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White House Updates More Lawmakers on Alleged Russian Bounties on US Troops
in Afghanistan

Jeff Seldin

   WASHINGTON - Senior U.S. lawmakers walked out of a White House briefing
   early Tuesday, saying they are not satisfied with what the
   administration had to say about allegations Russia offered bounties to
   Taliban fighters to kill American and coalition troops in Afghanistan.
   The briefing, the second in as many days, was set up to share
   intelligence about the alleged Russian plot with senior Democratic
   lawmakers, following a similar briefing late Monday with members of
   President Donald Trump's party.
   "The most concerning part about it is that the White House didn't have
   very clear answers," House Armed Services Committee Chairman, Rep. Adam
   Smith, told reporters, following Tuesday's White House briefing.
   "Very concerning to me was that their initial response was that they
   just wanted to make sure we knew that the president didn't know
   anything," Smith added. "That's actually not normal."
   "Their basic position is that there was conflicting intelligence on
   this and, therefore, they took some actions but not as many as some of
   us think that they should," he said.
   Trump and various White House officials have maintained that the
   president was never briefed on intelligence regarding the reported
   plot.
   But some senior officials admit the evidence was shared across the U.S.
   intelligence community and with allies whose troops were potentially at
   risk.

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