Trump aids foes with disarray on Russia bounty news: Bolton

Bloomberg

The Trump administration’s response to the allegation Russia offered bounties for killing American troops makes the US vulnerable to adversaries regardless of whether it’s true, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton says.
“What it tells the Russians is that we are in disarray and ripe for this kind of provocation, not just in Afghanistan but in many, many places around the world,” Bolton said in an interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance” on Bloomberg Television and Radio. He said he believes Trump has told three different versions of what happened and that his “advisers are now contradicting themselves” as well.
Bolton has gone from a former top adviser to President Donald Trump to a vocal critic with the publishing of a memoir. As debate continues over whether Trump had been provided information, verbally or in writing, about the Russia bounty allegation, Bolton said Trump doesn’t retain information well and that Democratic rival Joe Biden would be better at doing so.
“What I’m talking about here is not ‘Does the president read lengthy briefing papers?,’ ‘Does he get it via movies?’ and that sort of thing,” Bolton said. “The question for Donald Trump is does he get it at all, and I think he’s uninterested in learning. I think that facts that are inconvenient for him often don’t stick, despite repeated tellings.”
“But this is a serious problem for the United States,” Bolton said. “You can say what you want about Joe Biden in policy terms. I think he receives, processes and retains information. I think, with Trump, it’s much more questionable.”
Trump has publicly shrugged off allegations about the bounties and has yet to demand an investigation or threaten Russia with any consequences if the allegations are confirmed. On Wednesday, he said in a tweet that it’s “just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party.”
The Trump administration was expected to arrange a closed-door briefing on Wednesday for Senate leaders regarding the bounty reports, first published by the New York Times. Lawmakers from both parties have demanded the administration hold Russia accountable if there’s evidence the bounty offers occurred.
Trump’s current National Security Advisor, Robert O’Brien, told reporters at the White House that the intelligence was uncorroborated, was first received months ago and that he’d begun preparing options for Trump in the event it was confirmed.
“These are important allegations. And if they’re verified, I guarantee you the president will take strong action. We’ve been working for several months on options,” O’Brien said.
Bolton declined to say whether he briefed Trump on the bounty allegation before he left the administration.