It is being reported that top White House officials knew about the bounties that Russia placed on US troops in 2019.
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, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.
The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
….
The White House did not respond to questions about Trump or other officials’ awareness of Russia’s provocations in 2019.
It is unfathomable that top White House officials knew about the bounties in 2019, but notorious micromanager Donald Trump did not.
If top White House officials knew in 2019, it is almost certain that Trump was briefed. The great unknown is whether Trump didn’t believe the briefing, or he ignored it, as he reportedly did with the written briefing that he was given.
The bottom line is that Donald Trump allowed Putin to put a bounty on US troops for more than a year, and he has still done nothing to defend the troops or the country.
After House Democrats are finally briefed on the bounty, they need to launch a full immediate investigation into what Trump knew and when he knew it, because if he knew in 2019, Donald Trump committed a crime against the United States of America.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
