WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials will provide a classified briefing for congressional leaders about intelligence assessments that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The meeting comes as President Donald Trump is under increasing pressure to provide answers about the U.S. response to Russia or the lack of one. Intelligence officials, including CIA Director Gina Haspel and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, will brief the so-called Gang of Eight lawmakers Thursday morning. Those include Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top lawmakers on the two intelligence committees. Trump continues to play down the assessments and insist he wasn’t briefed on them because the intelligence didn’t rise to his level.
