Despite the conclusions reached by us intelligence agencies-according to the results of these investigations, it was about Russian interference – Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said that any information about possible attempts by Ukraine to interfere in the election deserves attention.
“…If there is information that any country interfered in the American elections, we have not just the right but the duty to investigate, ” Pompeo said, speaking to reporters at a press briefing at the State Department.
“America must do everything possible to protect our elections,” the Secretary of state added.
US intelligence officials contacted declined to comment on Pompeo’s statement. At the same time, they recalled the results of previous investigations, according to which Russia tried to interfere in the elections.
“Russia’s goal was to undermine public confidence in the democratic processes in the United States, to denigrate Clinton and prevent her election,” reads, in part, the declassified intelligence community report, which was published in January 2017. It also says, “Putin and the Russian government sought as much as possible to help the election of Trump.”
The conclusions reached by the intelligence community were confirmed by the investigation into Russian interference conducted by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.
However, Pompeo, who before joining the state Department headed the CIA, refused to reject completely the allegations of possible interference by Ukraine.
“I worked as Director of the CIA in the first year and a half of the current administration. I can assure you that many countries have actively tried to intervene, trying to harm American democracy,” the Secretary of state said.
