Pelosi criticizes Trump on Russia after intel briefing

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi strongly criticized President Donald Trump on Thursday after US intelligence chiefs conducted classified briefings for congressional leaders about intelligence assessments of Russian bounties to kill American troops.

"Of course, the president should have been briefed. This is of the highest priority," she said.

President Trump has called news reports about the assessments a “hoax,” but hasn't directly addressed their substance or whether the US has or will respond to Russia.

"The White House put on a con that if you don't have 100 percent consensus on intelligence," Pelosi said.

"We would practically be investigating nothing if you had to start off 100 percent," she said.

"So don't buy into that."

On Wednesday, the president told a network news reporter that there was no consensus on the intelligence assessments, and that it didn't rise to such a level that he needed to be told about it.

Top intelligence officials, including CIA Director Gina Haspel and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, conducted the closed-door briefing for the group of lawmakers dubbed the “gang of eight” - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the top Republicans and Democrats on the two intelligence committees.

Pelosi has called for additional sanctions on Russia.

"In our last Russian sanctions legislation, you may recall, we had a strong bipartisan bill that was to be sent to the president, but the White House said they wanted us to take out the sanctions on Russia that pertained to the intelligence and the defense sectors," Pelosi said.

"The very sector that is accused of possible threats on our men and women in uniform."

"We have to restore those. Whatever else happens of this, we must restore all of those sanctions and we must act upon them," she said.