Trump Reportedly Received Written Briefing on Russian Bounty Intel in February

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The New York Times has reported on a new instance in which President Donald Trump was allegedly briefed on Russia’s campaign to reward Taliban-linked militias with cash bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Trump and the White House have denied there were briefings on the program, claiming it wasn’t credible enough. But the Times is now reporting the president received a written briefing on the subject in late February. This comes as the Associated Press reports that former national security adviser John Bolton briefed Trump on the Russian intelligence assessment as far back as March of last year.

The Times reported that the bounty intel was included in a compilation of foreign policy and national security updates.

“Moreover,” the piece states, “a description of the intelligence assessment that the Russian unit had carried out the bounties plot was also seen as serious and solid enough to disseminate more broadly across the intelligence community in a May 4 article in the C.I.A.’s World Intelligence Review, a classified compendium commonly referred to as The Wire,” two officials said.

Overnight, the DNI and the CIA both put out statements condemning the intelligence leaks behind the Russian bounty story. Separately, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien continued to insist the intel was unsubstantiated, but it was being prepared for Trump’s review “should the situation warrant.”

Overnight, Robert O’Brien issued statement that Pres. Trump was not briefed on the report of Russian bounties because the allegations had “not been verified.” But he said the admin, including the NSC staff were preparing “should the situation warrant.” pic.twitter.com/142XMElcW8

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 30, 2020