GI ‘SLAY PAY’ DENIAL
Prez: No one told me of ‘Russian bounties’
President Trump on Sunday denied reports that he and Vice President Mike Pence had been briefed about bounties Russia allegedly paid the Taliban to kill US forces in Afghanistan.
“Nobody briefed or told me, @VPPence, or Chief of Staff @MarkMeadows about the socalled attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an ‘anonymous source’ by the Fake News @nytimes. Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us,” Trump posted on Twitter.
“Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration. With Corrupt Joe Biden & Obama, Russia had a field day, taking over important parts of Ukraine . . .
“Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed
Russia Hoax. Who is their ‘source’?”
Trump added that “this ‘person’ probably does not even exist!”
Later, on Sunday night, Trump said that he had just received information that the intelligence about the bounties did not seem valid, which, he claimed, was the reason he was not informed.
“Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or [Pence],” he wrote.
The Times published a report Friday saying that Trump was informed of the bounties and that they were discussed in late March by the National Security Council.
The report said that several options were weighed — including sanctions and a complaint to be made via diplomatic channels — but that the White House had yet to authorize any response.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe released statements on Saturday saying that Trump and Pence had not been briefed.
Biden blasted Trump on Saturday, saying, “It’s a betrayal of the most sacred duty we bear as a nation to protect and equip our troops when we send them into harm’s way.”
On Sunday, Trump tweeted in response, “Funny to see Corrupt Joe Biden reading a statement on Russia, which was obviously written by his handlers. Russia ate his and Obama’s lunch during their time in office, so badly that Obama wanted them out of the then G-8. U.S. was weak on everything, but especially Russia!”
Former President Barack Obama and other members of the Group of Eight industrialized nations ousted Russia from the association in 2014 following Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea. Trump, who is hosting this year’s planned meeting of the G-7 in September, has proposed inviting Russia to the gathering.