White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied a Friday report from the New York Times that President Trump and Vice President Pence were briefed on American intelligence findings that Russian military operatives offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan, including US troops, amid peace talks.
Citing White House officials briefed on the matter, the Times reported that Trump and Pence were briefed on the intelligence findings and that the White House’s National Security Council held a meeting about the issue in late March.
McEnany denied any such briefing, saying in a statement Saturday that, “While the White House does not routinely comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA Director, National Security Advisor, 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 that the U.S. “receives thousands of intelligence reports a day and they are subject to strict scrutiny,” adding that she is not denying the intelligence exists, but that the president was not briefed on it.
“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,” McEnany said.
The Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., has called the Times report “fake news” and baseless. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied the allegations to the Times, calling them a “baseless” effort to defame them.
The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Fox News released reports confirming the Times’s reporting.
The work from the newspaper resulted in a renewed push among lawmakers to sanction Russia. The president has doubted American intelligence in the past, most notably during a 2018 press conference alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, where he publicly rejected U.S. intelligence that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement Saturday that he “immediately reached out to the Administration” to confirm the allegations.
“If accurate, the Administration must take swift and serious action to hold the Putin regime accountable,” McCaul said.
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Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) to put his bill sanctioning Russia for a vote on the chamber floor.
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- Discussion
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JUST IN: White House denies it was briefed about bounties for Afghan militants to kill coalition troops https://t.co/VaqnLSaHZ5 pic.twitter.com/8NJ6n92sXk
— The Hill (@thehill) June 27, 2020Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing if she’s telling the truth or if she’s been told the truth. https://t.co/lM4hlf3FhB
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) June 27, 2020
So, instead of "we betrayed American soldiers," they're going to go with "we are all just criminally incompetent and negligent."
It's a bold strategy, Cotton. https://t.co/AjyDusMypk— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 27, 2020
This information would have been in the PDB for sure. While it may be true that Trump doesn’t read or listen, I bet this was conveyed to him in person. If not, then Pompeo, Esper and O’Brien should all be fired because they should have taken this up with him as soon as they knew. https://t.co/c8cscTMkwW
— Michael Carpenter (@mikercarpenter) June 27, 2020
NEW: A Western intelligence source has told me the intelligence on GRU Unit 29155 offering the Taliban money to kill U.S. or British soldiers is correct.
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) June 27, 2020
Fox News has posted a story which matches the New York Times reporting that the president and top officials were told months ago that a Russian government spy unit paid the Taliban to attack US troops. https://t.co/ZIWE4zzGfC
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 27, 2020
Trump stood in front of West Point graduates while knowing that Russia had bounties out on American soldiers. pic.twitter.com/k4UgckdbSD
— Ted Corcoran (Red T Raccoon) (@RedTRaccoon) June 27, 2020
Kayleigh Mendacity hardest hit. https://t.co/QAAOm5Xo9K
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 28, 2020
Our latest from @ProjectLincoln https://t.co/TDZBYQbDOw
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 28, 2020
1. This asserts a *briefing* never occurred.
-But was the information known to the President and VP? Anyone in DC knows the difference between these two things.
2. Who *did* know?
3. I see no reason to take DNI's word on anything. https://t.co/gCsELHKM9U
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 28, 2020
"Not briefed on the exactly the stuff that the NYT says was briefed" means
The NYT said the waiter offered vanilla ice cream
"We did not say that vanilla ice cream was available."
Was any ice cream on the menu you offered?
"no comment"
Did the president eat it?
"no comment" https://t.co/9VTGv95unh
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 28, 2020
First, read the NYT article by @charlie_savage, @EricSchmittNYT, and @mschwirtz, with details about the reported Russian military intel unit behind this, the high-level USG discussions about responses, and the White House not authorizing any of them.
— David Priess (@DavidPriess) June 28, 2020
Maybe multiple sources are all wrong and there is no such assessment. (Neither the White House nor other entities have denied the core of the reporting, making this option quite unlikely, but it’s theoretically possible.)
If so, shame on the sources.
4/10
— David Priess (@DavidPriess) June 28, 2020
Maybe POTUS was, in fact, orally briefed on it—but White House officials have decided to lie about it, perhaps in a weak attempt to avoid the logical next question: Why hasn’t the commander in chief responded to such a grave development?
If so, shame on them. And on him.
6/10
— David Priess (@DavidPriess) June 28, 2020
Maybe it was in the written PDB, but Trump didn’t see it (reports say he doesn’t read it, preferring irregular oral briefings) *and* readers like the NatSec Advisor, SecState, and SecDef saw it *and* they forgot to ensure he knew about it.
If so, shame on them. And on him.
8/10
— David Priess (@DavidPriess) June 28, 2020
Or maybe the assessment was in the PDB and other regular PDB readers saw it, but it wasn’t orally briefed to POTUS so he never got it, and nobody in the system wanted this commander in chief to get it, because they were afraid of what he’d do, or *not* do, after getting it.
/end
— David Priess (@DavidPriess) June 28, 2020
On March 30, Putin and Trump “spoke by telephone, the first of 5 calls between the two over a period of three weeks, a flurry of communication unprecedented during Trump's 3 1/2 years in office.” https://t.co/CxaX7kX7cW
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) June 28, 2020
President Trump is parroting official Russian propaganda to discredit reports—now confirmed by multiple news services—about Russian bounties on American troops. pic.twitter.com/E10qENn1zW
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) June 28, 2020
Aaaaaaaaaand there it is https://t.co/t1g8X7p5MI
— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) June 28, 2020
One of the @ProjectLincoln OGs with a simple yet apt observation on the President's responses today. https://t.co/RthApvzHgS
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 28, 2020
At any other moment in American history, this kind of narcissistic, whiny response to the incredibly serious reporting about Russian bounties would’ve been a scandal unto itself.
In year four of Trump, it may not even be the most offensive thing he’s tweeted in the past hour. pic.twitter.com/zRVASFRReR
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) June 28, 2020
"United States intelligence officers and Special Operations forces in Afghanistan alerted their superiors as early as January…"
and no one told Trump. huh.
🤔
— Dennis Herring (@dcherring) June 28, 2020Couldn’t be, but… 3 options. He was told and did nothing. BAD. He was not told. BAD. He knows now and is doing nothing. BAD. Could anyone be more inept/corrupt? @Amy_Siskind @JoeNBC @MollyJongFast @gtconway3d
— Bruce Cohen (@brucecohenrider) June 28, 2020
Whoa. Trump's now claiming "intel" has just reported to him they didn't find the Russia-Taliban information credible. But wasn't it credible enough so there was a high-level WH meeting about it last week? Weren't the British briefed? Will any intel officials now back him on this? https://t.co/cAv1owq3Eg
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 29, 2020
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