Trump Tweets ‘HOAX’ After Report About Russia Paying To Kill U.S. Soldiers

President Donald Trump slammed the reports of Russia offering Taliban members a bounty to kill U.S. troop a “hoax” on Wednesday, despite the White House holding briefings with members of Congress regarding the reports.

“The Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “The secret source probably does not even exist, just like the story itself. If the discredited @nytimes has a source, reveal it. Just another HOAX!”

The New York Times had first reported on the intelligence Friday, alleging that Trump had been briefed on it.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Wednesday she believed the “hoax” Trump was talking about is the notion that “he was somehow briefed on it and didn’t take action on it and looked the other way.”

National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told reporters Wednesday that Trump was not referring to the reports as a hoax but rather the content of the reporting.

“I think what is a hoax is the initial reporting,” O’Brien said. “And I believe this was The New York Times — that the president had been briefed about this unverified, uncorroborated intelligence, and chose not to take action on it. That was a hoax, and there’s no question about it.”

The White House denied reports that Trump was briefed on the intelligence reports, however several news outlets have reported that the information was included in the written President’s Daily Brief.

In a later tweet, Trump claimed he “was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level.”

“Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party,” he wrote. “I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level.”

The claim that the materials were provided but went unread prompted a subtle jab from former Vice President Joe Biden, who tweeted: “I’ll read my daily briefings.”