Trump must have been aware of Russia bounty allegation, Democratic lawmaker says

President Donald Trump must have at least been aware of the allegation that Russia paid bounties to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan to kill U.S.-led coalition troops, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Tuesday after a White House briefing. "Based on what we heard today, it was information that a) the president should have known about and b) based on what we were told today, he did -- it seems to me like he did know about it," said Representative Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Trump said on Sunday he was never briefed about any Russian bounties and Trump administration officials have said there was no consensus on the underlying intelligence among U.S. agencies, something Smith said they underscored to Democratic lawmakers at the closed-door White House briefing on Tuesday.