White House: Trump and Pence Were Not Briefed on Russia Paying Taliban Bounties to Kill American Soldiers
“The United States receives thousands of intelligence reports a day, and they are subject to strict scrutiny,” the White House press secretary said.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied Saturday that President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had been briefed on the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russian agents paid bounties to the Taliban to kill American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The New York Times reported Friday that the president had been notified of the matter. “The CIA Director, National Security Advisor, and the Chief of Staff can all confirm that neither the President nor the Vice President were briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence...The United States receives thousands of intelligence reports a day, and they are subject to strict scrutiny,” McEnany said in a statement. The denial raises the question of why the president and vice president were not briefed if the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies knew of the explosive finding.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.