Intelligence on Russian bounty plot was included in the President's Daily Brief earlier this year, s [View all]

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Source: cnn




Intelligence on Russian bounty plot was included in the President's Daily Brief earlier this year, source says


By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent Updated 7:19 PM ET, Mon June 29, 2020


(CNN)The intelligence that assessed there was an effort by a Russian military intelligence unit to pay the Taliban to kill US soldiers was included in one of President Donald Trump's daily briefings on intelligence matters sometime in the spring, according to a US official with direct knowledge of the latest information.

That assessment, the source said, was backed up by "several pieces of information" that supported the view that there was an effort by the Russian intelligence unit -- the GRU -- to pay bounties to kill US soldiers, including interrogation of Taliban detainees and electronic eavesdropping. The source said there was some other information that did not corroborate this view but said, nonetheless, '"This was a big deal. When it's about US troops you go after it 100%, with everything you got."

Trump is not known to fully or regularly read the President's Daily Brief, something that is well-known within the White House.
The information was serious enough the National Security Council staff held a meeting during the spring to discuss "possible response options," including sanctions, if the intelligence developed to the point it was deemed ready to take to the President for any possible action, the official said......................................

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/politics/russia-bounties-presidential-daily-briefing/index.html

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Barbara Starr saying this is meaningful.

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