Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was "absolutely ludicrous" to suggest President Donald Trump is a threat to national security during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
CBS anchor Margaret Brennan asked Pompeo to comment on a report published by the New York Times last Friday, which said that the FBI began to investigate if Trump was a threat to national security and was working with Russia after he fired then-FBI director James Comey.
"I'm not going to comment on New York Times stories. But I'll certainly say this: The notion that President Trump is a threat to American national security is absolutely ludicrous," Pompeo said.
"Just to clarify, since you were CIA director, did you have any idea that this investigation was happening?" Brennan asked.
"Margaret, Margaret, Margaret. I have answered this question repeatedly, indeed on your show. The idea that's contained in the New York Times story that President Trump was a threat to national security is silly on its face and not worthy of a response," Pompeo responded.
According to the Times's report, in the days after Trump fired Comey, "law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president’s behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests."
The FBI also considered "whether his firing of Mr. Comey constituted obstruction of justice."
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also responded to the report, labeling Comey a "partisan hack."
"James Comey was fired because he’s a disgraced partisan hack, and his Deputy Andrew McCabe, who was in charge at the time, is a known liar fired by the FBI. Unlike President Obama, who let Russia and other foreign adversaries push America around, President Trump has actually been tough on Russia," Sanders said.