Russian bounties on U.S. troops divides Congress

WASHINGTON — A top U.S. commander said an intelligence review has not turned up corroborating evidence of a Russian effort to bribe the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, but the U.S. continues to hunt for information on the matter.

"We continue to look for that evidence," Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with NBC News. "I just haven't seen it yet. But … it's not a closed issue."

Allegations about Russian bounties were first reported by the media in late June, sparking outrage and concern on Capitol Hill. More than two months later, amid uncertainty about the intelligence, Democrats have continued to press for investigations and even Russian sanctions, as they criticize the Trump administration's response to the matter.

“There is uncertainty involved in all intelligence reporting,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the House Intelligence Committee. “What is most important about the response to this is that there has been no response other than to obfuscate on the part of the White House. The White House has not come out and said this is just totally made up there is nothing there and unless that’s the case... the answer is this is completely unacceptable and the Russians are paying to have our troops killed, we will open the gates of hell on them.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and five other Democratic senators introduced legislation last week to require President Donald Trump to place new sanctions on any Russian person or entity involved in the alleged bounty program. The bill would also allocate money for rewards for information on the bounties and compel the State Department to step up diplomatic efforts against the Kremlin in South and Central Asia.

“I’ve seen the intelligence. I am barred from talking about it publicly, but it certainly is very real and convincing enough for me to support this measure,” said Blumenthal. “The point here is that the administrative has been deceptive with the American people. It has actually concealed facts that should be disclosed and it should immediately declassify some of this information to provide greater transparency to the American people.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Gen. McKenzie’s comments confirmed what he heard from the White House and Department of Defense back in June.

“The Senate has never acted so rashly and on so little information, and I’d say it’s irresponsible to do so,” he said. “Democrats can continue pushing this narrative in an attempt to hurt the president and further their political agenda, but I’m going to keep working with President Trump to take meaningful action to stand up to Russia by passing the [National Defense Authorization Act]. Furthermore, we will prioritize strong force protection for our troops in harm’s way – just as we always have.”

Congressional Republicans rejected an amendment to the annual defense bill that would impose new sanctions on Russia this summer, but the bill contains other measures aimed at Russia like investments in European deterrence forces.

The Trump administration has maintained that intelligence around possible Russian bounties was unverified to their satisfaction, justifying their decision not to act on it, publicly at least.

The information came to the fore in late June, in multiple media reports, citing intelligence, that revealed the allegations that Russia offered bounties to Afghan militants to kill U.S. troops. Their efforts were believed to have resulted in the deaths of several U.S. service members, the Washington Post reported. The New York Times reported President Donald Trump was briefed on the matter and senior White House and intelligence officials knew about the bounty offers since at least March but took no action. The Times also reported that Russia's military intelligence agency transferred money to accounts used by the Taliban in the alleged scheme.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany in June said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were never briefed on the intelligence information because “there is no consensus within the intelligence community on these allegations.” Trump tweeted that he was not briefed on the information and suggested it was "Fake News."

Both Democrats and Republicans called for briefings for Congress on the allegations after the news broke.

In July, after Trump said he had not raised the subject of bounties in multiple phone calls with Putin, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified before Congress that he and other U.S. officials had discussed with Russians the threats against U.S. forces in various countries, but would not specifically say whether Afghanistan was on that list. He said Trump's is "the toughest administration ever" on Russia and noted steps to address Russian disinformation and aggression in Ukraine and Georgia.

Matthew Schmidt, associate of national security and political science at the University of New Haven, said in fact Trump has emphasized friendship with Russia — which intervened in the 2016 election to aid Trump and is doing so again — over combating its destabilizing actions.

Schmidt said the bounty episode showcases Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to sow discord and distrust, while building the perception of Russian power, with a scattershot spray of actions targeting the military, diplomacy and elections. He said does not doubt that Putin was behind a bounty attempt and wanted to get caught at it — but proving these things in the muddy world of war can be tough.

“We have enough information for there to be a report that made it all the way to the highest levels of Washington,” said Schmidt, who has consulted to the House and Senate Armed Services committees. “So something should have been done. And that report was sat on and that was unusual... what is likely happening in the administration is people in the [Department of Defense] and elsewhere are gathering information and building files and holding onto it, until and or if there is a change in the administration, that’s now interested and willing to engage with this.”