Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied reports that country operatives had offered bounties to the Taliban against U.S. troops and that no American representatives had raised the question with Russia. The comments come as the White House continues to distance President Donald Trump from the report, with the president saying intelligence officials reported they did not find the information credible and thus did not brief him on the subject. Lawmakers are pushing for an investigation into the accuracy of the intelligence.
- Trump says he didn’t ask Putin about Taliban bounty reports, calls it ‘fake news’
- Fallout grows as White House distances Trump from report of bounties on U.S. troops