WH: Trump Wasn’t Told About Bounties On US Troops

CNN reports:

US intelligence concluded months ago that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan, including US troops, amid peace talks, according to a New York Times report published Friday. Citing officials briefed on the matter, the Times reported that President Donald Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings and that the White House’s National Security Council held a meeting about it in late March.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement Saturday that the President and Vice President Mike Pence were not briefed “on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence.” McEnany said her statement “does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of the New York Times story,” which said Trump had been briefed.

JUST IN – @PressSec says neither Trump nor Pence were briefed on the “alleged Russian bounty intelligence” first reported by NYT

— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 27, 2020

This raises the obvious and very serious question: The US had intelligence that Russia was paying militants to kill US & allied troops, and officials decided NOT to tell the president or VP about it?

— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 27, 2020