CIA Director Mike Pompeo told Sen. Chuck Schumer in a letter that his meetings with Russian intelligence counterparts focused on anti-terrorism cooperation. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Pompeo on meetings with Russians: 'We vigorously defend America in these encounters'

CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday pushed back Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's suggestion that Russian intelligence officials' visit to the United States last week may have played a role in the Trump administration's move to hold off on new sanctions against Moscow.

Pompeo told Schumer in a letter that his meetings with Russian intelligence counterparts focused on anti-terrorism cooperation and followed similar talks held by previous administrations in both parties. Three top Russian intelligence officials held U.S. meetings last week — Alexander Bortnikov, Sergey Naryshkin, and Igor Korobov — a notably high-level presence to some observers of U.S.-Russia relations.


Pompeo did not address Schumer's question about whether sanctions against Russia were discussed at his meeting with the Russian officials, which took place days before the Trump administration opted to forestall new penalties that Congress called for in bipartisan legislation last year.

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"When those meetings take place, you and the American people should rest assured that we cover very difficult subjects in which American and Russian interests do not align," Pompeo wrote to Schumer.

"Neither side is bashful about raising concerns relating to our intelligence relationships and the interests of our respective nations. We vigorously defend America in these encounters and pull no punches — we never will."

Schumer responded to the letter by pointing to the CIA chief's omission of any language addressing whether the U.S. sanctions program against Moscow came up at his meeting with the Russians.

"If this administration is ignoring sanctions, that’s very serious," the New York Democrat said in a statement. "Director Pompeo’s refusal to answer that question is deeply troubling."

Pompeo told the BBC on Tuesday that "I have every expectation" of Russian attempts to disrupt the 2018 congressional elections, after a documented meddling campaign in 2016. President Donald Trump has downplayed those Russian efforts.

Bortnikov is Federal Security Service chief for Russian President Vladimir Putin's government, while Naryshkin leads Putin's Foreign Intelligence Service and Korobov helms the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU. It remains unclear whether Korobov attended a meeting with Pompeo.

Naryshkin and Korobov, but not Bortnikov, are listed on the sanctions roster maintained by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Bortnikov traveled to Washington for a meeting on countering extremism hosted by the Obama administration in 2015, according to multiple reports.

