US intelligence has now pulled back on claims Russia placed 'bounties' on US soldiers in Afghanistan - after Joe Biden repeatedly used the story to attack Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential race.
The assessment, revealed Thursday as America announced a host of new sanctions on the Russian government, undermines one of the sharpest attacks Democrats leveled against the former president during the 2020 White House race.
Trump had tweeted last July: 'The Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party.'
He added: The secret source probably does not even exist, just like the story itself. Just another HOAX!'
But Biden used the story to repeatedly attack Trump on the campaign trail.
He accused the Republican of not standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin despite his administration being aware of intelligence suggesting Russian agents were offering bounties to the Taliban.
Then on Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that after a review of those classified reports, the intelligence community determined it had only 'low to moderate confidence' in their authenticity.
She said that was due in part to the ways in which the intelligence was obtained, including from interrogations of Afghan detainees.
The intelligence assessments were first reported by The New York Times and prompted then presidential candidate Biden to repeatedly charge that Trump had abandoned U.S. troops by not forcefully responding to the intelligence assessments.
US intelligence has now rowed back on claim Russia placed 'bounties' on US soldiers in Afghanistan - after Joe Biden repeatedly used the story to attack Donald Trump, pictured, during the 2020 presidential race
President Joe Biden speaks about Russia Thursday. The intelligence assessments were first reported by The New York Times and prompted then presidential candidate Biden to repeatedly charge that Trump had abandoned U.S. troops by not forcefully responding to the intelligence assessments
'His entire presidency has been a gift to Putin, but this is beyond the pale,' Biden said of Trump last June, days after the reports first appeared.
'It´s a betrayal of the most sacred duty we bear as a nation to protect and equip our troops when we send them into harm´s way. It´s a betrayal of every single American family with a loved one serving in Afghanistan or anywhere overseas.'
In June, The Associated Press reported that Trump White House officials were briefed on intelligence about potential bounties in 2019 and again in 2020.
Then-national security adviser Robert O´Brien said Trump himself had not been briefed on the matter because the intelligence reports 'have not been verified.'
U.S. military commanders at the time also said the raw intelligence did not lead them to change their force protection posture in Afghanistan.
Biden, right, repeatedly attacked Trump, left, on the campaign trail for not standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin despite his administration being aware of intelligence suggesting Russian agents were offering bounties to the Taliban
Defense officials and military commanders repeatedly said that the reports of bounties had not been corroborated by defense intelligence agencies and that they were not convinced the reports were credible
Biden raised the subject of the reported bounties on U.S. troops during his first call with Putin on January 26, the White House said at the time. No mention of the topic was revealed by the White House after their latest call on Tuesday.
Defense officials and military commanders repeatedly said that the reports of bounties had not been corroborated by defense intelligence agencies and that they were not convinced the reports were credible.
They also said they didn´t believe any bounties resulted in U.S. military deaths.
The White House said Thursday´s sanctions were in response to Russia´s interference in U.S. elections, crackdown on dissidents, cyberintrusions and its occupation of Crimea - but not the reported 'bounties' placed on American troops.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House
'The reason that they have low to moderate confidence in this judgment is in part because it relies on detainee reporting, and due to the challenging environment and also due to the challenging operating environment in Afghanistan,' Psaki said. '
So it´s challenging to gather this intelligence and this data.'
Psaki added that U.S. intelligence has evidence that Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU, interacts with individuals in Afghan criminal networks.
'This information really puts the burden on Russia and the Russian government to explain their engagement here,' she said.
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