[ti:AP: White House Knew of Russian Bounties in 2019] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The Associated Press reports that top White House officials knew in early 2019 [00:08.80]about intelligence findings that Russia offered money to the Taliban [00:14.32]for the deaths of Americans in Afghanistan. [00:19.00]That is one year earlier than other news organizations have reported, [00:24.64]including The New York Times. [00:28.36]The AP said its information about the bounties [00:32.60]came from U.S. officials with knowledge of classified intelligence. [00:38.32]The officials provided the information on the condition that they not be identified. [00:46.60]The AP said that the intelligence was reported in at least one daily presidential briefing. [00:54.20]The briefings are written documents. [00:57.08]John Bolton, the former national security advisor, also told people at the time [01:04.48]that he informed Trump about the intelligence in March of 2019. [01:11.56]Bolton did not comment Monday when asked by AP reporters [01:16.80]if he had spoken with Trump about the intelligence in 2019. [01:22.60]The AP also reported Sunday that information about Russian bounties [01:28.28]was in another presidential daily briefing this year, [01:32.48]and that current national security advisor Robert O'Brien [01:37.16]had discussed the issue with Trump. [01:40.80]O'Brien denies the AP report. [01:43.76]He said Monday that the intelligence information about Russian bounties [01:49.20]has "not been verified." [01:52.04]But he added that the administration has [01:55.52]"been preparing should the situation warrant action." [02:00.80]The White House did not answer AP's questions about if Trump [02:05.88]or other officials knew of Russia's reported actions in 2019. [02:12.72]The White House said Trump has not yet been briefed [02:16.52]on the intelligence finding because it has not been fully confirmed. [02:22.84]Concerns about Russian bounties gained attention this year [02:27.44]after members of the special forces recovered $500,000 [02:33.24]from a Taliban military camp. [02:36.84]Members of the U.S. intelligence community suspected [02:40.76]that Russia had offered the money to the Taliban and related groups. [02:46.84]The New York Times first reported that information. [02:51.56]Sources told the AP that career government officials also developed [02:57.20]several possible actions against Russian aggression in Afghanistan. [03:03.40]But the Trump administration has not approved any action. [03:08.92]Officials said the intelligence in 2019 and 2020 [03:14.40]surrounding Russian bounties came from captured Taliban militants [03:19.32]from different areas and different tribes. [03:23.56]Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, [03:28.88]denied that Russia had offered payments to the Taliban [03:32.92]in exchange for targeting U.S. and coalition forces. [03:38.72]The Taliban told VOA on Tuesday that it held a video call [03:44.52]with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. [03:49.08]The Taliban is currently in negotiations for a peace deal with the United States. [03:56.44]Its spokesman said the reports are "not true," [04:00.76]adding "We have already rejected that." [04:04.36]He said the group would not permit "anyone to use Afghan soil [04:10.00](to launch attacks) against any country." [04:14.60]The Trump administration held separate briefings on the issue [04:18.60]for Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress. [04:23.80]On Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers said White House officials offered [04:29.08]"their perspective" at a time when lawmakers need to hear [04:33.76]directly from the intelligence community. [04:37.72]Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, chair of the House intelligence committee, [04:43.60]said that Trump's defense that he has not been briefed about the issue is inexcusable. [04:51.40]A day earlier, Republican Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, [04:57.92]said Congress should aim to find out who knew what and when. [05:04.72]He said, "Did the commander in chief know? And if not, how the hell not?" [05:12.20]The AP reported that the U.S. is investigating [05:16.36]whether Americans died as a result of the Russian bounties. [05:21.84]Officials are centering their efforts on an April 2019 attack [05:27.16]that killed three U.S. soldiers as they returned to Bagram airfield. [05:33.68]One of those soldiers was Corporal Robert Hendriks of Locust Valley, New York. [05:40.64]His father told the AP that even unconfirmed talk [05:45.48]of Russian bounties should have been immediately addressed. [05:51.08]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM