Multiple Trump Campaign Staff Were In Contact With Russia: Reports

After facing a difficult day full of questions about Michael Flynn's resignation over his communications to Russia, the Trump administration was hit Tuesday night by a New York Times report suggesting that multiple campaign associates were in contact with Russian intelligence officials for a year prior to the election.

Following the Times' report, CNN quickly published an article revealing similar findings.

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign manager, is the only individual named by the four anonymous American officials who provided the Times with the information. According to the report, phone records and intercepted calls document the communications, which were discovered at the same time the American officials found evidence that the Kremlin was trying to influence the election.

The report notes that they have not found evidence that campaign aides, or Trump himself, collaborated with the hacks of the Democratic National Committee or of Hillary Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta's emails — though Trump did publicly encourage Russia to hack Clinton's emails. The Times spoke with Manafort, who vociferously denied that he ever knowingly spoke to Russian intelligence officers, though he has conducted business in Russia.

Read the full Times report>>

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