Early Sunday morning, President Trump denied that he had been briefed on Russian gifts to American troops in Afghanistan and phoned the New York Times to determine his origins.
Trump tweeted, "Nobody has ever told me about Russia's attacks on our troops in Afghanistan, as @VPPence, or Chief of Staff ark Mark Meadows, has been said to be 'anonymous' by Fake News @nytimes.
"Everyone condemns it and there haven't been many attacks on us. No one has been harsher on Russia than the Trump administration. Like a bogus, taking up a job, who is his 'source'? "
On Saturday, White House press secretary Kyle McKenney also briefed Trump and Vice President Pence about US intelligence investigations, claiming that Russian military operatives had killed Taliban-linked terrorists, including US forces in Afghanistan, for the proposed peace talks.
The Times reported on Friday, quoting unnamed White House officials, that Trump and Pence had been briefed on intelligence results and that the White House National Security Council had held a meeting in late March.
"While the White House does not regularly comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA Director, National Security Adviser and Chief of Staff can confirm that neither the President nor the Vice President has been informed of the alleged Russian reward vent," McInnis said in a statement Saturday.
The American "receives thousands of intelligence reports a day and they are under strict scrutiny," he said, noting that he does not condemn intelligence, but that the president did not explain it.
"It is not based on intelligence, but it speaks to the New York Times' inaccuracy, in which President Trump is described," McKenney said.
Meanwhile, former Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, speaking during a virtual town hall on Saturday, reported that the Times, if true, would be "a truly shocking revelation."
The former vice president said, "Donald Trump's shameless campaign to defend himself before Vladimir Putin continues, not only to fail to accept or impose any consequences on Russia for this egregious violation of international law."
Biden said he was "angry" with the report and that the Trump presidency was "a gift to Putin."
"This is beyond the pale. It is a betrayal of the sacred duty of the country: to protect our soldiers when we are sent on a path of loss."
The Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., called the Times report "fake news," and a Taliban spokesman called the allegations "baseless."
The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Fox News-Times have published reports confirming that, according to intelligence estimates, the Russian intelligence unit paid the Taliban to attack US forces.
In February, the US and the Taliban signed a landmark treaty aimed at ending America's long war in Afghanistan.
Authorities have signed an agreement in Doha, Qatar, to begin withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan. In return, the Taliban promised to use Afghanistan as terrorists to attack the US.
The Taliban avoided attacking the US military but continued to attack Afghan forces in the coming months. US officials have asserted that the US military may come to the rescue of its Afghan counterparts if the Taliban attack.
Earlier this month, US forces in Afghanistan launched two airstrikes against the Taliban.
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