Dem senator to Mattis: Has Trump undermined Russia policy?

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is pushing Defense Secretary James Mattis on whether President Trump’s recent actions undermine the broader U.S. strategy toward Russia.

In a letter to Mattis on Wednesday, Duckworth expressed alarm at Trump’s firing of James Comey as FBI director and Trump’s decision to disclose highly classified information to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador last week.

“During your confirmation process, you routinely returned to a consistent theme: the need for better integration, unity of effort and the development of comprehensive plans and strategies to better confront the threats we face,” Duckworth wrote to Mattis.

{mosads}“I fear the events of the past few days are indicative of a dangerous problem and will prevent us from developing a comprehensive, integrated strategy to deal with the threat posed by an emerging Russia and its Iranian and Syrian allies.”

The Trump administration has been rocked by several bombshell stories over the past week.

Trump last week fired Comey, who was leading the FBI investigation into whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Then The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak “code-word information” during their meeting in the Oval Office last week.

On Tuesday, The New York Times also reported that Comey wrote in a memo that Trump had asked him to drop an investigation in former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Mattis on Tuesday afternoon brushed off a question about whether he’s concerned with Trump sharing intelligence with the Russians, telling reporters that he didn’t “know any more than what I’ve read in the newspaper” and that he’s “not worried.”

In her letter, Duckworth said giving the Russians classified information, in particular, “is yet another in a string of alarming actions by the administration that raise strategic concerns about our nation’s commitment to democracy, our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and our credibility across the globe.”

Duckworth, a combat veteran, asked Mattis for his assessment of five subjects and said “given the sensitive and likely classified nature of these requests” her office can coordinate the logistics of “ensuring classified information is properly transmitted.”

She asked Mattis how Trump’s disclosure of classified information affects current and future combat operations, intelligence sharing agreements with allies, diplomatic efforts and military-to-military relationships.

She also requested his assessment of current U.S.-Russia relations, the Pentagon’s resourcing and strategy to counter Russian aggression and NATO allies’ perception of the U.S. intent toward Russia.

Finally, she asked how the “apparent contradictions” between the Pentagon and the White House affect the Pentagon’s ability to craft a Russia policy and last week’s meeting undermined efforts on the policy.

“The frequency with which you and other members of the Trump administration’s national security team have been forced to contradict the commander in chief is highly alarming,” she wrote. “I am concerned that this bizarre practice may gradually degrade our nation’s credibility and standing in the world.”