Wittman statement on reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops

WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces (SPF), issued the following statement today regarding recent reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops:

"The first that I, along with other Members of Congress, learned about the reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops was from the media at the same time the public did—which is unacceptable. Information on this potential national security threat has yet to be presented to the Armed Services Committee, and I call on the intelligence community to undertake a full committee briefing as soon as possible for us to determine the credibility of this intelligence and to determine the timeline of events. We need to understand why the President wasn't briefed, who knew about it and when, and what our response to Russia will be if these reports turn out credible.

"If this intelligence is determined to be true, this is another in a long list of escalations of aggression from Russia. There is no way that the United States should tolerate such obvious acts of aggression against our nation's forces, and we must ensure our forces are protected."

Congressman Rob Wittman represents the 1st District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, where he serves as the ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.