The members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee were briefed about the deadly attack on the US military in Niger on October 4 in a closed session, Pentagon chief spokeswoman Dana White told reporters on Thursday.
"We have kept them up to date. Of course we will work with Sen. McCain and his staff to ensure they get everything that they need," she said."It is very important to [Defense Secretary James Mattis] and he is personally dedicated to that."
Pentagon's comments come in response to the warning of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) that he might summon to court to gain the additional information on the deadly incident as the Trump administration had not provided enough details to the committees.
Similar complaints regarding the lack of the specifics of the attack came from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN), who also said that they have not been given "what they should."
Dana White, however, did not specify who particularly briefed the lawmakers.
"I would say that we have done all we can and will continue to strive to do as much as we can to ensure that Sen. McCain and all the members of the [Senate Armed Services Committee] and the [House Armed Services Committee] have exactly what they need when they need it," she concluded.
The US military has launched a formal investigation into the deadly attack, during which a dozen US soldiers from the 3rd Special Forces Group and 30 to 40 Nigerien troops were ambushed by suspected Daesh (ISIS) affiliated terrorists on the Niger-Mali border.
Eight hundred US troops are stationed in Niger, acting in a training and advisory capacity to the country's military as well as flying their own reconnaissance drone missions. France is the main military backer of the government of the former French North Africa colony in its battle against militant groups.
White House Chief of Staff Defends President Trump's Call to Families of the Killed Soldiers
The US President has been strongly criticized for his "insensitive" remarks to the families of the killed soldiers. Democratic Representative Frederica Wilson, who said that she heard the remarks, earlier revealed that Donald Trump told Myeshia Johnson, the pregnant widow of 25-year-old Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed in Niger, that the soldier "knew what he signed up for."
On Thursday, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly defended the President, saying that he had "bravely" called the families of four fallen American soldiers.
"Most Americans don’t know what happens when we lose one of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines or Coast Guardsmen in combat," he said during his press briefing. He went on to describe the whole process.
