Senators fume after sanctioned Russians tour Capitol Hill: 'They came for one purpose!'

A bipartisan duo of senators fired off a furious letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, demanding to know how a delegation of Russian lawmakers was allowed to visit Capitol Hill and tour it with members of Congress.

The letter, sent by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), flagged the serious national security concerns at stake, noting that all the visitors from the Russian Duma who held meetings with members of Congress and the executive branch, are subject to U.S. sanctions.

"As you know, unlike the U.S. Congress, the Duma is not a separate and equal branch of government," the senators wrote. "Its members include Kremlin subordinates who have committed numerous cyber and ransomware attacks on Americans and have facilitated war crimes against Ukrainian civilians. Remarkably, they are today helping Iran target U.S. military and diplomatic personnel across the Middle East. The delegation came onto U.S. soil for one purpose: to advance the Kremlin's strategic aims including gathering additional useful intelligence. They did not come to engage in dialogue or in pursuit of democratic aims."

All of this, they noted, comes as Putin not only continues to menace Ukraine, but is providing weaponry to Iran to repel the U.S. military from the region.

"It is troubling that, despite those concerns, the U.S. government would give these individuals access to U.S. government institutions," the senators wrote. "It is important that Congress and the public understand the scope of the Russian delegation's actions here in the United States and the access they may have had to sensitive information."

They concluded by asking a series of questions of Rubio and Bessent, including "What is the justification for waiving sanctions on these individuals?" and "Was a counterintelligence assessment conducted for all individuals traveling to the U.S.?"