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[Page S3629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RUSSIA
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on Russia, on Friday, the New York Times
and other media outlets reported that a Russian intelligence unit was
offering Taliban-linked fighters bounties--bounties to kill American
and coalition troops in Afghanistan. It should go without saying that
it is our solemn obligation to support and protect our troops. If
Russian intelligence is conducting a shadow campaign to sponsor the
murder of American troops, there must be swift, strong, and
unmistakable consequences for Putin and his cronies--something we
should do in this NDAA bill.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration was aware
of these activities as early as March of this year. Yet, the Trump
administration has authorized no--no retaliatory actions. Russia gives
bounties to kill Americans; the administration does nothing.
Donald Trump, you are not being a very strong President here, as
usual.
At the very least, you would expect the President and his team would
want to get to the bottom of this. The President claimed, however, that
``nobody briefed or told [him] me about this report.''
President Trump, you lose either way. If you weren't briefed on this
important report, how can you run an administration where something
this important is not brought to your level? And if you were told about
the report and did nothing, that is even worse. Shame on you. Shame on
you.
A few hours ago, the White House Press Secretary said the President
still has not received a briefing from the intelligence community about
these reports. The White House Chief of Staff, meanwhile, is reportedly
briefing Republican Members of the House before the President of the
United States gets a briefing.
Is that amazing? He is the Commander in Chief. He is the one who is
supposed to be protecting our soldiers, and they are still twiddling
their thumbs instead of giving him a briefing, which, who knows, given
his lack of respect for the truth, he may have received it already and
just denied it.
It raises many, many questions. First, is it true the President was
not told this information? If so, why not? Was there a concern about
sharing this information with the President? And the President doesn't
seem as outraged as you would think he would be if, in fact, the
intelligence community had this vital and important information and had
not briefed him.
Something--something doesn't smell right here, especially when we
have a President and an administration who has a great deal of trouble
telling the truth. We need answers, and we need them fast. I am calling
for the Directors of National Intelligence and the CIA to immediately
brief all 100 Senators on reports that Russia placed bounties on U.S.
troops in Afghanistan. Among many other things, we need to know whether
President Trump was told this information and, if so, when
Because there has been an alarming pattern in this administration,
dating back to its first days of appeasement toward authoritarian
leaders, especially of Vladimir Putin, President Trump stood next to
Putin on the international stage and accepted his word over the word of
our own intelligence agencies. President Trump has delayed or ignored
congressionally mandated sanctions on Putin. The President has pondered
withdrawing from NATO--the organization whose very purpose is to defend
the free world from Vladimir Putin. Only a few months ago, the
President mused about inviting Russia back into the G7.
If we had learned anything in the past 3 years, it is that President
Trump is inclined to ignore or forgive Vladimir Putin's abuses on the
international stage--even in the face of an attack on our democracy. If
we learned anything in the last 3 years, it is that dictators--whether
Xi or Putin or the head of North Korea--played President Trump for a
fool and got the advantage of him every time.
This means we all need to speak up right now and make sure that
Congress and the executive branch are doing what is necessary to get to
the bottom of these reports. The first step is a briefing for all 100
U.S. Senators.
Despite what some administration officials are claiming, no such
briefing has been scheduled, and I am not aware of any Senator who has
been invited to a White House briefing of any sort.
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