Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) during an interview on Sunday for her recent remarks praising communist China, saying that her comments undermine American national security interests.
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo brought up Feinstein’s remarks during “Sunday Morning Futures,” noting that Feinstein had praised China as growing into a “respectable nation.”
“Why do some in Congress not say the same thing that you have been saying, that this administration has been communicating?” Bartiromo asked. “There doesn’t seem to be an all-out agreement within the Congress on this.”
“Maria, I saw the statement from Senator Feinstein. I found it perplexing,” Pompeo responded. “I saw statements from senior American CEOs of the big tech companies this week saying they hadn’t heard or seen about intellectual property theft in the United States. That’s — that’s crazy talk.”
Pompeo was referring to remarks several tech CEOs made during a congressional hearing last week where Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was the only CEO that acknowledged that China steals technology from U.S. firms.
“I mean, I was particularly struck by Dianne Feinstein, because didn’t she have a driver for 20 years that we ended up finding out was a Chinese spy?” Bartiromo later pressed.
“You will recall, she meets with some frequency with Foreign Minister Zarif there too,” Pompeo responded. “There’s something not quite right.”
“I mean, and this is not consistent — this is not consistent with America’s national security,” Pompeo continued. “In either case, these are adversaries that intend harm for the citizens of her state of California. And I wish that she would not engage in this kind of rhetoric and these kind of meetings that undermine America’s efforts.”
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PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:
FOX NEWS HOST MARIA BARTIROMO: Well, I mean, this week, Dianne Feinstein praised China as a respectable nation, she said.
Why do some in Congress not say the same thing that you have been saying, that this administration has been communicating? There doesn’t seem to be an all-out agreement within the Congress on this.
SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO: Maria, I saw the statement from Senator Feinstein. I found it perplexing.
I saw statements from senior American CEOs of the big tech companies this week saying they hadn’t heard or seen about intellectual property theft in the United States. That’s — that’s crazy talk.
Here’s the good news. The good news is, we’re getting nearly every member of Congress aligned along the administration’s policies on China. When we voted about Hong Kong freedom, there were over 400 votes in the House and nearly every vote in the Senate. The same with respect to what’s taking place in Western China, the human rights violations.
I think the tide is turning, I think not only here in the United States, but all across the world. The threat from the Chinese Communist Party is becoming clearer and clearer. And nations that are like-minded all across the world are beginning to come together to rebalance, to push back against this, to protect our freedom and democracy.
I talked at the Nixon Library about this being a battle not between the United States and China, but between authoritarianism and freedom. That’s the fight the world needs to be engaged in. I hope we get every member of Congress on board on the side of freedom.
BARTIROMO: I mean, I was particularly struck by Dianne Feinstein, because didn’t she have a driver for 20 years that we ended up finding out was a Chinese spy?
POMPEO: We did. You will recall, she meets with some frequency with Foreign Minister Zarif there too. There’s something not quite right.
BARTIROMO: Mm-hmm. Well, we will certainly keep watching that.
POMPEO: I mean, and this is not consistent — this is not consistent with America’s national security.
In either case, these are adversaries that intend harm for the citizens of her state of California. And I wish that she would not engage in this kind of rhetoric and these kind of meetings that undermine America’s efforts.