The White House denied President Trump had been briefed on U.S. intelligence that reportedly determined Russia offered secret bounties to kill U.S. troops.
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, issued a statement soon after presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden castigated Trump for allegedly taking no retaliatory action.
“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.
The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that a U.S intelligence assessment concluded that a Russian spy unit paid Taliban-connected militants in Afghanistan to kill U.S. troops, even as the Trump administration sought to reach a peace deal involving the Taliban and the Afghan government.
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.
Biden reacted to the news during a Saturday virtual town hall event focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander issues.
“There is no bottom to the depth of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s depravity, if that’s true,” the former vice president said, referring to Russia’s president. “President Trump, the commander in chief of American troops in a dangerous theater of war, has known about this for months, according to the Times, and has done worse than nothing.”
“Donald Trump has continued his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself before Vladimir Putin,” Biden later said, chiding the president for being willing to invite him to the White House while knowing this information.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin had not been made aware of the accusations. “If someone makes them, we’ll respond,” he said.
Trump on Sunday denied knowledge of the allegations himself in a series of tweets, saying, “Nobody briefed or told me,” Vice President Mike Pence, or chief of staff Mark Meadows.
…Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration. With Corrupt Joe Biden & Obama, Russia had a field day, taking over important parts of Ukraine – Where’s Hunter? Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed Russia Hoax. Who is their “source”?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2020
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 have not attacked any U.S. positions since that time.
