Trump decries Russian bounty reports as ‘fake news’ as his national security adviser says response options were prepared

President Trump continued to insist Wednesday that reports of Russia’s offering bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan were “fake news,” as his national security adviser disclosed that options had been drawn up to present to Trump on how to respond if the allegations were corroborated.

National security adviser Robert C. O’Brien reiterated during a television interview Wednesday that national security officials decided not to present Trump with unverified intelligence regarding Russia’s purported plans but indicated that they took the situation seriously enough to prepare options for the president.

“If this eventually becomes something that’s proven, or something that we believe, we need to have options for the president to deal with the Russians,” O’Brien said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.” “I can tell you this: If this information turned out to be true, and now we may never know, but if it turned out to be true, we had options ready to go, and the president was ready to take strong action, as he always is.” Continue reading.