Former Trump intelligence officials say they had trouble informing him about Russia: report

Former Trump administration officials said President TrumpDonald John Trump House panel approves defense policy bill 0.5B House of Representatives panel votes against curtailment of Insurrection Law powers after heated debate Panel votes House of Representatives to restrict Afghan withdrawal, request evaluation on ‘incentives’ to attack US troopsNational security advisers began limiting their information to the president on matters related to Russia due to his frequent rejection of such evaluations, CNN reported.

Former officials responsible for briefing Trump on national security issues said they were frequently angered when presented with intelligence that implicated Russia in political interference.

“The president has created an environment that discourages, if not prohibits, the mention of any intelligence that is not favorable to Russia,” a former high-ranking national security member told the network.

To avoid such episodes, informants often only included Russia-related material in the president’s written informational materials, but then discovered that he frequently did not read the written material, the network reported.

While informants did not stop informing Trump on Russia-related issues entirely, they did a calculation to report him only about them when there were serious threats, authorities told CNN.

A former intelligence official told the network that the informants’ focus was “Never casually intervene in Russia, decide when it is differential … Save it for when it matters.”

The report comes amid allegations that Russian intelligence officials offered rewards from Afghan militants for killing coalition forces, including US troops, and that the information was included in a February briefing. The president and White House officials have openly rejected reports that Trump was briefed on the matter, and Trump called the intelligence a “hoax.”

“The president was not informed because they were not substantiated at the time of these allegations,” White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Wednesday. “The president’s brief CIA career decided not to inform him because it was unverified intelligence … and knowing all the facts that I know of, I certainly support his decision.”

“[A]I thought we wouldn’t inform him about something because it would piss him off, I don’t even know how to answer that question, “added O’Brien.

Director of National Intelligence of the White House John RatcliffeJohn Lee Ratcliffe Republican senator calls for briefing on Russian rewards after intelligence review. Defense Overnight: House panel votes to ban Confederate flag on all Pentagon properties | DOD Report Says Russia Works to Accelerate US Withdrawal from Afghanistan | ‘Gang of Eight’ to receive information on rewards on Thursday Top intelligence officials to report to Gang of Eight on Thursday MORE, who took office in May, told CNN the report was “totally false.”

The Hill contacted the White House and Ratcliffe’s office for comment.