US Senate Democrats Ask Pompeo, Esper To Testify This Week On Alleged Russian Bounties

Three Democrats in the US Senate in a letter on Tuesday requested US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to testify on allegations that Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to assassinate American soldiers in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2020) Three Democrats in the US Senate in a letter on Tuesday requested US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to testify on allegations that Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to assassinate American soldiers in Afghanistan.

"Given the grave nature of these allegations, we request that you appear before the Senate this week to address these questions," according to the letter sent to Pompeo and Esper by Senators Robert Menendez, Jack Reed and Richard Durbin.

On Friday, the New York Times ran an article citing unnamed intelligence officials as saying that Trump had been presented with an intelligence report claiming Russia offered to pay Taliban-linked militants to assassinate US troops in Afghanistan. The White House said that the US intelligence community is yet to reach a consensus on the veracity of the allegations, which have been flatly denied by Russia and the Taliban.