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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhite House does not plan any immediate response over intelligence reports on Russian bounties
The White House is not planning an immediate response to intelligence reports of Russian bounties given to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan because President Trump does not believe the reports are true or actionable, according to two senior administration officials.
Trump is not convinced he should do anything about the bounty issue, which he decried in a Wednesday morning tweet as just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party. One administration official said there is an internal White House dispute about how much information to declassify to support the presidents skepticism of the intelligence.
Some of Trumps own senior intelligence officials viewed the information as credible enough to warn the Pentagon and allies so they could ensure they had measures in place to protect their forces in Afghanistan, and to begin developing options for responding to the Russian operation, national security adviser Robert C. OBrien said Wednesday.
And though the administration has sought to downplay the veracity of the intelligence, OBrien said the CIA has asked the Justice Department to open a leak investigation on the matter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/white-house-does-not-plan-any-immediate-response-over-intelligence-reports-on-russian-bounties-targeting-us-troops/2020/07/01/7a5ee23c-bbb5-11ea-8cf5-9c1b8d7f84c6_story.html
So they're more worried about who leaked the story than they are about holding Putin accountable.
struggle4progress
(118,356 posts)Nevilledog
(51,202 posts)Laelth
(32,017 posts)Its getting really bad, now. They need to make a statement condemning the bounties soon.
But they probably wont. Trumps strategy, as always, is to double-down on the stupid.
-Laelth
NRaleighLiberal
(60,022 posts)Takket
(21,634 posts)ignore the story until the next shitstorm takes the headlines, and hope everyone forgets about the white house sanctioning the murder of US soldiers.........
Cha
(297,726 posts)when it was in the intelligence reports.
treasonous asshole must think it's going to "disappear".. down the fucking rabbit hole.