On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) reacted to U.S. intelligence walking back claims that Russia put bounties on American troops by criticizing former President Donald Trump for failing to confront the Russians on the issue, and saying that it’s his belief “that the intelligence community believes that the Russians did engage in this conduct but they don’t have the requisite level of confidence in that conclusion to go forward with sanctions on that basis.”
Schiff said, “Well, I don’t think Trump had the right response in that he didn’t confront the Russians on this. He didn’t even appear to take the issue very seriously. It’s my sense that the intelligence community believes that the Russians did engage in this conduct but they don’t have the requisite level of confidence in that conclusion to go forward with sanctions on that basis.”
He added that the intelligence community’s stance on the bounty claims shows “just how solid they view the intelligence to be” in other areas where they are moving forward.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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