Russia intel mystery: How strong is the case that Russia bribed the Taliban to kill Americans?

spies obtained intelligence about a Russian bounty program in Afghanistan — but said the president wasn’t told about it.

One official familiar with the intelligence told NBC News it shows that American service members and Afghan civilians died as a result of Russian payments to the Taliban, but other officials said the intelligence has not been corroborated.

Presidents are frequently briefed on intelligence that isn’t fully verified, current and former officials said.

The Director of National Intelligence is expected to announce an interagency review of the matter, a senior official told NBC News.

McEnany’s comments are consistent with what multiple officials told NBC News: That there is intelligence about Russians offering a bounty to kill Americans, but that officials disagree about the implications and significance of the plot.

The officials said the intelligence was not corroborated broadly within the intelligence community, and there was disagreement about it.

Some officials thought the intelligence was valid, while others disagreed, the officials said.

defense and intelligence officials say Russia has been supporting the Taliban for years, and the Russian military intelligence unit in question — Unit 29155 — is believed to have been involved in assassinations around the world, including the 2018 poisoning of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter in England.