The White House is under pressure to explain how much the administration knew about allegations Russia offered the Taliban bounties to kill US troops.Officials have insisted that President Donald Trump was not “personally” informed of the alleged plot in Afghanistan in 2019.
But reports say the president received a written briefing earlier this year.
There is concern that Mr Trump might have had access to information about threats to US forces but did not act.
The intelligence reportedly arrived amid US attempts to negotiate a peace deal to end the 19-year war in Afghanistan and while Mr Trump sought to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reports by The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed US officials, said a Russian military intelligence unit had offered Taliban-linked militants bounties to kill US troops in Afghanistan.
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Russia has denied the initial reports while the Taliban said it had not done any deal with Russian intelligence. The allegations come as Mr Trump seeks re-election in the November poll.
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On Monday, the New York Times, citing two unnamed US officials, said the intelligence assessment had been included in the President’s Daily Brief report – a written document with key government intelligence – in late February.
CNN and the Associated Press have also reported that the president received the intelligence in a written briefing earlier this year, without specifying when. Mr Trump is said to largely ignore the President’s Daily Brief, relying more on oral briefings by intelligence officials a few times a week.
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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not answer when asked by reporters whether the information had been included in the president’s written briefing, saying only that Mr Trump had not been “personally briefed”.
Ms McEnany also said there was “no consensus within the intelligence community” about the assessment. But former intelligence officials told US media that, in previous administrations, claims of such importance would be reported to the president, even if the evidence had not been fully established.
