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‘Fully Briefed’ Trump Calls Russia Bounty Report ‘Fake News Media Hoax’

U.S. President Donald Trump is dismissing reports suggesting Russia may have offered a bounty to Taliban-linked militants for attacks on U.S. forces after top aides said he was fully briefed on the intelligence. In a series of early morning tweets Wednesday, the president called the reports “just another HOAX!” and said the source for the original report in The New York Times “probably does not even exist.” Trump also cited a statement from the Pentagon that military officials have “no corroborating evidence.” UPDATE: @ChiefPentSpox statement from 11:26pm Monday on alleged #Russia|n bounties for US,coalition forces in #Afghanistan@DeptofDefense “continues to evaluate intelligence that Russian GRU operatives were engaged in malign activity …To date DoD has no corroborating evidence” pic.twitter.com/tbSSUOXLLY
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 30, 2020″Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party” the president wrote on Twitter. “I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level.” “No corroborating evidence to back reports.” Department of Defense. Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party. I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 12, 2020.”If this does not count as treason, I don’t know what does,” Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton said during a call with reporters Wednesday. “If the most junior officer in the United States military ignores an intelligence report delivered to him or her, as we know this intelligence report was delivered to the commander-in-chief, then that junior officer would absolutely be in prison.” “This is undebatable dereliction of duty,” he added. Trump’s likely opponent in November’s presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden, expressed similar sentiments while talking to reporters Tuesday. “The idea that somehow he didn’t know or isn’t being briefed, it is a dereliction of duty if that is the case,” Biden said after a speech in Wilmington, Delaware. Americans should “conclude that this man isn’t fit to be president of the United States of America,” he added. ‘Confusion’ over intelligence reportBut key Republican lawmakers have defended the president and the White House, saying the unverified intelligence was handled properly. FILE – Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, June 30, 2020.”There’s some confusion as far as our own intelligence, and it just didn’t rise to the level of the president at that time,” Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in comments on the senate floor Tuesday. “Our intelligence agencies aren’t in complete agreement on this, even now.” Despite the lack of agreement on the intelligence about the alleged Russian plot to pay Taliban-linked fighters to attack and kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, U.S. officials insist the threat was not taken lightly, and that precautions were put in place. Officials have also said the intelligence was shared across the U.S. intelligence community and with allies whose troops were potentially at risk. MORE: @CIA “will continue to pursue every lead; analyze the information we collect with critical, objective eyes; and brief reliable intelligence to protect US forces deployed around the world” per Haspel
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 30, 2020On Tuesday, the White House blamed intelligence officials who leaked information about the alleged bounty program in Afghanistan for potentially blowing almost any chance of coming to a consensus on whether the threat was real. Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany criticized “rogue intelligence officers” for putting the lives of U.S. troops in danger, saying the leaks, and the attention being given to the unproven allegations, is weakening the country. “There is no good scenario as a result of this,” she told reporters. “Who’s going to want to cooperate with the United States intelligence community? Who’s going to want to be a source or an asset if they know that their identity could be disclosed?” “This level of controversy and discord plays directly into the hands of Russia, and unfortunately, serves their interests,” she added. Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson and White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman contributed to this report.
 
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