W. House denies Trump briefed on Russia bounty intel

The White House denied Saturday that President Donald Trump had been briefed on intelligence that reportedly showed Russia had offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants if they killed US soldiers in Afghanistan.

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said “neither the President nor the Vice President were briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence,” which was first reported by The New York Times on Friday.

“This does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of The New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed on this matter,” she added.

The report came as Trump seeks to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, and end America’s longest war.

The Taliban have denied the report, saying that homemade explosives account for most fatalities among US forces.

Russia has also denounced the report, with its embassy in Washington tweeting that the “baseless and anonymous accusations” in the Times story had “already led to direct threats to the life of employees” at its embassies in Washington and London.