Chuck Schumer pushed the Trump administration for more clarity on a report about a U.S. visit by Sergey Naryshkin, head of President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence service. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Schumer presses Trump on report that Russian under sanctions entered U.S.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday pressed the Trump administration to explain a report that Moscow's foreign intelligence director entered the United States last week despite being subject to sanctions.

Appearing alongside the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Schumer pushed the administration for more clarity on the report from Russian-state owned media — and tweeted by Moscow's embassy — about a U.S. visit by Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence service.


Schumer seized on Naryshkin's unconfirmed entry into the country one day after the Trump administration said it would postpone the imposition of new sanctions against Russia that Congress sought in bipartisan legislation last year.

“The Trump administration must immediately come clean and answer questions. Which U.S. official did he meet with?” Schumer told reporters.

Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

“Surely he didn’t come alone,” Schumer added, asking if any other sanctioned officials also entered the country and suggesting that the reported visit may have been connected to the administration’s Monday sanctions delay.

Naryshkin was subject to travel restrictions as part of an executive order issued in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama in response to Putin's annexation of Crimea. That executive order was codified into law by Congress in last year's sanctions legislation, which passed overwhelmingly, though it is unclear whether any exemptions may have existed to permit Naryshkin's entry into the United States.

The report of Naryshkin's U.S. visit, in the Russian state-owned TASS service, quotes Moscow's U.S. ambassador as stating that the foreign intelligence official held "consultations with his counterparts" about anti-terrorism efforts, potentially during this year's World Cup in soccer.

President Donald Trump and Putin's government have consulted on anti-terrorism operations in the past, including in a call last month during which Putin hailed the U.S. for alerting Russia to intelligence that had helped foil an attack on its soil.

Democrats are continuing to push on Tuesday for more oversight of the administration's sanctions decision. Cardin told reporters before he appeared with Schumer that he was "disappointed that there has not been a more aggressive use of the law that Congress passed" with only five dissenting votes in July.

The State Department, Treasury Department, and Russian embassy did not immediately return a request for comment on the report concerning Naryshkin's visit to the United States.

Timothy Barrett, spokesman for the Director of National Intelligence, declined to comment on the Naryshkin report but added that any meeting which may have occurred would have complied with existing laws.

“While we do not discuss the schedules of U.S. intelligence leaders, rest assured that any interaction with foreign intelligence agencies would have been conducted in accordance with U.S. law and in consultation with appropriate Departments and agencies," Barrett said by email.

Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.