June 29, 2020
The Honorable John Ratcliffe
Director of National Intelligence
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20511

The Honorable Gina Haspel
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505

Dear Director Ratcliffe and Director Haspel:
As you know, since the origin of the intelligence community, one of its primary purposes has always been force
protection. A key priority of our intelligence community in Afghanistan is protecting our forces. And to that
end, the community has apparently come upon very disturbing intelligence.
On Friday, press reports alleged that, according to American intelligence officials, Russian military intelligence
secretly offered Taliban-connected militants bounties for killing American and coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Press reports also state that the White House National Security Council and other key Administration officials
were aware of this intelligence in late March and that the President was briefed. However, although an
interagency meeting was reportedly held to discuss potential responses including formal diplomatic complaints
and sanctions, no action has been taken for three months. The President now denies being briefed, but the
Administration has not denied the existence of the intelligence.
The questions that arise are: was the President briefed, and if not, why not, and why was Congress not briefed.
Congress and the country need answers now. I therefore request an interagency brief for all House Members
immediately. Congress needs to know what the intelligence community knows about this significant threat to
American troops and our allies and what options are available to hold Russia accountable.
The Administration’s disturbing silence and inaction endanger the lives of our troops and our coalition
partners. The President’s refusal to stand up to the Russians also jeopardizes lives in the region, as the Afghan
government and the United States are engaged in critical peace negotiations with the Taliban.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent priority for America’s national security.

Sincerely,

NANCY PELOSI