United States Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) says he believed the Trump administration's response to reports of Russia having offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan was appropriate.
In a series of Tweets Tuesday, Young wrote that federal officials allowed him to review intelligence and attend a briefing related to the assessments, which President Donald Trump has claimed he wasn't informed about because the information had not been confirmed.
Young tweeted that information about the bounties reported by major national newspapers had not been verified.
In response to my letter to @POTUS yesterday asking for answers on reports of Russia bounties for U.S. troops – I was invited to review intelligence materials and receive a briefing in the Situation Room with the DNI and national security advisor. Here's what I learned:
The intelligence was first reported by The New York Times, then confirmed to The Associated Press by American intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter.
National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said the intelligence wasn’t brought to Trump’s attention initially because it was unverified and there was no consensus among the intelligence community. But it’s rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of doubt before it is presented to senior government decision-makers.
The national security adviser echoed the recent White House talking point faulting not Russia but government leakers and the media for making the matter public.
Senate Republicans appeared split on the matter, with several — including Young— defending the president and saying that the Russian meddling wasn’t new. Others expressed strong concern.
Intelligence officials told the AP that the White House first became aware of alleged Russian bounties in early 2019 — a year earlier than had been previously reported. The assessments were included in one of Trump’s written daily briefings at the time, and then-National Security Adviser John Bolton had told colleagues he had briefed Trump on the matter.
