Thread by @jseldin

NEW: House Armed Services Committee requesting briefing from @DeptofDefense today/Tuesday on allegations #Russia paid bounties to #Taliban to kill US troops in #Afghanistan, ranking member @MacTXPress tells reporters

"Chairman Smith & I insisted" but so far no response from DoD

"I think it is absolutely essential we get the information & be able to judge its credibility" per @MacTXPress, who adds he has not seen any intelligence on the allegations

"This is a very serious and very disturbing allegation if true"

"When you are dealing with the lives of our servicemembers...then it is incredibly serious & we in Congress need to see the information & the sources" per @MacTXPress "It will not be acceptable to delay"

.@POTUS, @DNI_Ratcliffe saying there were no briefings, "to me is a very concerning statement" per @MacTXPress

"Anything with any hint of credibility that would endanger our servicemembers, much less put a bounty on their lives, to me should have been briefed immediately"

"We have insisted the the full Armed Services Committee be briefed on the intelligence" per @MacTXPress "I'd also want to see the timeline on when we we knew what"

"It may be appropriate for people who should have briefed the president to be removed"

#Russia #Afghanistan

NEW: "We need to get to the bottom of it and we need to do it now" - House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member @MacTXPress on reports #Russia paid #Taliban bounties to kill US troops

NEW: #HASC ranking member warns against further US drawdown in #Afghanistan pending investigation into #Russia bountygate claims

"In light of these allegations to go below 8,600 would be a tragic mistake" per @MacTXPress

HASC ranking member @MacTXPress on suspending additional drawdown of US troops in #Afghanistan pending investigation into #Russia|n bounties: "The last thing we want to do is say, if you pay a bounty to kill Americans, you can make them leave somewhere. That would be horrible"

"What the #Taliban wants more than anything is for Americans to leave" per @MacTXPress "Well, we only leave is they are fully & totally in compliance with their obligations"

"What we cannot do is have this idea that if you just target enough Americans then you can force them out" per @MacTXPress "That cannot be the case in #Afghanistan or anywhere else...That will just increase the incentive to have bounties on our soldiers all over"

"If there were a hint of credibility to it, then you need to bring it to the president's attention and there need to be a plan on what you're going to do about it" - @MacTXPress on reports #Russia paid bounties to #Taliban to kill Americans "That's a very egregious step"