Allegations over Russia's electoral influence operation are likely to be the focus Thursday of much of the questioning of Rep. Mike Pompeo. | AP Photo Pompeo expected to be grilled on CIA independence

As Rep. Mike Pompeo appears at his confirmation hearing for CIA director Thursday, senators will be taking measure of his skills as a peacemaker.

At issue is not Pompeo's ability to help resolve global conflicts, but whether he can end the ongoing war of words between his boss and the vaunted U.S. spy agency.


The conservative Kansas lawmaker will be going before the Senate Intelligence Committee just one day after President-elect Donald Trump accused the U.S. intelligence apparatus of targeting him in a manner reminiscent of the Nazis.

"Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to 'leak' into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?" Trump tweeted Wednesday, apparently referring to unverified, salacious intelligence about him that made it into a recent classified briefing on Russian meddling in U.S. politics. That fact was reported by Tuesday CNN, leaking part of the dubious intelligence dossier on to be published online by BuzzFeed. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Wednesday night expressed "profound dismay" over the leak.

Allegations that Russia carried out a hacking campaign aimed at improving Trump's electoral chances have led to an unprecedented level of public acrimony that is likely to be the focus Thursday of much of the questioning of Pompeo.

With Trump only recently and tepidly accepting U.S. intelligence claims that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic committees and operatives, Democrats will be seeking to establish whether Pompeo believes the CIA's conclusions on the issue or whether he shares some of Trump's skepticism.

Pompeo seems likely to take a relatively hard line toward Russia, because that's what he's done as a Congressman from Kansas since 2011 and a member of the House Intelligence Committee since 2013.

While Trump has downplayed Russia's annexation of Crimea two years ago, Pompeo blasted the move as “unacceptable” and he advocated economic sanctions as a response. He also urged a build-up of U.S. and allied military forces in Europe to deter further Russian aggression.

"I think we have a lot to worry about with Vladimir Putin,” Pompeo said an interview with a Kansas public affairs TV show in 2014. “He sees the capacity to expand his empire with nearly no cost. ... The West has an obligation to do the things we can."

"We should exploit [Putin's] weaknesses to keep him in his box," Pompeo added.

Democrats are also expected to stress CIA's job to provide unbiased, impartial intelligence to the president and other decision-makers. Some of Pompeo's bombast on national security issues such as Iran and Benghazi could come back to haunt him, as senators ask whether he can really put those positions aside and then offer a detached assessment of global hot spots so others can decide what policies to pursue.

Pompeo, a prominent congressional skeptic of the Obama administration’s pact with Tehran, has advocated unwinding the deal to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for a halt to their reported nuclear weapons program.

“I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.” Pompeo tweeted on Nov. 17 –just one day before he was named as Trump’s CIA nominee.

Pompeo's aggressive stance on the issue alarms some Democrats, who worry he’ll have a tendency to skew intelligence reports on whether Iran is complying with the deal.

Pompeo is also expected to face skepticism from Democrats over an addendum he wrote to the House Benghazi Committee report last year—a supplement that blasted Hillary Clinton in terms more strident than the harshly-critical central findings of the GOP-led panel.

"When faced with a dire situation in Libya, Secretary Clinton had an obligation to act. ... Yet, she failed to lead,” a 51-page statement of "additional views" signed solely by Pompeo and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said.

If Democrats raise fears that Pompeo may be too partisan or beholden to Trump, the GOP has a ready-made answer: the current CIA director, John Brennan, came right out of the White House. He had been a close aide and counterterrorism adviser to Obama for four years before being tapped for the CIA chief's post in 2013.

Pompeo's defenders may also counter that he appears to have Brennan's confidence. The two men have gotten to know each other somewhat as a result of Pompeo's service on the House intelligence panel.

"He is somebody who, when I've spoken to him, he's excited, he's humbled by the opportunity, he recognizes that this is a tremendous organization and he would consider it a great, great honor to have the opportunity to lead the women and men of CIA," Brennan told NPR last month.

Brennan acknowledged significant political differences with Pompeo, but said he thinks the lawmaker understands the CIA director's role is not that of a bomb-thrower.

"I think he certainly recognizes the difference between being a congressman from Kansas and being the director of CIA," Brennan said in the interview. "He recognizes that if he has the great honor to raise his right hand and swear an oath of allegiance to his country as CIA director, that he has statutory responsibilities that he needs to carry out to the best of his ability, and that is to make sure that the CIA and the director of CIA fulfills their apolitical, nonpartisan role to make sure they carry out the CIA's mission."

