Trump denies being briefed on reported Russian bounties to kill US troops
- The New York Times reported that bounties offered by Russia’s military intelligence service gave incentives to Taliban fighters to target US forces
- Donald Trump said he was not briefed, as Joe Biden said the president failed to stand up to Russia, and John Bolton said he was trying to avoid appearing negligent
American intelligence officials concluded months ago that Russian officials offered rewards for successful attacks on American service-members last year, at a time when the US and Taliban were holding talks to end the long-running war, according to The New York Times.
Trump, in a Sunday morning tweet, said “Nobody briefed or told me” or Vice-President Mike Pence or chief of staff Mark Meadows about “the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians”.
“Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us,” he said.
The White House had issued a statement on Saturday denying that Trump or Pence had been briefed on such intelligence. “This does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of the New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed on this matter,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.