CIA Director Mike Pompeo used his first major public remarks on Thursday to skewer WikiLeaks as a "non-state hostile intelligence service" willing to work with Russia and other foreign actors to promote their interests.

He blasted Julian Assange as a "fraud" interested in his own fame, seeking to undermine efforts by the WikiLeaks founder to be viewed as a legitimate ally of civil libertarians.

"It is time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is, a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia," Pompeo said.

"Assange is a narcissist who has created nothing of value," the former Republican congressman charged. "He relies on the dirty work of others to make himself famous. He is a fraud—a coward hiding behind a screen."