Burr wants to talk to people at Trump-Russia meeting

WASHINGTON (WTVD) -- The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee says he wants to talk to one or more of the White House officials who were at the meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian officials in which the president shared intelligence about an Islamic State threat.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., says he wants to give the White House a chance to explain what happened.
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"What we're attempting to do is to have a conversation with an individual or multiple individuals at the White House that were part of the meeting that the president had with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador. We'd like to understand what was said. We can't go by just news accounts from an anonymous source," Burr told reporters outside a previously scheduled Senate Intelligence Committee meeting.

WATCH: Full video of Sen. Richard Burr's remarks


Burr says a president can share intelligence, although never things such as sources and methods.



"This is probably a good time to take a breath and understand that the president has the ability and the right to talk about intelligence," Burr said. "There is a point that you cut that off with foreign leaders especially when sources and methods are involved, so it's crucial that we talk to individuals to find out exactly what was said and not necessarily what was not said."
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He says he doesn't know if there is a transcript of the May 10 meeting, but somebody made notes.

Burr and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the committee, talked to reporters after a closed meeting of the panel.
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When asked by ABC's Mary Bruce whether he takes the White House's explanation at face value, Burr said, "I'd prefer to have a conversation with an individual that was in the room about what actually was said."


ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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