POOL
Washington - 12 April 2018
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Ben Cardin, (D) Maryland:
"We're running very close to a deadline on certification. What is your view - is it better to pull out of an agreement that Iran is in compliance with if we can't fix it or is it better to stay in the agreement? Yes or No?"
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Nominee / CIA Director:
"Senator, it's not a yes or no question because it's a hypothetical. We're not at that point."
UPSOUND (English) Sen. Ben Cardin, (D) Maryland:
"The president has to certify on May the 12th."
SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Nominee / CIA Director:
"Yes, sir, that's yet almost a month away. It depends - clearly, if we're close, imagine for them-just as a hypothetical matter, imagine we're close to achieving the fix that the president has asked the State Department to achieve. If we're close, if there is some opportunity -"
UPSOUND (English) Sen. Ben Cardin, (D) Maryland:
"You pull out if we're close?"
SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Nominee / CIA Director:
"In the event that we conclude that we can't fix this deal, that these serious shortcomings that you, Senator Cardin, yourself, have identified, then the president is going to be given best advice, including by me. And if there's no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we do our level best to work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and a better deal."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Ben Cardin, (D) Maryland:
"Are you in favor of regime change in North Korea?"
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Nominee / CIA Director:
"Senator, I have never advocated for regime change. I have all along-"
UPSOUND (English) Sen. Ben Cardin, (D) Maryland:
"It's a simple question. So you're not - you don't believe-"
SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Nominee / CIA Director:
"I'm happy to answer today that I'm not advocating for regime change. Yes, senator."
5. UPSOUND (English) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, (D) New Hampshire:
"Do you think special counsel Mueller's investigation is a witch hunt?"
6. UPSOUND (English) Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Nominee / CIA Director:
"Ma'am, I'm going to not speak about any of the three investigations that I have been a participant in today."
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, (D) New Hampshire:
"It's hard for me to understand how we can have a secretary of state who is able to go to Russia and come to Congress and talk about the challenges and the threats that Russia faces to our democracy, when we have this conflicting position from the president of the United States who you would work for."
++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASH++
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chris Coons, (D) Delaware:
"I'm convinced that if the president were to fire the special counsel or to interfere with this investigation by firing Rod Rosenstein with an intention to then interfere with and shut down this investigation, that it would put the rule of law genuinely at risk. If that were the case and if that happened, would you resign your post as secretary of state in order to demonstrate that we are a nation of laws not of men?"
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Nominee / CIA Director:
"Senator, I haven't given that question any thought - my instincts tell me no. My instincts tell me that my obligation to continue to serve as America's senior diplomat will be more important at increased times of political domestic turmoil. We've seen this in America before, right? This wouldn't be the first time there's been enormous political turmoil. My recollection of the history is that previous secretaries of state stayed the course, continued to do their work, continued to do the requirements - statutory and constitutional that they had. Having not given it a great deal of thought, I'm confident that that's the path that I would take."
