White House: Trump not briefed on alleged Russian offer to pay Taliban soldiers to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan due to lack of 'consensus' in intelligence community
At a press conference on Monday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said President Trump wasn’t briefed on the allegation that Russia offered Taliban soldiers a bounty to kill U.S. troops, because there was “no consensus” about it in the intelligence community.
Video Transcript
- I know you said that President Trump was never briefed on these reports about the Russian bounties and whatnot, but can you say that he was briefed today?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY: Look, I'll say this. That the US received thousands of reports a day on intelligence and they are subject to strict scrutiny. While the White House does not routinely comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA director, NSA, National Security Advisor, and the chief of staff can all confirm that neither the president nor the vice president were briefed on the alleged Russia-- Russian bounty intelligence.
- But has he been since briefed since all of these reports came out?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY: So let me back up and say this. That there is no consensus within the intelligence community on these allegations and-- and in effect, there are dissenting opinions from some in the intelligence community with regards to the veracity of what's being reported, and on the veracity of the underlying allegations continue to be evaluated.
- How would the president not be briefed on the Russia bounty story? Was he out of the loop by his own intelligence community?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY: No. As I noted, there was not a consensus among the intelligence community. In fact, there were dissenting opinions within the intelligence community. And it would not be elevated to the president until it was verified.
