AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019
By JAMES LaPORTA Associated Press
Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported. That’s according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence. The officials say the assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time. Then-national security adviser John Bolton told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019. The White House says Trump still hasn’t been briefed on the intelligence assessments because they haven’t been fully verified. Russia denies offering bounties.