Trump apparently hinted at details of a classified attack in Syria at a closed-door meeting with donors


President Trump reportedly touched on details of a classified attack in Syria that left dozens, if not hundreds, of Russians dead in February while he was meeting with donors in Manhattan last Wednesday, Politico reports. The White House declined to comment to Politico about Trump's statements, though, "because information about the Syria strikes remains classified."
Russia previously said that "several dozen" Russians were killed in the skirmish in Syria, where their troops are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served as the CIA director in February, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the U.S.-led coalition killed "a couple hundred Russians" in comments made last month. Aside from Pompeo's remarks, the administration has so far remained tight-lipped about what actually happened in the battle.
At the closed-door fundraiser, which apparently brought in some $5 million, Trump allegedly bragged about American F-18 pilots who participated in the battle, and alluded to the strikes taking just "10 minutes," which had not been reported. In a separate report, The New York Times reviewed Pentagon accounts of the battle and said the entire assault took nearly four hours in total.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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