Fox & Friends hosts defend Trump on Russian bounties reports: “All presidents don't read all of their briefings”
Steve Doocy: “It might have been printed in it, it doesn't mean that he actually heard about it”
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From the June 30, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): This is playing politics with intelligence. Know what the key is here? We cannot pull totally out of Afghanistan. We will turn over the country to Russia, and the minerals to China. That will be a huge mistake, Ainsley, and that's what we should be getting from this.
AINSLEY EARHARDT: Well, I mean, [Republican Rep.] Michael Waltz also went on to say that we've known for years that Russia has supported the Taliban through arms. The Iranians have supported the Taliban with cash and equipment and training — some of their soldiers were found with weapons that were from Iran. So have the Pakistanis. So this is not anything new.
The point here is, if it's not verified by our 16 intelligence agencies — that's their job, that's what they do — it doesn't get to the president's desk. The president, he has to make decisions based on intel that is in front of him. And if he's not briefed on it, then he doesn't know about it. But if he is briefed on it, then he can act on it.
STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Well —
EARHARDT: So that's the danger here, Steve, that if it's not true, and the president acts, then that's — that causes a lot of trouble. So, we want to be safe here.
DOOCY: Well, according to The New York Times, it was in his presidential daily briefing on February 27th.
EARHARDT: But he doesn't — all presidents don't read all of their briefings.
DOOCY: Right.
EARHARDT: It's a lot.
DOOCY: A guy comes in and essentially tells the president what is in it. And so, it might have been printed in it, it doesn't mean that he actually heard about it. Because you've got to figure, if the president had heard that that was going on, he would've done something about it. All right. More on this a little later on.