Amb. O'Brien slams 'leakers' over Russia bounties: 'Another false story,' Trump was not briefed
Robert O'Brien, National Security Adviser, addresses reports President Trump was briefed on Russian bounties
National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said Wednesday that he was "surprised" after The New York Times and The Associated Press published explosive reports alleging that President Trump and his top officials had been aware of classified intelligence indicating that Russia was offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of American soldiers.
In an interview on "Fox & Friends" with hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade, O'Brien called the events that have unfolded since the reports were released "an unfortunate story."
"Number one, no one is more concerned about the safety of America and the security of our armed forces – the men and women who serve us – than President Trump. And, he has [proven] that time and again during his presidency," he asserted.
"Number two, no one has been tougher on Russia since the end of the Cold War than President Trump with multiple sanctions. And, for example, the United States provided Javelin missiles to Ukraine, which … the predecessor administration, the Obama-Biden administration refused to do," O'Brien stated.
The White House has vehemently denied that President Trump was briefed on the issue despite reporting to the contrary. The New York Times reported late Monday that the bounty issue was in the written President's Daily Brief earlier this year. It has been widely reported, however, that Trump does not read the detailed brief regularly, and is more often briefed on intelligence issues verbally.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused The New York Times of "false" and "erroneous reporting," saying that the president is only briefed on verified intelligence and claiming there were "dissenting opinions” within the intelligence community.
Reacting to the report late Monday, the Department of Defense claimed that there is "no corroborating evidence" to validate the allegations in the "open-source reports."
In a statement on Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper assured that he would continue to make sure any potential threat is taken seriously and that the Defense Department chain of command “and I are fully committed to ensuring American forces in the field have the best intelligence, weapons, equipment, protective gear, tactics and all necessary authorities to deal with any threats they might face in order to ensure their safety and mission success.”
President Trump himself has continuously denied on Twitter that either he or Vice President Mike Pence was briefed on the matter.
"The Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party. The secret source probably does not even exist, just like the story itself. If the discredited @nytimes has a source, reveal it. Just another HOAX!" he tweeted Wednesday morning
“'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," he added.
O'Brien echoed the words of the president.
"When it comes to the briefing, that's another false story. And, I'm somewhat surprised that the ‘New York Times’ ran with that story," he remarked.
"The president was not briefed because at the time of these allegations they were uncorroborated. The [Department of Defense] has come out. Secretary Esper’s prior segment just showed [he] said that it was uncorroborated," he told the "Friends" hosts.
"The intelligence community does not have a consensus. And as a result, the president's career CIA briefer decided not to brief him because it was unverified intelligence. And, by the way, she is an outstanding officer and knowing all the facts I know, I certainly support her decision."
"Sadly, because of the leak, it may now become impossible ever to get to the bottom of this, to get to the truth of the matter," O'Brien lamented.
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"Someone decided to leak to hurt the president rather than uphold their obligations to the American people that they undertook when they became an intelligence officer or government employee," he concluded.
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