Article snippet: Secretary of State MORE discussed in private with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in Helsinki, adding to tension and uncertainty on Capitol Hill over the administration’s Russia policy. Pompeo’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee grew heated at times as he tangled with lawmakers over what the two leaders talked about during a one-on-one meeting that lasted about two hours with only translators present. A top concern of senators on both sides of the aisle is whether Trump talked about relaxing sanctions on Russia, which could have bearing on special counsel MORE’s investigation into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election. Pompeo insisted that U.S. policy on Russia sanctions has not changed since Helsinki, but he refused to say whether Trump and Putin mulled the possibility of easing penalties Congress imposed last year in response to Russia’s election interference. His back-and-forth with Sen. MORE (N.J.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, was particularly tense. “The presidents have a prerogative to choose who’s in meetings or not,” Pompeo said. “I’m confident you’ve had private one-on-one meetings in your life as well. You’ve chosen that setting as the most efficient way — ” Menendez cut Pompeo off immediately. “I just asked a simple question,” Menendez said. “You can’t eat up my seven minutes. Did he tell you what happened in those two hours?” Pompeo said he had ... Link to the full article to read more