President Trump reportedly doesn’t find U.S. intelligence saying Russia issued bounties for U.S. soldiers “actionable.”
Two senior administration officials said the White House has no immediate plans to respond to reports that a Russian spy unit paid Taliban-connected militants in Afghanistan to kill U.S. troops, according to the Washington Post.
Officials are reportedly debating how much information the administration should declassify to support Trump’s position not to act on the intelligence. On Monday, Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said there is “no corroborating evidence” to “validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports.”
The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a U.S intelligence assessment indicated Russia was paying the bounties to Taliban-linked militants, even as the Trump administration sought to reach a peace deal involving the Taliban and the Afghan government.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany issued a statement saying that neither the president nor Vice President Mike Pence were briefed on the topic.
“The United States receives thousands of intelligence reports a day, and they are subject to strict scrutiny. While the White House does not routinely comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA director, national security adviser, and the chief of staff can all confirm that neither the president nor the vice president were briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence,” she said on Saturday.
McEnany stressed that the White House did not dispute the “alleged intelligence” but rather took issue with “the inaccuracy of the New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed on this matter.”
The New York Times reported that Trump was briefed about the bounties during an interagency meeting late in March. Officials developed a list of options to respond, but the outlet’s sources said the administration has yet to authorize any of the actions. The Associated Press reported on Monday that former national security adviser John Bolton briefed the president on the matter early last year.
Twenty-four U.S. service members have been killed in combat in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2019. It remains unclear which of those killings may be under suspicion of having a financial incentive. The U.S. and the Taliban struck a peace agreement in February, and the Taliban has not attacked any U.S. positions since that time.
