Russia and Putin · First term · № 59
Called reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan a 'hoax'
“The Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party. The secret source probably does not even exist, just like the story itself. If the discredited @nytimes has a source, reveal it. Just another HOAX!”
- Said
- Subject
- Russian bounty reports
- Type
- Intelligence and security
- Topic
- Foreign policy
- Era
- First term
What happened
News organizations reported in June 2020 that U.S. intelligence assessments said a Russian military intelligence unit had offered cash to Taliban-linked militants for attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan, and that officials had been weighing a response since at least March. Trump tweeted on June 28 that nobody had briefed him, Vice President Mike Pence or chief of staff Mark Meadows, and on July 1 called the story a hoax. National security adviser Robert O'Brien said the president's CIA briefer had not briefed him verbally because the intelligence was unverified. In April 2021 the Biden administration said the intelligence community had only "low to moderate confidence" in the reports, in part because they relied on detainee interrogations, and it did not sanction Russia over them.
Sources
- Tweets of July 1, 2020
- Tweets of June 28, 2020
- Trump: I was not told about 'Russian bounties' plot because it was not credible
- O'Brien says top CIA official decided against briefing Trump on Russia bounty intel
- Remember those Russian bounties for dead U.S. troops? Biden admin says the CIA intel is not conclusive
- Afghanistan war: US spies doubt reports of Russian 'bounties' for troops