Confirmation today that Donald Trump knew about a scheme where Russia paid Taliban mercenaries to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. The Associated Press spoke with “two American intelligence officials and two others with knowledge of the matter:”
“The intelligence officials told the AP that Trump was briefed on the bounty matter earlier this year.”
Sunday, in a Tweet, Trump called reports of the bounty a “fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News.” He also wrote, “Nobody briefed or told me.”
But the AP adds that not only was he briefed, but “One official said the administration discussed several potential responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step.”
The New York Times, the publication that broke the story, reports that Trump was briefed in late March. Making that timing more curious, there are reports that Trump had a series of phone calls around that time with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Radio Free Europe called it a “flurry of communication.”
There were Trump Putin phone calls on:
March 30
April 9
April 10
April 12
June 1Trump and Putin also issued a joint statement on April 25
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) June 28, 2020
Congress and the country need answers now. I therefore request an interagency brief for all House Members immediately. Congress needs to know what the intelligence community knows about this significant threat to American troops and our allies and what options are available to hold Russia accountable.
The Administration’s disturbing silence and inaction endanger the lives of our troops and our coalition partners. The President’s refusal to stand up to the Russians also jeopardizes lives in the region, as the Afghan government and the United States are engaged in critical peace negotiations with the Taliban.