July 1, 2020 | 8:58am | Updated July 1, 2020 | 1:05pm
President Trump on Wednesday said the reports about the Russians offering Taliban fighters a bounty to kill American troops has not been corroborated and claimed they are part of a “hoax” to make him and other Republicans look bad.
“‘No corroborating evidence to back reports.’ Department of Defense. Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party,” the president posted on Twitter. “I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level.”
The New York Times and other media outlets reported that Trump was briefed about the bounties earlier this year but failed to take any action against Russia.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday that the reports are wrong about Trump being briefed. She said the president “does read” his daily briefings.
“This president, I’ll tell you, is the most informed person on planet Earth when it comes to the threats that we face,” she said.
McEnany went on to slam “rogue intelligence officers” who are putting national security at risk by leaking classified information.
“These are rogue intelligence officers who are imperiling our troops’ lives,” McEnany said. “We will not be able to get — very likely not be able to get a consensus on this intelligence because of what was leaked to the New York Times.”
