Former US National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, John Bolton, said he was angry with President Donald Trump when he reported to him intelligence information allegedly concerning Russian actions.
“I think I have enough scars as a result of reports to Trump of data on the Russian Federation, which he probably did not want to hear about”, – Bolton said in an interview with CNN.
He added that he agreed with reports by other former officials that Trump did not pay attention to the “negative information” associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The former adviser said that “everyone understands the nature of Russia’s activities, possibly with the exception of the president”. However, according to him, the intelligence community continued to inform Trump “to cope with Russian threats, but usually the president grumbled and complained about this”.
At the same time, Bolton refused to answer questions regarding the New York Times report on a “conspiracy” of Russian intelligence with the Afghan Taliban (the Taliban is a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation), citing the fact that “it cannot disclose secret information”.
Recently it has been reported that the negative attitude of US President Donald trump to reports regarding the threat from Russia, led to the fact that intelligence officials were increasingly less likely to include this data in briefings for the president.
“According to one former senior intelligence official, presidential aides had one simple rule: never touch Russia”, – the channel said.
Workers who reported to the president found that when the briefing included intelligence related to the Russian Federation’s activities against the United States, including evidence of its interference in American politics, “Trump often exploded, demanding to tell why they continue to focus on Russia, often questioning the information itself”.
The issue of Trump’s confidence in intelligence about the Russian Federation arose after the publication of The New York Times, which claimed that Russian military intelligence allegedly offered the Taliban a reward for attacks on US troops in Afghanistan.
In this regard, Trump tweeted:
“The story of the Russian reward is another one, concocted by fake news; it was told only to harm me and the Republican Party. The secret source of this information probably does not exist at all, like this story itself. If the discredited newspaper The New York Times has a source, let it be revealed. Another deception”, – the president added.
At the same time, National Security Advisor to the President Robert O’Brien told Fox News that a CIA official charged with briefing the president had decided not to report to him about the conspiracy of Russia and the Taliban, as these were “unverified intelligence”.
Democrats controlling the House of Representatives of the US Congress insist on receiving from the intelligence community exhaustive information about Russia’s “agreements” with the Taliban. If this information is confirmed, they intend to initiate the inclusion of this problem in some form in the new military budget of the country and introduce new sanctions against the Russian Federation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded immediate sanctions.