White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday sidestepped questions about reports that Russia offered rewards to Taliban fighters for attacking members of the US military in Afghanistan.
McEnany stayed true to the talking points during the briefing, repeating several times that “there is no consensus within the intelligence community” on intelligence related to Russia’s rewards program. Pressured by details about whether the president found out about the intelligence, she declined to give further details beyond saying that Trump had not been personally informed of the information.
“The United States receives thousands of intelligence reports a day and they are subject to strict scrutiny,” McEnany said, reading prepared notes. “While the White House does not routinely comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA director, the NSA, and the chief of staff can confirm that neither the president nor the vice president was informed of the alleged Russian reward intelligence.”
“There is no consensus within the intelligence community on these allegations, and indeed there are dissenting opinions from some in the intelligence community,” he added.
McEnany did not say whether the intelligence was in the President’s Daily Brief, a top-level secret intelligence summary given to Trump daily, only reiterating that he was not “personally informed on the matter.”
McEnany declined to explain Trump’s tweet Sunday night that intelligence “had just informed him” that they did not find the information “credible” by explaining why he had not been informed of the material. She did not say who Trump was referring to in the tweet or whether the conversation constituted a full briefing.
“There are no further details on the president’s private correspondence,” McEnany said.
Later, he sidestepped a question about how Trump could be certain that intelligence was not credible if he had not been informed about it, instead accusing the New York Times of “irresponsible” reports.
The New York Times first reported on Friday that a Russian intelligence unit, commonly known as the GRU, secretly offered payments to Taliban-linked militants who launch successful attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. According to the Times, Trump received information on the matter in late March and the administration discussed possible responses, but the White House had yet to sign other measures.
The Washington Post reported Sunday night that the rewards program had resulted in American casualties.
The White House, backed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), has vociferously denied that Trump or Vice President Pence was informed of the intelligence. The ODNI has not commented on the credibility of the intelligence, and the White House had not addressed its credibility until Monday.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
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Several Republican lawmakers were in the White House for a briefing on the matter while McEnany spoke.
McEnany said the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows
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When a journalist noted that members of Congress were being briefed on an issue that the president claimed had not been reported, McEnany explained that Trump “receives information on verified intelligence.”
Republican lawmakers who attended Monday’s briefing included the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mac Thornberry
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Michael Thomas McCaul White House denies being informed of the rewards of Afghan militants. Republican lawmakers support Israel’s plan to annex areas in the West Bank. Sunday’s trailer shows: Bolton delivers a bomb as the United States tackles COVID-19, police brutality. PLUS (Texas), Adam Kinzinger
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– This report was updated at 3:13 pm
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