美国国务卿麦克·庞贝周二未能推翻一个不可信但反复出现的阴谋论，即干涉2016年美国大选的是乌克兰，而不是俄罗斯。
“任何时候，只要有信息表明任何国家扰乱了美国的选举，我们不仅有权利，而且有义务确保我们追查到底，”他在国务院对记者说。“不管是谁——顺便说一句，这不仅仅是...国家行为者，也有非国家行为者，他们的行为方式与我们保护选举的努力极不一致——美国应该不遗余力。”
唐纳德·特朗普总统和共和党人推动了被揭穿的说法，即乌克兰应对2016年黑掉民主党全国委员会的电子邮件负责，而弹劾调查的焦点是特朗普决定停止向乌克兰提供外国军事援助，以此向该国施压，要求其进行有利于其政治利益的调查。
美国情报机构2017年结束俄罗斯应对2016年美国选举中的选举干涉负责，前特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒和专家警告说，他们的努力仍在继续。
庞贝强调了他在特朗普总统任期早期担任中央情报局局长的职位，他说，“有许多国家积极参与并试图破坏美国的民主。”
10月21日，在DC华盛顿白宫举行的内阁会议上，唐纳德·特朗普总统(左)在美国国务卿麦克·庞贝旁边讲话。
“因此，无论是哪个国家，我们掌握的信息表明，可能有人干涉或试图干涉我们的选举，我们都有义务确保美国人民能够去投票箱投票，投票的方式不会受到这些试图破坏我们西方民主价值观的恶意行为者的影响，”他说。
众议员唐·拜尔在接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时表示，庞贝评论道，国务卿“非常小心，不要惹恼他的老板”...我认为迈克尽量不要用最巧妙的方式回答这个问题。”
庞贝还回避了一个问题，即他是否参与了特朗普的私人律师鲁迪·朱利安尼(Rudy Giuliani)领导的罢免前美国驻乌克兰大使玛丽·约瓦诺维奇(Marie Yovanovitch)的竞选。据在弹劾听证会上作证的几位现任和前任政府官员称，这位职业外交官最近在弹劾听证会上作证，今年5月被从外交岗位召回，结束了朱利安尼涉嫌领导的诽谤运动。
美国国务院上周公布的大量文件显示，庞贝和朱利安尼在约瓦诺维奇被解除大使职务之前的几天里至少通了两次电话，这表明庞贝可能在她离职的情况上误导了国会。
“除此之外，我对乌克兰的调查没有什么可说的:我们继续遵守所有的法律要求——你看到我们发布了文件，我猜是上周吧。庞贝说:“我们将继续按照法律的要求，在适当的时候这样做，以便进行适当的监督。”。
庞贝没有遵从众议院的传票作证指控调查人员了解乌克兰丑闻。特朗普周二早上在推特上写道，他“实际上希望”庞贝这样的政府官员出庭作证。
庞贝说:“时机成熟时，一切好事都会发生。”。
“在更大的一系列问题上，我们对乌克兰有一个非常明确的政策，我们成功地执行了它，”他补充说。
庞贝还表示，乌克兰“仍然面临许多挑战”，比如在该国有争议的东巴斯地区的俄罗斯人。奥巴马表示，政府正“努力确保我们克服挑战”，解决乌克兰过去面临的腐败问题。
POMPEO DECLINES TO DEBUNK UKRAINE ELECTION MEDDLING CONSPIRACY, SAYS 'AMERICA SHOULD LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED'
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo failed Tuesday to quash a discredited yet repeated conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine—not Russia—that meddled in the 2016 U.S. election.
"Anytime there is information that indicates that any country has messed with American elections, we not only have a right, but a duty to make sure we chase that down," he said, speaking to reporters at the State Department. "Whomever it is—by the way, it's not just...state actors, there are non-state actors, too, who are out there acting in ways that are deeply inconsistent with what we're trying to do to protect our elections—America should leave no stone unturned."
President Donald Trump and Republicans have pushed the debunked narrative that Ukraine was responsible for the hack of Democratic National Committee emails in 2016 while the impeachment inquiry has centered on Trump's decision to withhold foreign military aid to Ukraine in an effort to pressure the country to conduct investigations that would benefit him politically.
U.S. intelligence community agencies concluded in 2017 that Russia was responsible for 2016 election interference in America's election, and former special counsel Robert Mueller and experts have warned their efforts are ongoing.
Pompeo, who highlighted his former position as CIA director in the early stages of Trump's presidency, said there "were many countries that were actively engaged and trying to undermine American democracy."
President Donald Trump(L) speaks next to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on October 21 in Washington,DC.
"So, whatever nation it is that we have information that so much as suggests that there might have been interference, or an effort to interfere in our elections, we have an obligation to make sure that the American people get to go to the ballot box, cast their ballots in a way that is unimpacted by these malevolent actors trying to undermine our Western Democratic values," he said.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) suggested on CNN following Pompeo's remarks that the secretary of state "was being very careful not to upset his boss... I think Mike was trying not to answer the question in the most artful way he could."
Pompeo also sidestepped a question about whether he was involved in the campaign led by Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, to oust former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. The career diplomat, who recently testified at the impeachment hearings, was recalled from her foreign post in May, capping off a smear campaign Giuliani is alleged to have led, according to several current and former administration officials who've testified in the impeachment hearings.
A trove of documents released last week by the State Department showed that Pompeo and Giuliani spoke by phone at least twice in the days leading up to Yovanovitch's removal as ambassador, suggesting Pompeo may have misled Congress on the circumstances surrounding her departure.
"I don't have much to say with respect to the Ukraine investigation other than this: We're continuing to comply with all the legal requirements—you saw we released documents, I guess it was last week now. We'll continue to do that as required by law and as appropriate, so that the appropriate oversight can be conducted," Pompeo said.
Pompeo has not complied with a House subpoena to testify to impeachment investigators for his knowledge involving the Ukraine scandal. In a tweet Tuesday morning, Trump wrote he'd "actually like" administration officials like Pompeo to testify.
"When the time is right, all good things happen," Pompeo said.
"With respect to the larger set of issues, we had a very clear policy with respect to Ukraine, and we executed it successfully," he added.
Pompeo also said there "are still many challenges" that remain with Ukraine, such as Russians in the disputed Donbass region of the country. The administration is "working to make sure that we move through the challenges" with corruption that Ukraine has faced in the past, the secretary said.
