WASHINGTON -- The director of the CIA has lashed out at Wikileaks and its founder, accusing the organization of being a "hostile intelligence agency" that was used by Russian military intelligence to meddle in the U.S. presidential election.
Mike Pompeo made the comments April 13 in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Pompeo's remarks echoed longstanding thinking among most U.S. lawmakers and policymakers about Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange.
During last year's election campaign, the organization leaked e-mails from Democratic Party officials and from the campaign chief for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
U.S. intelligence agencies in January said the hacks were intended to harm Clinton and benefit Donald Trump, who ultimately won the presidency.
U.S. officials accused the Russian military intelligence agency, GRU, and Russia's leading security agency, the FSB, of being involved in cyberintrusions and other election-year interference.
Trump, for his part, embraced Wikileaks during the campaign, saying he was glad that it released Clinton's e-mails.
