GOP Senator Pat Toomey Calls on Trump Administration to Brief Senate on Russian Bounty Scandal

Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has called on President Donald Trump’s administration to brief the Senate on reports that a Russian military agency put a bounty on the heads of American troops.

In a statement, Toomey said he read documents made available behind closed doors––and that doing so raised even more questions.

“I have reviewed the classified information regarding bounties, upon which recent news reports are based. This information raises many questions and administration officials should come before the Senate and provide a classified briefing and answer questions from all members,†Toomey said. “If it is concluded that Russia offered bounties to murder American soldiers, a firm American response is required in short order.”

Intelligence reports are available for senators in the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). However, the administration has not provided the all-Senate briefing that Democrats have demanded.

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Toomey’s call comes after the president took to Twitter to insist reports that he ignored intelligence briefings are “fake news.”

The president quoted a statement from the Department of Defense (DOD) released late Monday that it had not yet validated the reported intelligence and “DOD has no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports.â€

“Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party,†he wrote. “I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level.â€



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