Bounty offerings by Russia are fake news, says Trump
US President Donald Trump continued to insist yesterday that reports that Russia was offering bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill US military personnel in Afghanistan were ‘‘fake news’’, as his national security adviser disclosed that options had been drawn up to present to Trump on how to respond if the allegations were corroborated.
National security adviser Robert O’Brien reiterated during a TV interview that national security officials decided not to present Trump with unverified intelligence regarding Russia’s purported plans, but indicated that they took the situation seriously enough to prepare options for the president.
‘‘If this eventually becomes something that’s proven, or something that we believe, we need to have options for the president to deal with the Russians,’’ O’Brien said during an appearance on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. ‘‘If this information turned out to be true, and now we may never know, but if it turned out to be true, we had options ready to go, and the president was ready to take strong action, as he always is."
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that White House officials were first informed in early 2019 of intelligence reports that Russia was offering the bounties to kill US and coalition military personnel, but the information was deemed sketchy and in need of additional confirmation, according to people familiar with the matter.
Several discussions were held with members of the National Security Council staff on the reports, which had been flagged as potentially significant and came at a time of growing tensions between Russia and the US.
In morning tweets, Trump continued to dismiss media reports on the episode, writing: ‘‘This is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party.’’
He took issue in particular with reports that he had received briefings on intelligence about the alleged bounties.
In an interview with Fox Business Network that aired yesterday, Trump insisted that the bounties were a ‘‘a hoax by the newspapers and the Democrats’’.
During the Fox News interview, O’Brien insisted that Trump was not briefed on the matter, calling that ‘‘another false story’’.
O’Brien also defended Trump against those who suggested that he was not eager to receive national security briefings, particularly those related to tensions with Russia. ‘‘The president’s an avid consumer of intelligence, and we give to him everything he needs to know,’’ he said.