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- In an interview on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reacted to reports that current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on the July 25 call with the Ukrainian president along with President Donald Trump.
- Clinton said that calls to foreign leaders are usually "highly prepared," as several departments meet and compile talking points for the president to refer to while on the call.
- However, Clinton said she believes that was not the case with the Ukraine call because "you've got a president who doesn't listen to anybody and doesn't follow instructions whatsoever."
- Clinton said Pompeo should have been "one of the very first people" to "clean up" the conduct of Trump's call with Ukraine.
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Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should have been "one of the very first people" to "clean up" after President Donald Trump July 25 call with the Ukrainian president.
In an interview on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Clinton reacted to reports that Pompeo was on the call. Last week, Pompeo said he had not fully read the whistleblower complaint that centers in on the call.
The pivotal whistleblower complaint was declassified and released last week. It involves a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky where an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden is discussed, with Trump asking for a "favor." Prior to its release, reports trickled out about the complaint and even prompted an announced formal impeachment inquiry from the House, and the White House releasing a summary transcript.
Clinton said that calls to foreign leaders are usually "highly prepared," as several departments meet and compile talking points for the president to refer to while on the call. However, Clinton said she believes that was not the case with the Ukraine call because "you've got a president who doesn't listen to anybody and doesn't follow instructions whatsoever."
She also addressed reports that the transcript of the call was stored on a "highly classified system that is used for the most important secrets," like the Osama bin Laden raid in 2011.
Read more: Mike Pompeo reportedly took part in Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukraine's president
"Even though there was nothing classified in it, the president's behavior was at least embarrassing, if not illegal and impeachable," Clinton told Colbert. "So, I think if the secretary of state was on the call, as is now being reported, he should've been one of the very first people to just say, 'Wait a minute, we got to clean this up. You can't let that stand.'"
"But, we don't know what he did," she said.
When asked about Trump sending his private attorney Rudy Giuliani out on foreign meetings, Clinton said that it is not unusual for presidents and even secretaries of state to employ an envoy or special adviser to deliver a message.
"But again, it is supposed to be carefully thought through, and from what we've seen on television, 'carefully thinking through' is not one of Rudy's strong points," Clinton said of the former New York mayor.
TONIGHT: Sec. @HillaryClinton and @ChelseaClinton react to the news that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on the line during Trump's problematic call with the leader of Ukraine. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/pk9nhcEF02
- The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 1, 2019