Mike Pompeo: US will fight Russian interference in 2018 elections

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies at a hearing of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, on May 23, 2018. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
Updated 23 May 2018
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Mike Pompeo: US will fight Russian interference in 2018 elections

  • Secretary of State says the Trump administration will not tolerate Russian interference
  • Said the US had not yet been able to establish “effective deterrence” to halt them

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Trump administration will not tolerate Russian interference in the 2018 congressional midterm elections.
Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the administration will take “appropriate countermeasures” to fight what he called “continued efforts” by Russia to meddle in November’s vote. He did not elaborate on the Russian interference or say what the countermeasures would be but said there was much more work to be done to stop Russia’s efforts.
He said the US had not yet been able to establish “effective deterrence” to halt them.
The top-ranking Democrat on the committee, Eliot Engel, however, contended that the Trump administration “is giving Russia a pass” because Russian President Vladimir Putin “supported President Trump over Hillary Clinton” in the 2016 presidential election.


US VP says Venezuela can only sell oil if it serves US interests

Updated 08 January 2026
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US VP says Venezuela can only sell oil if it serves US interests

  • The United States controls Venezuela’s ‍purse ‍strings, Vance said

WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance, in remarks ​due to air later on Wednesday, said Venezuela can only sell its oil if it serves the interests ‌of the ‌United States.
Vance ‌told ⁠Fox ​News’ “Jesse ‌Waters Primetime” show that the United States — which carried out strikes against the South American country and ⁠captured its president over ‌the week — controls Venezuela’s ‍purse ‍strings.
“We control the ‍energy resources, and we tell the regime, you’re allowed to sell the ​oil so long as you serve ⁠America’s national interest, you’re not allowed to sell it if you can’t serve America’s national interest,” Vance said.
Excerpts of the interview were released before it aired.