The top Democrats on three House panels on Tuesday requested a briefing from Trump Cabinet officials on the president’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reps. Adam Smith, D-Wash., Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., asked that the briefing be scheduled by noon Thursday in the letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence.
Smith is the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Engel is the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Schiff is the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.
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The request comes a week after Trump met privately for over two hours with the Russian leader and then questioned U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Moscow interfered in the 2016 election during a press conference after the meeting.
“Since the meeting, Congress has received no notification from the White House or executive branch about the topics of the meeting or any purported deals or agreements reached on behalf of the United States,” the three lawmakers wrote. “It also appears that President Trump’s cabinet has not been briefed on the private meeting, and Congress must be made aware of some of the potential deals or agreements that Russia claims were struck.”
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Trump, who was accompanied only by a U.S. translator during the private meeting, has said the two leaders discussed nuclear weapons, fighting terrorism, and security for Israel.
But the Pentagon and other agencies have remained mostly mum on the details, leaving Russia to release what it claimed were initial agreements between Trump and Putin during the summit.
“We also have profound concerns over what was said privately and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss with each of you the national security matters that were discussed,” Smith, Engel, and Schiff wrote.
The Democratic ranking members said they want to question officials about any talk on Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, the Russian-fueled conflict in Ukraine, sanctions, Syria, NATO, and other issues.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday that Pompeo would not be able to make the meeting with lawmakers in time due to scheduling issues, but he could if the House stays in session longer.
Joel Gehrke contributed to this report.
