Frustrated House Democrats returning from a briefing at the White House said they learned nothing new about American intelligence assessments that suggested Russia was making overtures to militants as the US and the Taliban held talks to end the conflict in Afghanistan.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump had been briefed on the intelligence, a day after saying he hadn't because it had not been verified.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and a small group of other House Democrats met with White House officials as Trump downplayed the allegations.
The Democrats questioned why Trump wouldn't have been briefed sooner and pushed White House officials to have the president make a strong statement about the matter.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, one of the Democrats who attended the briefing, said it was “inexplicable” why Trump won't say publicly that he is working to get to the bottom of the issue and why he won't call out Putin.
