The White House said this week that it did not have sufficient evidence to support a report repeatedly cited by some Democrats, such as Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. – and that President Donald Trump did nothing about it.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that the intelligence community, following a review of classified reports, had determined that they had only “low to moderate confidence” in their authenticity. She said this was partly due to the ways in which the intelligence was obtained, including through interrogations of Afghan prisoners.
The Trump White House has been said to have been briefed on reports of offered bounties.
Some Democrats use the information against the former president as evidence of his sociable relationship with Putin and present it as a failure to protect U.S. troops.
DUCKWORTH RETURNS After she said, THEY VOTE FOR COMMANDED PICTIES TO NO AAPI REPRESENTATION
Duckworth, a combat veteran, has tweeted dozens of times about the former president’s alleged unwillingness to confront Putin.
She also called for a hearing, introduced legislation, used the hashtag ‘#BountyGate’ and gave a speech to fellow lawmakers.
A senator’s spokesman did not return Fox News’ request for comment on the latest details on the Biden White House report.
There has always been doubt in the intelligence community about the report.
The then national security adviser Robert O’Brien said that Trump himself was not informed about the case because the intelligence reports “were not verified.” US military commanders at the time also said that the raw intelligence did not lead them to change their attitude towards their power in Afghanistan.
Trump tweeted during the summer that he was not informed because the information was not found credible, and drove the idea that it was a ‘joke’.
In September, Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command, told NBC News that the existence of abundance had not been “proven” to a level “that satisfied him.
“We continue to search for the evidence,” the general told the outlet. “I just haven’t seen it yet. But … it’s not a close affair. ‘
Defense officials said they also did not believe the bounties led to U.S. deaths.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Duckworth, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, continued the case regardless.
In March, she insisted on information regarding the reports to be declassified, while claiming that service members deserve to know if Trump “really did nothing” if benefits are placed on the heads of military members.
She also praised President Biden for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “at the first opportunity.”
Biden raised the issue with Putin in January.
The White House said this week that there was evidence that Russian military intelligence was interacting with individuals in Afghan criminal networks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.