Tim Kaine: “I rise to speak about the disturbing reporting regarding Russian efforts to harm Americans in Afghanistan through…”

“I rise to speak about the disturbing reporting regarding Russian efforts to harm Americans in Afghanistan through payments to the Taliban and the Haqqani network. This is deadly serious and we--the Congress and the American public--must get answers to a number of questions. When did the United States first receive information suggesting that Russia was providing financial support to Taliban or HQN operatives to kill American troops? What investigation has been done by DOD or intel agencies to corroborate the charge? What investigations have been done into the deaths of U.S. troops in Afghanistan during the relevant time period to determine whether they might be linked to Russian payments? Was information about this allegation contained in the President's daily briefing in late February? If so, why are the President and the White House maintaining so strongly that the President was never briefed? When did the United States first brief allies--specifically, the United Kingdom--on the intelligence concerning the Russian bounty allegations? What events led to an administrative interagency meeting on this topic in late March? What options were explored at that meeting? Were any undertaken? To the extent that there is a difference of opinion about the existence of such a program among U.S. agencies, what explains the differing conclusions?…”