White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: AP

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.

The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.

The White House did not respond to questions about Trump or other officials’ awareness of Russia’s provocations in 2019. The White House has said Trump was not — and still has not been — briefed on the intelligence assessments because they have not been fully verified. However, it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of a doubt before it is presented to top officials.

Bolton declined to comment Monday when asked by the AP if he had briefed Trump about the matter in 2019. On Sunday, he suggested to NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Trump was claiming ignorance of Russia’s provocations to justify his administration’s lack of a response.



Read more: https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1

[mysteryowl]

1. Impeach and Remove!

[StarryNite]

9. Impeach, Remove, and Imprison

[regnaD kciN]

14. It just shows how deeply the Republican Party is in Trump's pocket...

...that this isn't being at least discussed privately among them.

The thing is, this scandal couldn't come along at a better time for the establishment Republican Party. Trump is already crashing and burning, seems headed for a landslide defeat to a "teflon" opponent with none of our 2016 nominee's political vulnerabilities, and looks likely to not only lose but take the Senate down with him. And now this. If I'm in an independent Republican leadership, this would be the ideal time to decide that Trump must go -- not because of bungling the pandemic and crashing the economy, nor of all the myriad other misdeeds on his part, but because it was now revealed, to "our" shock, that he had been betraying our own military and helping the Taliban kill American troops. What better time to impeach, remove, and prosecute -- a complete repudiation -- and make it look like it was the Republican Party itself, pushed beyond all that any decent American could tolerate, that took the initiative in removing him? That way, they could have President Pence as their standard-bearer, or else dump him and choose another mainstream Republican leader as a "new broom" to sweep aside all of Trump's corruption while still upholding the mantle of "principled conservatism." Given that choice, or the likelihood of going down to defeat with 45 in November and seeing the Democrats take over, it would seem to be a win-win for their side.

And the fact that they don't seem to be even considering it, but instead are circling the wagons around someone responsible for turning a blind eye to American soldiers being killed, shows just how gelded the current Republican Party is.

[budkin]

2. It keeps getting worse

Jesus

[Freethinker65]

3. When did Pence know? His hands are far from clean. He did nothing as he watched Trump do nothing!!

[sandensea]

15. Him, Esper, O'Brien, Bumbeo, Jabba-the-Barr...

The whole lot of them (plus Javanka).

[LudwigPastorius]

4. Trump and his cult live in a different reality.

If he says he was never briefed, they'll believe it...even if God, Jesus, Buddha, and their grandmothers tell them differently.

The Trump Cult is a disease that must be excised from the body politic. And, his traitorous GOP enablers should be prosecuted for their crimes.

This country needs to follow the "Denazification" model that Germany went through after WWII.

[dalton99a]

5. Kick

[sakabatou]

6. And didn't do anything!

[Skittles]

7. and he continued to kiss Putie ass!

[LovingA2andMI]

8. GET.....OUT!!!

NOW!!

[BigmanPigman]

10. So when he invited The Taliban to Camp David in Sept 2019

he WAS aware of this. Lovely! Bolton needs to come clean!

"The talks have pitted Trump's hawkish national security adviser John Bolton against the nation's chief diplomat, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose agency has led negotiations with the Taliban over the past 10 months."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/politics/camp-david-donald-trump-mike-pence-taliban/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/world/asia/afghanistan-trump-camp-david-taliban.html

[wishstar]

17. Bolton won't spill details out of fear of retaliation for revealing classified info

which explains why he left this bombshell out of his book and also why all of the numerous sources for the Russian bounty news reports are anonymous.

[BigmanPigman]

18. You're right, we haven't heard about the sources.

[mvd]

11. If this was a normal democracy, that would be the final straw

Big test ahead.

[olddad65]

12. If Russia did this, seems to me that it would constitute an act of war

And Trump letting it slide would be an act of treason.

[regnaD kciN]

13. I've been reluctant to use the "T-word" for any of 45's misdoings so far...

...because treason is a tightly-defined legal term and none of Trump's previous colluding with foreign powers, however corrupt and impeachable/prosecutable, met the standard of "giving aid and comfort to an enemy in times of war."

This does.

I have no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump should be charged with treason for helping an adversary kill American troops.

And we all know the penalty for treason.

[Tarheel_Dem]

16. Gee, I'm old enough to remember when a black POTUS not wearing a flag pin was considered...

treasonous & disrespectful to our troops. But, I never thought I'd live long enough to see the Republican party silent on the actual murder of our troops. You live and learn, I guess. We are through the looking glass, people. SMH

[gademocrat7]

19. The whole cabal needs to be removed.