Senator rubio i understand you daughter. Wife and pa trish after this is as much your day and we are grateful for the encouragement in helping him to get this day and this is a professional achievement that you should take pride in. Our goal is to enable this committee to have thoughtful consideration to be the next inspector germ of the c. A. And he has responded to questions and this morning, members will be able to ask additional questions they have and hear from the nominee. Mr. Thomson is a law degree in 198 and spent 23 years as a federal prosecutor for the department of justice for the Eastern District of louisiana. Nd during his time at d. O. J. And special assignment with the National Security agency. And he has been in private practice in new orleans where he has had tried and litigated at the a. M. Ate. Years as add junk professor and giving back. Mr. Tom somebody you have been asked. They will irmed, conduct audits, investigations and reviews of c. I. A. Programs and operations. You will ensure that the d. I. A. Carries its mandate accountable and always according to the law. The mandate will require transparency and responsive from you and your office. And will ask you difficult questions and we ask you timely answers. At the same time, we want you to feel free to come to the committee to situations that warrant our attention and partnership. I look forward to hearing you from today to support your nomination and ensuring its nomination and i thank you for your years of service to our country and willingness and we look forward to your testimony and i recognize the vice chairman. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And welcome, mr. Thomson and good to kind of see you again in is large room and let me add congratulations to serve as inspector germ of the c. I. A. The job is critical to the effective operation of any agency, should you be confirmed, you will hold one of the most vital roles in the c. I. A. Because independent, independent and impartial inspectors germ help to ensure there is robust oversight that undertakes its most important and Effective Work in see crease si. We all know that the c. I. A. Inspector general is mandated to report not only to the c. I. A. Director but to this committee and made accountable to this congress. This is necessary to conduct robust oversight of the c. I. A. And be made aware of any deficiencies. This committee relies upon the inspectors germ of the intelligence agencies to ensure that the organizations are using taxpayer dollars wisely and conducting it is in the rule and protecting whistleblowers who report waste, fraud and abuse. What we have seen from this president convinces that the independence of the inspectors germ is under grave threat. We have seen the president attack the brave men and women of the i. C. Because they were doing war americans expected them to do telling truth to power. This is because this president , the truth is very unwelcomed and its bearers. D. N. A. Coates fired. D. N. I. On fired, acting mcwire fired. And fired for no reason for doing his job and reporting to congress as was legally mandated to do, reporting the serious complaints of a wiffle blower. Unform, we have seen this administration go after independent inspectors germ, at the state department, h. H. S. , defense department, who have issued reports unwelcomed in the white house or undertook investigations that were embarrassing to the president and his allies. This is precisely why we have inspectors general. No many like to be called in front of you. But your independence and dog he dness help keep waste, fraud and abuse in check. Why can we trust you to be independent and how you go about your responsibilities, how we ensure the men and women of the in they bring forward a complaint using legitimate channels they will be protected. What are your red lines if you become aware of abuse or asked to undertake actions that are not in keeping with what i hope will be crour expectations and our expectations of you. You will be the first Senate Confirmed i. G. At the c. I. A. And you will have a difficult job to ensure whistleblowers and take over an office that has been vacant. Thank you for being here today and for agreeing to serve in this critical role. I look forward tore todays discussion. I understand you will be having two senators. And there are a lot of important hearings that have occurred in these halls and senator contendy whose name is on the walls will e. Welcome home. We are always ready nor you, sir. Senator kennedy thank you, mr. Chairman. I never been in front of the intelligence kennedy. Im going to assume im being bugged, so i will choose my words carefully. Its a delight for me to introduce and recommend enthusiasmically and unconditionally mr. Peter thomson for this important post. I agree with so much with what senator warner said. We live in cynical times. People are correctly or incorrectly dont trust government. I understand that. I have been in and out of government for 25, 30 years and i always tell my constituents that on as bad as it looks on the outside, you ought to see it on the inside. And inspectors general help balance that, not only do they report impro bright. They address issues that. Just recently, i happened to sit on the Judiciary Committee and i was very proud of the work done by inspector germ horowitz at the Justice Department. Had it not been or germ horowitz, we would not have known about the abuses of the fisa processes at the f. B. I. , committed by a small group at the f. B. I. So this is an important job. Senator rubio did a soup pesh also welcoming peter and patricia and his daughter. Peter brings a unique background. And right now, he works at a law new called stonepigman in orleans. E have a lot of good ones in and they dont dummies and it doesnt take very long to call the roll. L holds the white collar defense practice and Information Security practices. He has been special assist tant to the chife advanced Network Operations at the National Security agency and served for years as an assistant United States attorney. Not just rtise in criminal defense but ex radition matters and foreign act and regulatory matters and administrative cases. S marco mentioned, he is a professor at tulane. But let me say a personal note before i conclude. Serious a mature and person. He is not an especially good politician but i dont think this is what this job requires. He is more than intellectual. He exercises power intelligently and nonemotionally. And he has extraordinarily able and good judgment and i think thats what we want in an Inspector General particularly at c. I. A. Its my pleasure to be here today and for what its worth, mr. Thomson has my highest possible recommendation. And i appreciate my time. Deep firsthand experience rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. His peers have attested to his competency and character. On may 1, 5 of his colleagues in louisiana Law Enforcement cited his high ethical standards, work ethic, legal competence and reputation for integrity. Peters career has overseen the use of Government Funds which makes him well suited. In the after mauth of Hurricane Katrina he worked on the task force to bring out the best in people and sacrifice in the midst of tragedy. However, some seek to take advantage of bad situations. Peter kept them accountable and prosecuted the first public Corruption Case following the disaster. Not content to serve in government, only in government, he took time to teach as well. E spent 20 years as add junk professor and mentored people and beth his personal and professional life and we hope to see in all of our Public Servants and i ask your support of my sfrend. Should you need further information, feel free to ontact me. Senator rubio that will be in our record. Before you proceed with your record, please stand and raise your right hand. [sworn] senator rubio you can be seated. I want to ask you the five standard questions that this committee pose he questions. They can be answered with a simple yes or no if you prefer. You agree to before the committee . If confirmed do you send officials from your office when invited. Do you agree to provide documents or other materials in order for it to carry out its legislative and oversight responsibilities . Will you ensure your office and staff provide materials to the committee when committed and agree and fullly brief all Intelligence Committees rather than only the chairman and vice chairman . R. Thompson yes, sir chairman rubio, vice chairman warner and members of the committee, i am honored to be here today as the president s nominee to be the inspector germ of the Central Intelligence agency. I would like to thank senators cassidy and john contendy for their kind words and i would like to thank President Trump and c. I. A. Director for the confidence they have placed in me with regard to this important position. Further, i am i appreciate and i am deeply grateful to those individuals who wrote or signed letters in support of my nomination and last but certainly not least joining me here today my dear wife patricia and my daughter and thank them for their patience and unwavering love and support throughout this process. Although i spent the majority of my career in u. S. Department of justice, i have always held a deep respect and profound admiration for the men and women of the c. I. A. And the important work they do in preempting threats to our nation. The c. I. A. Has the critical esponsibility of collecting, annualizing, evaluating timely to policy makers and consumers and as you know the c. I. A. Has the responsibility of conducting covert actions when necessary. I believe the officers who serve at the agency, including those who serve at the office of Inspector General, regardless of background, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of philosophical beliefs, are united at the core by a deep love of our country and strong desire and commitment to protect the American People. Deep me, it is truly a honor, one beyond words to be considered for such an important position within the c. I. A. And be given the opportunity if confirmed to lead the patriotic officers of the office of the Inspector General. Growing up in new orleans, i was pleased to have devoted and loving parents who taught me important values which are foundational requirements of an Inspector General. My mom grew up very poor, raised on the banks of the mississippi river. I grew up eating a lot of italian food and we called it the country. My mom had an exceptionally strong constitution and was known to fiercely right in the ace of wrong and taught me the how to pick my friends which had everything to do with character and the importance of Standing Firms in standing in ones quicks. I didnt know it then but she was teaching me how to spy truth to power. My father grew up poor. At age 21 following the attack on pearl harbor, he enlisted and was trained to be a heavy bomber pilot and he was in a b17 which is named old blood and guts and fighting the evils of his generation. He went to Tulane Law School with the help of g. I. And graduated with a high honor and became a successful attorney. My father taught me the same values as my mom. In me and nkinnled the rule of law and why it must be respected and without a doubt, my strong sense of patriotism derives from my fathers sacrifices during world news tonight war ii. I give you the American People and some insight as to how i will perform as inspector germ of the c. I. A. I feel the principles and values instelled in me by my parents, honesty, integ terrorist, patriotism, speaking truth to power, the rule of law and Standing Firm in one convictions together with ones faith and the American Public well. It is my belief that those important principles must guide the work of the inspector germs office. There is another requirement of he Inspector Generals office. It is independence. The i. F. s office must independently plan and execute all of its oversight work with regard to the agency. The c. I. A. Enabling statute requires it. Independence, in my view, means that the work of the Inspector General must be performed in an unbiased and impartial manner. Free of undue or inappropriate influences. By law, no one can force the Inspector General to alter its work product. Should i be confirmed, i can say with absolute confidence that the work that doing the work the i. G. In an unbiased and impartial manner will be my top priority. Although independence is crucial to the proper functioning of the office and essential to its integrity, the Inspector General must also strike a balance between that independence on one hand and on the other working cooperatively and productively with Agency Leadership and this committee. In my view, in addition to all of the i. G. s legal reporting requirements, a Collaborative Team approach within the agency and with Congress Working together to make the agency back is as important to the proper functioning of the Inspector General as is the requirement of independence. Even so, to be clear, the buck stops at the door of the i. G. Together, with my character and values, i believe my professional background and corresponding skill sets have prepared me for this position. During my 23year career with the u. S. Department of justice, i obtained broad investigative and prosecutorial experience handling a wide variety of cases including investigations involving fraud, National Security, violent crimes, domestic and International Drug trafficking, racketeering, and political corruption. I held the top secret security clearance for approximately 15 year which is allowed me to work on some sensitive matters. I also coordinated many Multiagency Task force investigations. I worked with a myriad of federal, state and local agencies including offices of Inspector General and countless confidential informants and cooperating individuals rooting out crime, fraud and abuse in a wide variety of contexts. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, i was detailed to the fabe where i worked on the Katrina Fraud Task force which targeted all kinds of katrina related fraud and corruption. 10 years later, i had the opportunity to work on detail at the National Security agency where, as part of my duties, i provided legal guidance on certain signal, intelligence, and Information Assurance operations of the n. S. A. After retiring from the Justice Department i entered private Legal Practice where i continued to handle criminal matters as well as civil matters and internal investigations involving fraud including most recently a case involving a 1 billion bank failure. My experience as a federal prosecutor has a direct impact on how i will approach the job as c. I. A. Inspector general. But perhaps none more important than my extensive work with numerous confidential informants and cooperators throughout my career. Based on this experience i have a deep understanding of the importance of protecting c. I. A. Employees and contractors who report wrongdoing. I believe that one of the most important if not the most Important Program of any Inspector Generals office is the Whistleblower Program. As inspect jor general if confirmed ill work to maintain and strengthen a culture of confidence and trust for Agency Employees and contractors who have information exposing fraud, waste, abuse, violation of law or other deficient soirs problems that should be corrected within the agency. Foonlly ill conclude with a solemn promise before this committee and the American Public. If confirmed, i will protect the independence of the c. I. A. Inspector Generals Office and approach all of its work with honesty and integrity. And fairness and impartiality. If you entrust me with this critical role, i will look forward to working with this committee to fulfill its oversight obligations of the c. I. A. Thank you for this opportunity and i look forward to your questions. Thank you. And for the information of the member, if anyone wishes to submit questions for the record we ask after todays hearing, we ask that you do it by close of business tomorrow. Mr. Thompson, i want to begin where you finished your comments. The clear role and mandate on the creation of this committee was to carry out consistent and vibrant oversight over the Intelligence Community and particularly over the Central Intelligence agency and to do that we have to have timely access to intelligence, thats crucial to having meaningful oversight. If con filmed, and i think youve answered this already in the five question set but i want to reask it in a different way, confirmed, can we be assured that you or your designee will keep us informed of any significant complaints you receive in your office . Absolutely, senator. Let me just will you provide the interview subjects behind your would coyou repeat the question . Senator rubio spks if you notify us of a complaint will you notify us of the methodology behind your reports . Well follow standards and provide the committee with everything we are allowed to provide you with. Senator rubio we have historically viewed the role youre nominated for as a partner, not an adversary. Do we have your total commitment that if youre confirmed youll keep this committee fully and currently informed . Absolutely. Senator rubio how do you envision realizing the commit. You just made . First, senator, we start with the law. We start with the statute. And the i. G. Has a number of duties an responsibilities with regards to reporting to this committee under the statute. If confirmed i would take that very, very seriously. I would follow the statute. I would look forward to working with working transparently with this committee. Cooperatively with this committee. And do everything we can to timely report semiannual reports, any serious offenses will be brought to the attention of this committee. As i said well provide you with all the information that were allowed to provide you with. Senator rubio let me brief lidell f into the role youre nominated to fill. If you could share what your approach would be to a situation where your legal analysis and convictions differ from the c. I. A. s counsel or others . That might happen. The Inspector General by law is required to have his or her own counsel. The Inspector General does have its own counsel presently. As Inspector General, i would me rephrase let that. If there was a conflict, we would certainly consult with the office, the general counsels office at the agency. But at the end of the day, you know, we take their view into account but at the end of the day, the judgment with regard to any legal matter falls squarely on the Inspector General and we would exercise in independent judgment and analysis with regard to that. Senator rubio how would yous alite isolate yourself, or how do you intend to isolate yourself and the office from the risk of perceived politicization . I think the best way to do at, senator, is to be as independent as human possible. To follow the law. To certainly cooperate with the agency and to work collaboratively with agency components. To work collaboratively with this committee. To be transparent with this committee. To report to this committee. But i dont think the Inspector Generals office needs to run around with a flag of independence but i think, you know, we absolutely are certain of independence in everything we do whether its requesting information from the agency, we would, you know, we would push back on that. For example, if we ask for information from the agency and they were hesitant to give it or refused to give it, under the statute the i. G. Is entitled to it, i would take their views into account. But if i thought it was still important to pursue it, we would exercise our independence and still pursue that information. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Thompson, im going to go over some points you made in your testimony. At the outset, let me just say, in our meeting, i was impressed by your demeanor. Its disappointing that i have to kind of rehash some of these issues but theres been such a litany of individuals in the Intelligence Community who have had i guess the audacity, i would say its their duty to speak truth to power and that fulfilling of their duty has cost them their job. You addressed this in your opening testimony. Id like you to spend a minute or two on the importance you feel of keeping the i. G. s office independent and specifically how will you maintain the c. I. A. I. G. s ndependence . Thank you very much for the question. Vice chairman. Think i would start with explaining my values and i know the values of some of those Senior Leadership in the i. G. s office and push those values down throughout the Inspector Generals office. Particularly independence. But also that theres absolutely no room in the Inspector Generals office and i dont think there should be any room in Intelligence Agency or Law Enforcement agency as well, for any form of bias. Any political agendas. Personal agendas. Are not welcome in Inspector Generals office. Would not be welcome in the c. I. A. Inspector Generals Office if im confirmed. Because i believe very strongly drawing on my career as an assistant u. S. Attorney and have accomplish this to all the work in an impartial and unbiased manner and exercise independent judgment and objectivity. So if theres any pressure, any perceived pressure, or any real pressure that were not going to succumb to that. And were always going to exercise independent judgment and do what we believe is lawful and follows the facts and as of, i think as ive said in my senate questionnaire, i was brought up under lady justice in the Justice Department. And with everything that ive ever been a part of, ive been pressured. Ive as the assistant u. S. Attorney received inquiries or letters from congress. I have been pushed on hard by special agents in charge of certain agencies. By judges. And have learned that youve got to maintain your position, thereon what they have to say, weigh it. You know. But make an independent judgment not to be bullied and not to be pressured. So i think pushing those values to make sure everyone son the same page with values and then in doing our work as we need to do in an independent fashion. You discussed this when we met if you did receive that undue pressure, inappropriate pressure, or asked to do something you thought felt didnt meet your moral beliefs or your belief of the independent role of the i. G. , what would you do . Sure, well, it would depend on the context and the pressure. But if it was undue pressure, serious undue pressure, i would i would do two things, senator. I would consider it to be very inappropriate. Directorsorm c. I. A. Office. And i would inform this committee. If i thought there was any criminality involved, i would as required, refer it to the department of justice. Youve also in your statement im sorry, vice chairman, i apologize. Youve also in your statement i thought made good points about the need to protect histleblowers. Do you have a belief that, or a view on a whistleblowers right to remain anonymous . I can answer that in two parts. My personal view, you know, having dealt with so many confidential informants who risked a lot, some risked their lives, you know, throughout investigations ive been part of. Just personally, i absolutely would want to protect them. Under the law, the i. G. Must protect them to the fullest extent that we can. And i would follow the law and i would follow my personal beliefs as well and draw upon my experience as a federal prosecutor and protect informants and cooperating individuals. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Thompson. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Thompson, we are the country sin deed fortunate that your nomination has come up. I think youre imminently qualified for the role of i. G. At the c. I. A. As the chairman and vice chairman have said, we we are eliant on a very close relationship between the c. I. A. , i. The c. I. A. I. G. And this committee in our oversight responsibilities. Mr. Burr i think the most important part of what you said was at the end where you said you would protect the independence of the c. I. A. I dont think we can ask of an individual any more than that. I really am limited to one question. What do you believe the scope of your responsibility as c. I. A. I. G. . The scope of my responsibility . Maybe ill try to start broad nd try to narrow in. View, to s in my role of h, i see the the c. I. A. I. G. Is to help make the agents of the c. I. A. Better through the independent work of the i. G. Part of that is to be accountable and certainly the i. G. Has to report directly, you know, to the director and be under the general soup vision of the director. With regard to reporting to the director, there are a number of requirements in the c. I. A. I. G. Statute that lay out the reporting requirements. Beyond that, i think a great of great importance, senator, is the oversight role of this committee and the house Intelligence Committee. So the c. I. A. Is a secret organization, as you know. The activities, the programs and operations of the agency are entirely hidden from public view. The u, the senators, and representatives, you all represent the people of the United States. And the only the only way that the people of the united , ates can see into the agency to provide oversight of the agency, is through the Intelligence Committee. So the scope of my role, part of the scope of my role, is to work , Still Committee maintaining the indepovense the i. G. And the importance of the indepernings the i. G. Can serve through the lens of independence as the eyes and ears of this committee. So the American People through its representatives can provide oversight to the i. G. Do you believe your responsibility could include the review of covert actions . Absolutely. Absolutely. So our responsibilities would be to, you know, conduct i was going to quote the statute, i figured everybody knew the statute, you know. Were going to perform statutes and audits and investigations, waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement and so forth, through the audit inspections and investigations. re going to make policy recommendations to the director to bring my Serious Problems that we see to the attention of the director and this committee. If urgent concerns are raised, to assess those under the law prorkvide that to the director. For submission to the congress. All of that is part of the uties. Senator wyden . Senator wyden thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Thompson, your nomination comes when donald trump is attacking the entire Inspector General and whistleblower system with a jaw dropping theory that he can dump an Inspector General whenever he wants to without stating any reasons why. So in my view, whether you willig forethat threat is at the heart of the confirmation process. So the first question i want to ask involves legal determinations that you may have to make in your capacity of con if confirmed. Inspector general attorney determines that laws have been broken and bill barr isagrees, what would you do . Let me make sure i understand the question. Believes s counsel that a law has been broken. Senator wyden correct. And thats at odds with the department of justice. Senator wyden bill barr. Can you give me the context of the law being broken by who . Senator wyden it has happened recently. I think the question is pretty straightforward. Your counsel believes a law has been broken. Bill barr disagrees. What would you do . If its within the jurisdiction of the agency, or within or within the jurisdiction of the i. G. , and we are investigating something and we investigate it and we find that a law has been broken, and its a criminal law, we would refer that to the department of justice. It would be brought to the attention of this committee and it would be brought to the attention of the director of the c. I. A. Senator wyden now maybe were making headway. I want to make sure were clear. , your example that i gave lawyer thinks that laws have been broken, bill barr disagrees, you would if con filmed bring it to the this committee . You would inform the that one is a yes or no. Well, senator. Under the statute, if we determine that a in the course of our investigation, something we have a right to investigate, within our jurisdiction, even outside that, i think theres other reporting requirements even outside being an i. G. If a criminal law is broken, you cant sit on our it cant sit on our desk. We have to see that its attended to in an appropriate fashion. If its within the context of the inch g. s role it is a criminal violation. Thats reported to the department of justice. And we would report that to the director. And we would report that to the committee. Senator wyden ok. Thats the answer i wanted to have. Im glad that we agree that you have an obligation to report it to the committee. Let me ask a question about whistleblowers. The law states, when the Inspector General determines that whistleblower complaint is an urgent concern and transmits it to the director of the c. I. A. , the director shall send the complaint to congress within seven days. How are you going to make sure, if confirmed, that the c. I. A. Respects that law and what would ou do if she didnt do it . So to begin with, if confirmed, the c. I. A. I. G. s office will absolutely respect that law. It is the c. I. A. I. G. Enabling statute, there are provisions of urgent concern, address matters of urgent concern, we would respect it. And we would, by law, follow the law and submit it to the director. Has the option, i think, of disagreeing. If the director were to disagree and not want to forward the urgent concern, and we had determined it was ap urgent concern and we found it to be credible, then i think at that point, we would still forward that complaint to this committee with an explanation of why we made the determination. The c. I. A. Director would, i am sure, also be able to provide comments in an and an explanation as to why he or she felt that it was not an urgent concern. Senator wyden my time is up. You would send it to the committee, though, in the example i gave. If we determine something was an urgent concern and was reportable to this committee as an urgent concern, but the director of the c. I. A. Disagreed, it is my understanding under the law that we then are obliged or should rovide that to this committee. With comments. With an explanation. Whatever we are going to do, i would have counsel. However we proceed we would absolutely follow the law. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Thompson, having been on this committee for as many years as i have, ive always been struck by the fact that the Community Gets bogged down sometimes in its collection efforts and loses sight of the fact that the purpose of collection is to get information to policymakers. Intelligence information in and of itself is worthless unless its in the hands of people who can act on it and make policy judgments on it. Senator rubio and i serve on the Foreign Relations committee. I can tell you theres no more important consumer of the information that the Intelligence Community develops than the Foreign Relations committee. I want to remind you and i remind everyone who comes here the importance of seeing that that information gets in the appropriate hands as opposed to just collecting it and then a report being written or being put in a file or Something Like that. I hope that youll keep that in mind as you do your job. And remind those that you do deal with in the committee in the community what the real purpose of collection of information is and with that, mr. Chairman, i have some other matters but i will take them up in a classified setting with the nominee. Thank you very much. Senator heinrich. Senator heinrich in my view the best way to drain a swamp is to ensure that Inspector Generals can do their job. Inspector generals are charged with rooting out waste, fraud, abuse. Yet we have seen this president attack the independence of i. G. Offices repeatedly. Given the president s treatment of i. G. s in this administration including the sacking of Michael Atkinson who d. N. I. Mcguire said had done everything by the book, end quote, why do you believe its possible to hold an i. G. Position in this administration and simultaneously speak truth o power . Senator, thank you for that question. So, you know, under the law as its written, the president , no matter who the president is, has inspector o fire generals. He also has, you knee, theres a requirement that he must provide reasons to the Intelligence Committee 30 days out from the termination of that Inspector General. So you know, thats the law. Hat i can tell you is, is that theres nothing that has could happen with regard to any anything that could be perceived as an influence or potential influence or threat on the independence of the i. G. I am going to do the work of the i. G. As i performed as an assistant u. S. Attorney for 23 years. And im going to follow the facts no matter where they lead. Im going to follow the law. And you know, however things turn out is how they will turn out. I am not dissuaded and will not be dissuaded atal by any perceived undue influence from any source, senator. Were running out of time here. Ill take your answer and move on to a related question which is, you mentioned in your Opening Statement you wrote about how your parents taught you how to speak truth to power. We hear that phrase a lot on this committee. Sometimes we hear it too much in confirmation hearings without seeing it in action as much as we would like. But nonetheless, im going to ask you specifically from your professional experience what are some examples, some specific examples that you can share with the committee about when youve had to speak truth to power in your professional life . Yes, senator. Well, i mean, as a prosecutor, you know, we were faced, or i was faced on a number of occasions with, you know, special agents in charge, for example, that would disagree on case. Evaluated a they would talk to me, on some occasions they would go to the United States attorney. But i had to maintain my position and i did. I wasnt going to sacrifice the integrity or my judgment, not that they were challenging the integrity, they werent doing that but any judgment on the case for any kind of pressure from an agent in charge. Or agents. Or within my office. Maybe managers might disagree. But i stood my ground and explained my position. Also ive been before many federal judges, you know, dozens, i dont know you know, not sure how many, maybe over 100, hundred os times before federal judges, and ive had to speak truth to power to federal judges on countless occasions. The president suggested numerous times that there is a deep state in our government. Do you share those concerns that there is a deep state either at the c. I. A. Or within the Intelligence Community more broadly . Senator, you know, i honestly ont exactly know what what is meant by deep state, the president s comments on deep state. Im not sure how to define that. So i really i cant answer that question. I really dont know how to answer that. I can say this, that whatever is whatever obstacles we would come across, whatever attempts to influence, whatever pushback we get, were going to stand our ground. Were going to exercise independent judgment. Were going to act impartially, unbiased. And just, you know, pull from my career and how we handle our how i handled cases as a prosecutor. Regardless of any influence of any deep state that may or may not exist. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator collins thank you, mr. Chairman. Welcome, mr. Thompson. The firing of the inspectors general and the threats to expose the identifies of whistleblowers may have had a Chilling Effect on the willingness of whistle blowers to come forward with allegations. What specific actions will you take to reassure c. I. A. Employees that they will be protected from reprisals both within the agency and outside of it if they do expose wrongdoing . Thank you, senator. Very important. Very important question. I appreciate the question. The most ew, one of important aspects about the Whistleblower Program, is for the whistleblowers to have trust and confidence in the system. When they dont have trust and confidence in the system, then it breaks down, right . It breaks down from our perspective. It breaks down from congressional oversight perspective. And then it also increases the possibility of things we dont want to have happen like leaks. O strong Whistleblower Program actually helps prevent leaks. Senator. But beyond that, to protect the whistleblowers, you know, we want to vigorously follow the law, number one. Protect them to the fullest extent of the law. When whistleblowers come in or we engage people with bringing information, you know, we i would want to have staff, myself and staff, speak with them. And talk about whether they want anonymity. Some may want anonymity, some may not. Ut the ones that do, wed do everything we could to protect them. Other thing i would do would be, well, i think training and outreach is very important. When new employees are on board at the c. I. A. They go through lengthy training. So i think its very important to have a solid Training Program with whistle blowers to explain their rights and how they how they communicate, how they provide information. Also training c. I. A. Managers with regard to the law. Also i dont know the culture right now, senator, but whatever that culture is, i think id want to work with c. I. A. Leadership to try to strengthen the culture within the c. I. A. , the way they look at c. I. A. Whistleblowers. So theyre not looking at the process as a way to get somebody in trouble or a gotcha moment. But its a way, something that you should do. That you have an obligation to do. And its to make the agency better. Agencytry to destroy the or harm the agency or create a lack of confidence in the American Public but to make the agency better. Senator collins thank you. Let me ask you a specific question. Do you believe that Michael Atkinson, as the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community, should have notified this committee about the whistleblower allegations regarding the president s interactions with ukraine . In regard to that matter, bear with me on my answer. I dont know Michael Atkinson. Ive never spoken with him, ive never served in the ocni. Im aware of his career. Very respected career. And i know he grew up, my belief is he grew up at the department of justice. So i dont, unfortunately, i dont know all the facts. Ive read a few things but i dont know all the facts. I believe theres some facts that are classified. What he was addressing was a completely different statute. So he was addressing the enabling statute, you know, for the icig and there is language in the urgent concern part of the statute, theres a little bit of difference with regard to the i. G. With regard to c. I. A. I. G. Statutes. Not knowing those facts, i find it difficult to weigh in on that. But what i can say, senator, is that if we should receive information, purportedly to be an urgent concern from a c. I. A. Employee or contractor, we would look at that very seriously. We would determine if it is a very serious or flagrant problem or abuse or violation of law. We would weigh the prerequisites in the statute. You know, whether, you know, it involves a c. I. A. Activity. Intelligence ng information. Does we determine that it fall within, or meet those prerequisites, and then as a completely separate matter, wed have to determine if the information is credible, and if we did then we would then forward that to the c. I. A. Director for reporting to this committee. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Thompson, ive been following this. Ive been impressed. Ive been impressed, ive read your references. But you lost me in the answer to mr. Senator heinrichs question. Are you telling this committee that you lived in the United States for the last three years, read newspapers, participated in the practice of law and you dont know the meaning of the term deep state . The more Accurate Answer than the rambling answer you gave was no. Tell us what you think. Youre not helping yourself by obfuscating and avoiding these questions. You also avoided senator collins question chches exactly the right question. Everybody in the country knows what happened in that case. Its a very simple question. Should that complaint have been forwarded to congress, yes or o . The complaint about Michael Atkinson. The complaint that was the basis of an impeachment hearing. We know the essential facts. Should that have been forwarded to congress, yes or no . Fully tor, you know, i understand your concern. You dont appear to want to answer, let me move on. Were you interviewed by the president for this position . The president of the United States . Yes. No, sir. You said no . Correct. Were you interviewed by personnel at the white house . White House Counsel, yes, sir. Was there any question that suggested to you any issue of loyalty or reminding you of your subservience to the president ho was appointing you . Senator, im going to answer that question, i will preface it, the generally conversations that i would have with the white House Counsel i think are confidential. However whats the basis of that statement . Its just my understanding. Its my understanding. But i will answer your question. Thank you. No one from the white house ver gave me any kind of litmus test or loyalty test to the president at all. Did they suggest that was a significant concern or question . Did the word loyalty ever arise in the conversation . In one. I will tell you, senator, no one at the white house ever gave me any to my knowledge i never perceived any kind of loyalty test at all. With regard to the president. Senator, let me answer this. I would absolutely i would absolutely do my job in an independent way. If any pressure was brought on me by the white house, then i would consider that to be absolutely inappropriate. Would you notify this committee . If i had pressure if the white house or any outside external source like that i would notify the committee. Thank you. You understand that one of the critical importance i think the i. G. Position is one of the most important in our government generally. But in this particular case its especially important because were dealing with a secret agency which is an anomaly in a democracy. Its not it doesnt have the usual watchdogs of the press or of Interest Groups or outside people who know whats happening. Therefore the position is especially, doubly important than it would be in the department of agriculture or another not to denigrate that but thats a special role here. And they also, the other piece is, the obligation that you act knowledge of reporting information to this committee. Because were the only committee that follows whats going on in those agencies. So i hope you appreciate that this is an extremely important position. And this president has made plain his desire to politicize the intelligence agencies. He doesnt like the intelligence agencies. And the vice chair read off the list of all the people that have been removed. I guess all you can do is tell me that you would stand up to that. But i certainly hope that you will. Because its important for the country. Whether its this president , you may well be in the the i. G. Under another president. Any president was trying to influence the preparation of intelligence is harming themselves and harming the country. Will you commit unequivocally before this committee to notify us of any such pressure and to resist any such pressure . Senator, if any such pressure was brought on the i. G. s office how we the product or evaluate something or from any other source i would consider that very serious. I would report that to the c. I. A. Director, i am sure, and this committee. You know, senator, youre referring to, you would hope that i would be independent and resist. You know, we dont really know one another. If im confirmed i think after a short time working with me and my office you would be convinced im not going to give in to any cained of undue, inappropriate pressure, that i will always, always stand firm to my convictions. I can absolutely assure you of that. And i know anyone the possibility of being fired . Im sorry up to and including the possibility of being fired . Senator, look, if i was fired for doing my job, in a lawful way, in an appropriate way, then i would be fired. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Ill answer senator kings question very simply. That report from the socalled whistleblower should not have been forwarded to congress because the law plainly said the Inspector General, the director of National Intelligence deals with intelligence activities. A phone call between the president and head of state is not an intelligence activity. I raise that point not just to rebut what senator king said but to make the important point hes making is the Inspector General needs to stand for the rule of law. Whether the rule of law comports with what a president wants or whether it comports with the Opposition Party and media wants. So mr. Thompson, i will ask you this basic question, as Inspector General will you follow the law and uphold the rule of law . Absolutely, senator. Lets turn your experience in the u. S. Attorneys office which is long and extensive. You mentioned in your statement for the record and your papers that you had experience working with n. S. A. , the f. B. I. , the c. I. A. , could you talk to us a little bit about how those experiences might prepare you for working as the Inspector General for the c. I. A. Given the somewhat tech nickal and often classified nature of the material youll be working with there . Sure. I do have some intelligence experience working at the n. S. A. And i think thats very transferable to the agency. Excuse me. You know, at the risk of repeating myself, which ill try ot to do, but i think my experience as an ausa is one of the most important qualifications that i think i bring to the job. In dealing with confidential informants and knowing how to handle Sensitive Information being brought in. I draw heavily on my experience s a u. S. Assistant attorney. Analyze matters. Not sure what else youre sking. Senator cotton this is something ive noticed about Inspector Generals across all departments when they come in with your experiences, as an assistant u. S. Attorney you had tools like subpoenas and grand juries. Inspector generals lack those. Can you tell us how youll approach the job without those Law Enforcement tools to get the information you need to ebb sure the officers and employees of the c. I. A. Are following the law and doing the right thing . Ill miss. Omething to issue subpoenas and grand juries, requiring testimony. I think its very important to work with c. I. A. Leadership and to gain their full support. I feel that that support is there with director haskell. I believe we would work very well together. I think i. G. s office and Directors Office would work well together. I think, you know, getting information, no matter which i. G. s office youre in, which agency, which department, just, you know, my experience in the government, all shops can be a little protective about what they have. Its a little deeper. Not referencing deep state but its a little deeper in the agency. We have a lot of compartmented programs. Some are even more deeply compartmented than others. And so theres always, you know, not always but there could be some pushback on that. So that is something that we would work diligently, you know, through that, to obtain the information that we need. And we would ask support from the Directors Office if we need to. We also work with this committee. So if theres any issues obtaining information and it got to be serious or actually we were refused, i mean, i would come to this committee and ask or Committee Help as well. The final thing i want to say, i dont expect you to have thought through this yet but i want to flag it for you as you go into the job. With the pace of technological change and off the shelf commercial technologies there could be a tension to balance between Contracting Officers who are trying to move quickly to adopt suitable commercial off the Shelf Solutions to technological challenges on the one hand and someone antiquated or rinled bureaucratic rules on the other hand. I think thats a tension that all agencies need toing more but this one in particular. And one i would ask you to be mindful of too whenever youre looking at contracting matters and what c. I. A. Can do to improve contracting in these situations. Thank you. Mr. Thompson, were about to close, i have three quick questions. The first is sort of touch on whats been asked already before, to be abundantly leer in the record. At any time in the process, from the moment it first became a possibility to interviews youve had through today has anyone told you, implied or made you understand in any way that you were being nominated for this position to protect the president from embarrassment or to use it as a way to target people who somebody may view as hostile . Absolutely senator let me just say if that had been part of the process, you wouldnt see me here today, senator. Senator rubio that was my followup question. I take it from your testimony today and review of your record and everything that youve done that it sounds to me like you e you would never, it appears, i think logically, endanger your over 37year career of Public Service and private practice. For any reason. I think thats a fair assessment. Is that correct . Ive actually ive actually thought of the same thing, chairman rubio. Ive got 35year career and you know, i think ive built up a reputation, ive been a straight shooter, fair, following the law, not giving into pressure, not doing anything wrong or inappropriate im not going to at all give that up at this stage, you know, for this position. I would never risk to me, reputation is very important. Its one of the only things, you know that we carry with us. It means everything to me. As does the rule of law. So no, i would never do anything o risk that. Senator rubio i want to thank you for the time youve given us here today. This is important. Well move quickly to get a vote here from this committee so we can process this important nomination. I appreciate your familys time as well, being here today and your willingness to serve. As i said. You have a very successful private practice. It sounds like one that you were looking forward to continuing but the opportunity to serve your country became available and you took it up once again so we thank you. I remind members if anyone has written questions you can submit it for the record and get an answer, do so by the close of business tomorrow. Thank you for being here. With that, the meeting is adjourned. Thank you. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] e since the st the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Pres. Trump thank you very much. Its an honor to have president duda a friend, we have had many discussions, we worked very well with poland, i dont think weve ever been closer to poland than we are right now. Well have an important meeting on economic development, military, and other things. Thatll start in about 10 minutes. Were going to meet for a little