KEY POINTS
  • House Democrats tore into President Donald Trump after the White House briefed them on reports that Russia paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan to target and kill U.S. troops.
  • The briefing came a day after the White House briefed a separate group of Republicans on the reported findings.
  • "The president called this a hoax publicly. Nothing in the briefing that we have just received led me to believe it is a hoax," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks to reporters next to U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as House Democrats respond to a White House briefing on reports Russia paid the Taliban bounties to kill U.S. troops during a news conference following the briefing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 30, 2020.

House Democrats came out of a closed-door White House briefing Tuesday taking swings at President Donald Trump's response to reports that Russia paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan to target and kill U.S. troops.

"The president called this a hoax publicly. Nothing in the briefing that we have just received led me to believe it is a hoax," Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, told reporters after leaving the briefing.

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