New revelations stir old questions about Trump and Russia

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/30/politics/donald-trump-russia-taliban-phone-calls/index.html

Reports that a Russian military intelligence agency put a bounty on the heads of US troops in Afghanistan launched the President's team into a new cycle of confusion, apparent half-truths and contradictions as a fresh storm raged over Trump's mysterious deference to Moscow and its strongman leader, President Vladimir Putin.

 

Conflicting messages from the President and his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, only deepened the intrigue about what is really going on. 

 

None of what they are saying clears up an episode that comes as new reporting for CNN from veteran Washington reporter Carl Bernstein lifts the lid on Trump's desperate flattery of Putin, his ignorance of basic world events, the way he was manipulated by smarter world leaders and his "near-sadistic" -- according to one source -- behavior toward female world leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

White House Was Aware Of Russian Bounties In 2019: Report | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Rep. Slotkin, Ex-CIA Analyst: Bounty Intel Likely Went To President | Morning Joe | MSNBC

'Blood is on their hands': Rep. Banks says NYT revealed sensitive details on Russia bounty intel

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-york-times-russia-bounty-story-rep-banks

"Having served in Afghanistan during the time the alleged bounties were placed, no one is angrier about this than me," Banks wrote. "Now it’s impossible to finish the investigation. All b/c the @nytimes will do anything to damage @realdonaldtrump , even if it means compromising nat'l security."

The White House said Monday that Trump wasn't briefed on U.S. intelligence assessments concerning the bounties because the information had not been verified.

Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Monday that Trump — even now — had not been briefed on the allegations because the intelligence “would not be elevated to the president until it was verified."

The result was an odd situation in which eight Republican lawmakers attended a briefing at the White House on Monday about explosive allegations that the president himself was said to have not been fully read in on.

 

Joe: Trump Taking The Words Of Putin Over His Own Intel Chiefs | Morning Joe | MSNBC

GOP Lawmakers Urge Action After Russia-Afghanistan 'Bounties' Briefing

https://time.com/5861497/gop-russia-afghanistan-briefing-bounties/

 

The White House seemed to be setting an unusually high bar for bringing the information to Trump, since it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of doubt before it is presented to senior government decision-makers. McEnany declined to say why a different standard of confidence in the intelligence applied to briefing lawmakers than bringing the information to the president.

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said, “After today’s briefing with senior White House officials, we remain concerned about Russian activity in Afghanistan, including reports that they have targeted U.S. forces.”

Bash Says ‘It’s Inconceivable’ Trump Would Not Be Told About A Direct Threat To U.S. Troops | MSNBC

Rice: 'Makes No Sense' That Trump Wasn't Told Of Russia Bounties | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Trump battles NY Times on Afghanistan story, deletes inflammatory video

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-battles-ny-times-on-afghanistan-story-deletes-inflammatory-video

The president’s first instinct, as always, was to blame the press.

When a damaging story emerged, Donald Trump said he hadn’t been told about it, and besides, it was another “phony hit job” by the New York Times, and the paper should name its unnamed sources which, he said, were probably made up.

Trump went further yesterday, calling the report “possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News New York Times, wanting to make Republicans look bad!!!”

Much remains murky about what the president was or wasn’t told about Russia and Afghanistan. But unnamed administration officials have since confirmed the guts of the story to the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NBC, CNN and the AP, among others.

 

Kayleigh McEnany kept the focus on the Times yesterday, telling “Fox & Friends” that “it is truly egregious when you have anonymous sources spewing out this information on the pages of the New York Times anonymously, giving them false information.” I understand the frustration about leaks, which have plagued Trump from the beginning, but it’s hard to simultaneously argue that the information is both classified and false.

Some Republicans, led by Liz Cheney, have joined Democrats in demanding to know why the president wasn’t briefed, if that’s the case.

Pentagon says ‘no corroborating’ evidence to stand up NYT report on Russian bounties

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-says-no-corroborating-evidence-to-stand-up-nyt-report-on-russian-bounties

The Defense Department said late Monday that there is “no corroborating evidence” to support the explosive New York Times report last week that said the Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. 

Robert O’Brien, the national security adviser, said in a statement that since the allegations in the report were not verified by the intelligence community, Trump has not been briefed on the matter.

A White House official told Fox News on Monday that Trump has now been briefed on the issue. It’s unclear exactly when this briefing took place, but the official says it took place sometime “after the NY Times reported on unverified intelligence.”

The statement is at odds with the White House, which insisted that Trump has still not been briefed.

 

St. Louis couple pulls firearms on protesters cutting through their private street

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/29/us/st-louis-couple-protest-firearms-trnd/index.html

 

"The peaceful protesters were not the subject of scorn or disdain by the McCloskeys," their attorney, Albert S. Watkins, said in a statement to CNN. "To the contrary, they were expecting and supportive of the message of the protesters. The actions of violence, destruction of property and acts of threatening aggression by a few individuals commingling with the peaceful protesters, gave rise to trepidation and fear of imminent and grave."

Watkins says his clients acted, "lawfully on their property," and that "their actions were borne solely of fear and apprehension, the genesis of which was not race related. In fact, the agitators responsible for the trepidation were white."

Golden State Killer pleads guilty to 13 murders

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53226327

Joseph DeAngelo, the man known as the Golden State Killer, has admitted to 13 murders in a deal with US prosecutors meant to spare him the death penalty.

Trump is facing the thing he dreads most

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/29/opinions/trump-facing-thing-dreads-most-dantonio/index.html

 Declaring in 2016 that "I alone can fix it," Donald Trump made the country's fate all about him. He promised so much "winning" we'd get sick of it, and asked "What have you got to lose?" As President he made everything into a fight between Team Trump (good) and everyone else (bad). He bullied those he couldn't persuade and even survived an impeachment trial. But now, confronted with a pandemic, an economic crisis, and a moment of reckoning over racism, the limit of the president's method is obvious, and he seems on the brink of becoming the thing he most dreads: A loser.

With his limited mind, deficient heart and empty soul on full display, Trump is discovering that a man who declares "I alone can fix it" runs the risk of being blamed when everything breaks down. This is why his 2016 campaign aide Sam Nunberg says Trump is risking one of the worst defeats in history and political TV host Joe Scarborough is speculating about Trump quitting. Trump is "acting like he doesn't want to get re-elected," says Scarborough. "He's acting like he really wants to lose badly and take the Republican Party down with him."

Exposed by his own actions, the man who makes everything into a referendum on himself has given Americans another clear choice. He has demonstrated that what we've got to lose are our lives and that the choice really is between him, or us. Now we'll have to decide whether we will all join Team America and deliver to the bully his just deserts.

White House Was Reportedly Aware of Intel on Russian Bounties for U.S. Troops in 2019

https://time.com/5861541/white-house-russia-bounties-2019/

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.