Following up on a scoop by The New York Times, Florida-based AP investigative reporter James Laporta dramatically changed the story’s timeline: He worked sources to reveal that officials briefed President Donald Trump on intelligence reports of Russian bounties on American troops in Afghanistan – a year earlier than originally believed. Laporta also reported that then-National Security Advisor John Bolton told colleagues that he personally briefed Trump on the matter, and Laporta broke the news that the military was investigating the death of three Marines killed in an ambush last year.
AP journalists Zeke Miller and Deb Riechmann in Washington, Deepti Hajela in New York and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to the reporting. The story had immediate impact, picked up by major networks and publications.