Seagal Stars on Congress' Russia Trip to Probe Boston

US lawmakers who visited Russia to learn more about the lead-up to the Boston bombings say the two countries need to cooperate more—though perhaps that was made obvious by the fact that the tour required the help of actor Steven Seagal to arrange key meetings. The action star is well-connected in Russia and even offered to take the congressional delegation to Chechnya, although that trip was called off because House rules prevented the lawmakers from traveling on his private plane, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The lawmakers concluded that greater cooperation between security services could have prevented the Boston attacks, but they couldn't identify any specific failings by intelligence services in either country, the New York Times reports. "Yes, it could have been averted," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, the Republican who led the delegation. "Not just by one mistake by the United States or one mistake made over here in Russia, but instead by making sure that both countries were working together on a much higher level." (More Steven Seagal stories.)