Congressman Krishnamoorthi Urges CIA Director Pompeo To Publicly Commit To Using $120 Million Designated To Fight Russian Meddling That Tillerson Failed To Spend
WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has called upon CIA Director Mike Pompeo to publicly commit to using the $120 million Congress allotted for the State Department to combat Russian hacking and foreign propaganda efforts if confirmed as Secretary of State. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that none of the funding had been spent.
A signed copy of Congressman Krishnamoorthi's letter is viewable here and the text follows.
March 15, 2018
Director Michael Pompeo
Central Intelligence Agency
930 Dolly Madison Blvd.
McClean, VA 22101
Dear Director Pompeo:
Congratulations on your nomination to be our 70th Secretary of State. As you prepare for the upcoming confirmation hearings in the Senate, I respectfully ask that you publicly commit to using the $120 million provided by Congress to combat Russian hacking and foreign propaganda in American elections.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that the State Department has failed to use any of the $120 million appropriated by Congress to counter efforts by Russian and other foreign entities to influence American elections and sow distrust in democratic governments[1]. These funds were intended to support the Global Engagement Center's work to counter Russia's online propaganda. As a result of the State Department's ongoing failure to take this threat seriously, none of the 23 analysts currently employed speak Russian and the Department has been unable to hire computer experts necessary to track foreign propaganda[2]. Through this malpractice, the State Department has left our country and our elections vulnerable to propaganda from a multitude of sources.
Without drastic changes the Center will remain unable to accomplish its mission of assessing foreign propaganda efforts and effectively countering them. Should you be confirmed, it is vital that you remedy this past decision and invest these funds as Congress allocated them.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Member of Congress