3 Senate Democrats want an investigation of Trump's delay in implementing Russia sanctions

Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sent a letter to the inspectors general of the State Department, Treasury Department, and the intelligence community on Friday asking for an independent investigation into the Trump administration's failure to implement Russia sanctions passed by Congress last year.

"[I]t seems clear that several weeks ago the administration had identified specific Russian entities that had played a role in supplying or otherwise supporting the government of Syria's chemical weapons program, had prepared a list of such entities for sanctions designation, and Ambassador Nikki Haley publicly announced their imminent designation," the letter says, "but then did not designate them, reportedly at the direction of the president."

The White House has said the penalties imposed by the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) are unnecessary because the measure is already achieving its intended results. A State Department official said in January that the passage of CAATSA shows "significant transactions with listed Russian entities will result in sanctions. Sanctions on specific entities or individuals will not need to be imposed because the legislation is, in fact, serving as a deterrent."

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The president has some executive discretion in enforcing the law, but its scope is the subject of legal debate. The senators' request is unlikely to be honored, The Washington Post reports, unless congressional Republicans support it as well.