The White House said the claim was hidden from Trump because the information was not verified. (File)
Washington:
US President Donald Trump “reads” the intelligence notes, the White House said Tuesday in reaction to its alleged ignorance of a Russian program allegedly paying bonuses to the Taliban for killing American troops.
The New York Times, citing two anonymous officials, reported that the president had received a written bonus briefing at the end of February, contradicting his claim that he had not been informed of the threat.
Democrats asked for more information from intelligence officials earlier on Tuesday as questions were asked about Trump’s degree of involvement in sensitive files and his attention to the confidential documents he was given sent.
“The president is reading,” said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany at a press briefing.
“He is constantly informed and informed about intelligence matters.”
“The president is the most knowledgeable person on planet Earth when it comes to the threats we face,” she added.
The White House said on Monday that the complaint was hidden from Trump because the underlying information was not verified.
The Democrats asked John Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence, and CIA director Gina Haspel to provide more information and to explain why Congress had not been briefed on the issue.
“We need to know whether President Trump has been informed of this information or not, and if so when,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday.
With Trump, “all roads lead to Putin,” said Nancy Pelosi, president of the House of Representatives.
Suspicion of the President stems from his election campaign promise to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the alleged collusion between the Kremlin and Trump’s electoral team that garnered most of the attention of his mandate.
