Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, told Fox News Radio on Tuesday that President Trump is unlikely to have been informed of intelligence that Russia secretly offered rewards to Taliban-linked militants for killing US troops. in Afghanistan due to the unverified nature of the information.
“I don’t think the president has been informed,” Kinzinger said on “The Brian Kilmeade Show.” “The decision maker made the decision when he, keep in mind that this is when the coronavirus pandemic is also starting, he omitted that problem to wait for more information.”
MCENANY: PELOSI ‘GAMING POLICY’ WITH ‘FALSE’ REPORTS ON RUSSIAN RETURNS FOR UNITED STATES TROOPS
The New York Times intelligence report sent shock waves across Washington over the weekend. A senior US official told Fox News on Monday that the National Security Council recently met to present a “menu of responses” to Russian action in Afghanistan. However, a White House official said the president was not briefed on the matter until “after the NY Times reported on unverified intelligence” on Friday.
“What I do know is whether or not the president was informed, frankly, it is irrelevant because the intelligence agencies were still unable to agree on this,” said Kinzinger, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs who attended. to a White House briefing on the subject. “If this is something, you must have a great deal or at least [agreement] up to a point of significant confidence to be able to take action.
“Otherwise, in theory, if it’s not true and you’re reacting against the Russians, think about the harm of that.”
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Kinzinger added that the intelligence leak to the Times is very likely going to “dry up any traces we’ve been looking to find out more about this,” but he urged lawmakers to resist politicizing the issue while awaiting more information.
“I think where we are now, unfortunately, this has become a political problem,” he said. “Republicans and Democrats should agree that if Russia is doing this, there have to be serious consequences. Instead, many people have taken this as a time to do politics and embarrass the President.”
Jennifer Griffin and Kristin Fisher of Fox News contributed to this report.
