CIA, NSA Directors to Brief Congressional Leaders on Thursday: WH

The directors of U.S. intelligence agencies will brief the "Gang of Eight" made up of congressional leaders and chairs of the intelligence committees, on Thursday about reports that Russia paid bounties to the Taliban to kill U.S. troops, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Wednesday.

Briefings for lawmakers have taken place throughout the week, but many lawmakers have said they want to hear from intelligence leaders, not White House insiders, about the matter.

President Donald Trump has come under fire over the reports, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle asking for details on whether the president was properly briefed on the matters, with some criticizing him for not responding forcefully to Moscow.

The White House has blasted the intel as uncorroborated. Trump has dismissed the controversy as a hoax drummed up by Democrats and left-leaning newspapers to undermine his presidency, already grappling with mushrooming controversies over the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.