President Trump declined to say whether he had discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a call last week reports of Russia paying bounties to Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers.
“We don’t talk about what we discussed, but we had plenty of discussion, and I think it was very productive,” Trump told reporters during a coronavirus briefing in Morrisville, North Carolina, on Monday.
A U.S. intelligence assessment reportedly found that a Russian spy unit paid Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan to kill American soldiers, even as the Trump administration sought to broker a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Further reporting by the New York Times claimed Trump was briefed on the alleged plot and had devised a list of potential options to respond but had yet to authorize any response. Democrats have criticized Trump for failing to take action against Russia.
Trump and his administration deny that he had prior knowledge of the plot and are investigating the leak. National security adviser Robert O’Brien said the CIA had requested that the Justice Department open a criminal investigation and charged that the leak may thwart the government’s ability to “get to the bottom of” the claim. “That may never be possible now, and that’s a shame,” O’Brien said.
