Combat veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has demanded an investigation into Donald Trump’s non-response to Russia putting a bounty on US troops.
Duckworth wrote in a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK):
According to these reports, the IC briefed President Donald Trump on its conclusions that the GRU was secretly offering bounties for killing U.S. servicemembers and coalition forces. A March 2020 interagency meeting was convened where Trump administration officials provided the White House with a “menu of potential options – starting with making a diplomatic complaint to Moscow and a demand that it stop, along with an escalating series of sanctions and other possible responses.” The most disturbing disclosure is that following the interagency meeting, President Trump failed to authorize any action in response to the GRU covertly offering bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan.
Far from punishing the Russian Federation, on June 3, 2020, President Trump confirmed that he wanted Vladimir Putin to attend the G7 summit later this year. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces, military families and the American people deserve answers and accountability for President Trump’s outrageous failure of leadership and apparent betrayal of our troops.
Accordingly, I ask that SASC hold an open hearing to receive testimony from the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Commander of the Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces-Afghanistan. SASC should also hold a closed hearing in a sensitive compartmented information facility to allow for discussion of classified information. Thank you in advance for consideration of my urgent request.
Members of Congress have not been briefed by the White House on Bountygate, so Sen. Duckworth is correct. There needs to be an open hearing and full investigation into what Trump knew and why he did not take action against Russia after they put a bounty on the heads of US troops in Afghanistan.
The House will almost certainly investigate and hold hearings, but it is up to the Senate to stop being Trump’s lapdog and for once stand up for the country.
Nobody has more moral standing on this issue than Sen. Duckworth, and Republicans would be wise to listen to her and hold a hearing ASAP because this story isn’t going away and it is only going to get worse for Trump and the GOP.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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