U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday denied that he had been briefed on reported U.S. intelligence that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan, and he appeared to minimize the allegations against Moscow. Trump, in a Sunday morning tweet, said, "Nobody briefed or told me" or Vice-President Mike Pence or chief of staff Mark Meadows about "the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians." Nobody briefed or told me, @VP Pence, or Chief of Staff @MarkMeadows about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an “anonymous source” by the Fake News @nytimes. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden labelled as a 'truly shocking revelation' a media report saying American intelligence officials concluded months ago that there were bounties offered to Taliban militants for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Biden criticized Trump for "his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself" before Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Source: CBC News June 28, 2020 11:38 UTC