Donald Trump kicked off his Wednesday morning by claiming that the Russia bounty reports are a “Fake News” tale used to damage him. Well, Trump is calling reports that have been confirmed by every major news outlet, as well as multiple countries. Also, three NATO officials told Business Insider they had been briefed on the matter by US intelligence. Trump is more concerned with Confederate monuments than he is with U.S. troops.
“No corroborating evidence to back reports.” Department of Defense. Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party. I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, said, “We took this seriously, we handled it appropriately.”
Mike Pompeo: “We took this seriously, we handled it appropriately.” Funny, the president said it was all made up. This is not a secretary of state who believes in his oath to protect and defend the Constitution. He wants to protect and defend Donald Trump.
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) July 1, 2020
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But Pompeo refused to discuss what he knew of intelligence briefings about the bounties Russia offered on U.S. soldiers, saying such public discussions put American troops at risk. “A lot of what you said suggests knowledge that I don’t think you actually have,” Pompeo told one reporter.
“I’m not going to put at risk the young men and women of Afghanistan in the same way that some news organizations have done… And you ought not be part of that,” he told another reporter, according to The Hill.
“I can assure you, that whatever reporting it is that you’re referring to, that we responded in precisely the correct way,” he said, then added that U.S. forces were aware of threats and their credibility.
The lies from this administration don’t seem to match up. Trump officials are making matters worse for the president as if the former reality show star hasn’t done enough damage already. Trump called it a fake news hoax, then Pompeo went on to say they took the matter very seriously and warned our troops of what was contained in the intel reports. It can’t be both.
And here’s another gem from Pompeo today after Trump slammed the reports that the Secretary seemed to confirm: “This president has been vicious in securing American freedom and protecting American soldiers.”
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
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