White House Says Trump Has Now Been Briefed on Reported Russian Bounties
The White House now says President Donald Trump has been briefed on reports that Russian operatives placed bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. During her press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary…
The White House now says President Donald Trump has been briefed on reports that Russian operatives placed bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
During her press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, “The president has been briefed on what is unfortunately in the public domain because of The New York Times.”
“But that does not change the fact that there is no consensus on this intelligence that still has yet to be verified,” she added.
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The New York Times reported on Friday that Russian operatives offered cash rewards to Taliban militias to attack U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and that Trump had been briefed on the matter, but had been struggling to develop a response.
But the White House and the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe denied that the president was briefed on the matter.
In a statement over the weekend, Ratcliffe said, “Neither the President nor the Vice President were ever briefed on any intelligence alleged by the New York Times in its reporting.”
He added, “The White House statement addressing this issue earlier today, which denied such a briefing occurred, was accurate. The New York Times reporting, and all other subsequent news reports about such an alleged briefing are inaccurate.”