Sen. Chris Murphy said that he has reviewed the intelligence indicating that Russia offered the Taliban bounties on U.S. troops and found it credible.
The Connecticut Democrat accused President Trump on Monday of “ignoring” threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin after the president said that the intelligence community found the reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops to not be credible.
“I just reviewed the intel. It’s not a hoax, Mr. President. And if you continue ignoring the facts, more soldiers and Marines are going to die,” Murphy wrote.
I just reviewed the intel.
It’s not a hoax, Mr. President.
And if you continue ignoring the facts, more soldiers and marines are going to die. https://t.co/HPfZm3r6Lv
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 30, 2020
A report from the New York Times last week stated that Trump had been briefed on intelligence that Russia offered Taliban militants bounties in exchange for killing U.S. soldiers and that the president decided not to respond with sanctions or any other punitive measure.
Several members of the Trump administration and Trump himself denied that the president was briefed. Former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell said that the New York Times report was leaked “partial information” that may not have been fully vetted.
Some Democrats have doubted that Trump had no knowledge of the allegations. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed that Trump did nothing with the intelligence because he was afraid of Putin.
House Democrats are set to receive a briefing from the White House on the situation on Tuesday. Murphy appears to be the first Democrat to claim to have reviewed the intelligence.
