Pompeo to testify in Senate panel post Trump-Putin summit

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the coming week to discuss President Trump's recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland.

Pompeo will testify before the committee in open session on July 25, reported the Hill.

Even though Pompeo's appearance comes following the Helsinki summit, he was first asked to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Earlier on Monday, Trump endorsed Putin's stance on Russia's non-involvement in the 2016 US presidential election, insisting that he ran a clean campaign.

Addressing a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki after their summit, Trump said that there was "zero collusion" and that he ran a "clean campaign."

The US President also mentioned that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign was "a disaster for our country," while also saying that it had negatively impacted US-Russia relations.

Trump received massive backlash over his comments during the conference with Putin, with former Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel also saying that Trump had "failed America today."
While former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper branded the news conference as "truly unbelievable," former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan called Trump's comments as "nothing short of treasonous."

Later, Trump appeared to backtrack on his remarks on Tuesday by saying that he has "great confidence" in his people from the intelligence community.

(ANI)