Crazy Trump Keeps Denying Russian Pay-to-Kill US Troops Program
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Donald Trump again denied having been briefed on the Russian bounty program paying the Taliban to target American troops in Afghanistan. “Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or @VP. Possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News @nytimesbooks, wanting to make Republicans look bad!!!” Trump tweeted Sunday night.
It’s not just The New York Times reporting that Russia paid the Taliban to attack U.S. troops. The Washington Post reported that the program resulted in American deaths. The Wall Street Journal and Britain’s Sky News have also reported on the program, with their own sources confirming it. Trump’s denial is just the latest of a series from his White House, but the thing is, Trump’s White House doesn’t have a lot of credibilities or a reputation for truth-telling
A series of congressional Republicans asked for answers, with Trump’s latest denial coming in response to Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeting “Imperative Congress get to the bottom of recent media reports that Russian GRU units in Afghanistan have offered to pay the Taliban to kill American soldiers with the goal of pushing America out of the region.” Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, tweeting “If reporting about Russian bounties on U.S. forces is true, the White House must explain: 1. Why weren’t the president or vice president briefed? Was the info in the PDB? 2. Who did know and when? 3. What has been done in response to protect our forces & hold Putin accountable?”
Some Republicans were still in question-dodging mode, though, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (who in 2016 “joked” that “There are two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump”) and acting Senate Intelligence Committee chair and reliable coward Marco Rubio. Every Senate Republican but Mitt Romney has this one on their hands, too, because they all shielded Trump from removal after the House impeached him.
The White House answer, so far, is that Trump wasn’t told, but as of Saturday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was not denying the basic reporting. Trump’s previous denial had mischaracterized the story, tweeting that he’d never heard “about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians,” except its attacks by the Taliban paid for by Russia, not direct attacks by Russia. Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell did claim “I never heard this.”
But when its sources confirming the story to multiple publications vs. the Trump White House, the presumption of truth is not with the White House. The question is what the truth behind the lies coming from the White House is. Was Trump briefed and he just didn’t pay attention? Briefed and didn’t have a problem with it? Not briefed because intelligence officials worried he’d get right on the phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin and reveal the sources of the intelligence?
This is yet another scandal that would define a presidency if the volume of Trump’s scandals hadn’t already overwhelmed the possibility of any single issue breaking through to be the one that people remember. And the White House’s muddled response, along with Trump’s need to personally lash out on Twitter, guarantees that it will drag on, with new information leaking out bit by bit.
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Republished here with permission of The Daily Kos.
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Some reports on CNN this morning are frightening. Top aids are calling him so unprepared as to be a danger to national security. Borderline psychotic tirades against foreign leaders – especially female, constant contacts with Erdogan even while playing golf. Top officials: McMaster and John Bolton, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and White House chief of staff John Kelly, as well as many intelligence officials conclude that the President was often “delusional,” in his dealings with foreign leaders.
It feels like we’re passengers in a car doing 130 in an ice storm with the lights out on a mountain road while the driver is dead drunk. Only worse. It’s not a car, it’s a country. Something very bad is going to happen. Our enemies will be tempted to do something while he’s still in office. The economy may completely collapse. The currency may collapse, huge armed mobs may take to the street. Medical care may disappear and Trump may declare martial law and open detention camps. It could get worse than that. We may never get rid of him.
Well, that’s scary as hell, but every word you write rings true.
What? He has been that since the day he took office. When did it become a surprise that we, the Russians, and China started paying other nations to fight our enemies. Like Ukraine is not a proxy war.
Patricia, you are watching a liar finally getting caught in his lies. Trump entered the presidency lying about everything. Calling them “alternative facts”. Lately though, he has fumbled and stumbled so much people, even some of his supporters have stopped believing him. He is treading on dangerous ground now when his own people are questioning his lies. He is at the edge of a cliff about to fall. HOW SWEET IT IS.
When will Trump come to the realization that no one believes his lies anymore why is he so much against our country is he so power hungry that he will sell his soul to the highest bidder. What can be done to stop his evil doings he refuses to follow the supreme court ruling to release the people from their captivity and release them to their relatives how can he continue his evil doings?
We have to dump him on November 3. The country couldn’t handle another 4 years of this monster.