The New York Times reports that call records and intercepted conversations show that ‘members of Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election.’
The newspaper clarified that its allegations are based on interviews it has carried out with four ‘current and former American officials’.
The said contact was uncovered by US intelligence agencies, who were working at the time to figure out if the president’s campaign team was working with Russia in regards to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee or other attempts to influence the election. Though they are still digging and there is at the moment no evidence of any such cooperation to influence the presidential election.
Former President Barack Obama and then-president elect Trump were both briefed by US intelligence officers on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business’, CNN reports.
Officials who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, as investigation is still ongoing, said Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was one of the people who was in contact with Russian intelligence.
However, Manafort, who worked as a political consultant in Russia and the Ukraine in the past, has denied the allegation.
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