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Trump is under increasing pressure to clarify media reports that he has been provided with information showing that Russian military intelligence has offered and paid cash bonuses to Taliban fighters linked to the Taliban for killing US troops. in Afghanistan, but the President has not taken any action.
The NYT quoted two unidentified officials who said the information was included in a daily written report submitted to the president in late February.
CNN television aired a similar report, citing only one official who said the document was released “sometime in the spring.”
Trump denied being informed of the findings, and the White House explained Monday that the information had not been provided to the president because it had not been properly validated and the intelligence services had not reached a consensus on the reliability of the material.
It is well known that the president reads the daily reports that are presented to him from time to time and tends to receive information on current affairs from the conservative media. However, intelligence officials are also reported to report to the president orally up to three times a week.
NYT sources said the latter’s findings on Russia were deemed serious and compelling enough to be included in an article in the May 4 issue of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) non-public World Intelligence Review. .
The White House on Monday informed a small group of Republican lawmakers of its position, but Democratic congressional leaders demanded that the intelligence community inform all members of Congress.
In a previous letter to John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence, and Gina Haspel, Director of Central Intelligence, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, wrote: “Questions were asked: Was the President informed and, if not, why not? And why was Congress not informed?
The NYT previously wrote that US intelligence officials and special forces in Afghanistan began raising concerns in January and that an interdepartmental meeting organized by the National Security Council (NSA) in late March was considering responding to alleged actions of Russia, but the White House did not give them permission.
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