AP: White House Knew of Russian Bounties in 2019
2020-07-01
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1The Associated Press reports that top White House officials knew in early 2019 about intelligence findings that Russia offered money to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans in Afghanistan.
2That is one year earlier than other news organizations have reported, including The New York Times.
3The AP said its information about the bounties came from U.S. officials with knowledge of classified intelligence.
4The officials provided the information on the condition that they not be identified.
5The AP said that the intelligence was reported in at least one daily presidential briefing.
6The briefings are written documents.
7John Bolton, the former national security advisor, also told people at the time that he informed Trump about the intelligence in March of 2019.
8Bolton did not comment Monday when asked by AP reporters if he had spoken with Trump about the intelligence in 2019.
9The AP also reported Sunday that information about Russian bounties was in another presidential daily briefing this year, and that current national security advisor Robert O'Brien had discussed the issue with Trump.
10O'Brien denies the AP report.
11He said Monday that the intelligence information about Russian bounties has "not been verified."
12But he added that the administration has "been preparing should the situation warrant action."
13The White House did not answer AP's questions about if Trump or other officials knew of Russia's reported actions in 2019.
14The White House said Trump has not yet been briefed on the intelligence finding because it has not been fully confirmed.
15Concerns about Russian bounties gained attention this year after members of the special forces recovered $500,000 from a Taliban military camp.
16Members of the U.S. intelligence community suspected that Russia had offered the money to the Taliban and related groups.
17The New York Times first reported that information.
18Sources told the AP that career government officials also developed several possible actions against Russian aggression in Afghanistan.
19But the Trump administration has not approved any action.
20Officials said the intelligence in 2019 and 2020 surrounding Russian bounties came from captured Taliban militants from different areas and different tribes.
21Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, denied that Russia had offered payments to the Taliban in exchange for targeting U.S. and coalition forces.
22The Taliban told VOA on Tuesday that it held a video call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
23The Taliban is currently in negotiations for a peace deal with the United States.
24Its spokesman said the reports are "not true. We have already rejected that."
25He added the group would not permit "anyone to use Afghan soil (to launch attacks) against any country."
26The Trump administration held separate briefings on the issue for Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress.
27On Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers said White House officials offered "their perspective" at a time when lawmakers need to hear directly from the intelligence community.
28Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, chair of the House intelligence committee, said that Trump's defense that he has not been briefed about the issue is inexcusable.
29A day earlier, Republican Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, said Congress should aim to find out who knew what and when.
30He said, "Did the commander in chief know? And if not, how the hell not?"
31The AP reported that the U.S. is investigating whether Americans died as a result of the Russian bounties.
32Officials are centering their efforts on an April 2019 attack that killed three U.S. soldiers as they returned to Bagram airfield.
33One of those soldiers was Corporal Robert Hendriks of Locust Valley, New York.
34His father told the AP that even unconfirmed talk of Russian bounties should have been immediately addressed.
35I'm Caty Weaver.
1The Associated Press reports that top White House officials knew in early 2019 about intelligence findings that Russia offered money to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans in Afghanistan. 2That is one year earlier than other news organizations have reported, including The New York Times. 3The AP said its information about the bounties came from U.S. officials with knowledge of classified intelligence. The officials provided the information on the condition that they not be identified. 4The AP said that the intelligence was reported in at least one daily presidential briefing. The briefings are written documents. John Bolton, the former national security advisor, also told people at the time that he informed Trump about the intelligence in March of 2019. Bolton did not comment Monday when asked by AP reporters if he had spoken with Trump about the intelligence in 2019. 5The AP also reported Sunday that information about Russian bounties was in another presidential daily briefing this year, and that current national security advisor Robert O'Brien had discussed the issue with Trump. 6O'Brien denies the AP report. He said Monday that the intelligence information about Russian bounties has "not been verified." But he added that the administration has "been preparing should the situation warrant action." 7The White House did not answer AP's questions about if Trump or other officials knew of Russia's reported actions in 2019. The White House said Trump has not yet been briefed on the intelligence finding because it has not been fully confirmed. 8How did intelligence find out? 9Concerns about Russian bounties gained attention this year after members of the special forces recovered $500,000 from a Taliban military camp. Members of the U.S. intelligence community suspected that Russia had offered the money to the Taliban and related groups. 10The New York Times first reported that information. Sources told the AP that career government officials also developed several possible actions against Russian aggression in Afghanistan. But the Trump administration has not approved any action. 11Officials said the intelligence in 2019 and 2020 surrounding Russian bounties came from captured Taliban militants from different areas and different tribes. 12Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, denied that Russia had offered payments to the Taliban in exchange for targeting U.S. and coalition forces. 13The Taliban told VOA on Tuesday that it held a video call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Taliban is currently in negotiations for a peace deal with the United States. Its spokesman said the reports are "not true. We have already rejected that." He added the group would not permit "anyone to use Afghan soil (to launch attacks) against any country." 14Congressional reaction 15The Trump administration held separate briefings on the issue for Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress. 16On Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers said White House officials offered "their perspective" at a time when lawmakers need to hear directly from the intelligence community. 17Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, chair of the House intelligence committee, said that Trump's defense that he has not been briefed about the issue is inexcusable. 18A day earlier, Republican Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, said Congress should aim to find out who knew what and when. He said, "Did the commander in chief know? And if not, how the hell not?" 19The AP reported that the U.S. is investigating whether Americans died as a result of the Russian bounties. Officials are centering their efforts on an April 2019 attack that killed three U.S. soldiers as they returned to Bagram airfield. 20One of those soldiers was Corporal Robert Hendriks of Locust Valley, New York. His father told the AP that even unconfirmed talk of Russian bounties should have been immediately addressed. 21I'm Caty Weaver. 22The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted for Learning English with additional information from VOA News. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 23_______________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25bounty - n. a amount of money given to someone as a reward for action against someone else 26classified - adj. kept secret from all but a few people in the government 27briefing - n. a short meeting to give and receive information 28verify - v. to prove, show or state that something is true 29warrant - v. to deserve 30source - n. a person that gives information 31perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something