LISTEN: Mike Pompeo Tells Mark Levin Russia is ‘Pretty Clearly’ Behind Massive Cyberattack on U.S. Gov’t
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday told conservative talk host Mark Levin that Russia was “pretty clearly” behind the massive cyberattack that former White House cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke this week called “the largest espionage attack in history.”
On his Westwood One radio show, Levin interviewed Pompeo about national security issues and more, and specifically about both China and Russia. On the topic the cyberattack, Pompeo was clear: “I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.”
“This was a very significant effort,” he added of the massive attack. Pompeo is the first official to publicly and specifically pin the cyberattack on Russia, the New York Times notes.
Mr. Pompeo is the first member of the Trump administration to publicly link the Kremlin to the cyberattack, which used a variety of sophisticated tools to infiltrate dozens of government and private systems, including nuclear laboratories, the Pentagon, and the Treasury and Commerce Departments.
Although he didn’t offer too much detail, his remarks are extremely significant, particularly in light of President Trump’s effort this morning at defending Russia against this charge and instead blaming China. In the interview, both Levin and Pompeo agreed that it is not necessary to choose between the two in naming enemies of the nation.
Listen to the clip above, via The Mark Levin Show, or the whole interview here.
