Behind the scenes: A scrambled White House
Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign
Story highlights
- The communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency and the level of the Trump advisers involved
- Investigators have not reached a judgment on the intent of those conversations
(CNN)High-level
advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in
constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US
intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement
and administration officials tell CNN.
President-elect
Trump and then-President Barack Obama were both briefed on details of
the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and
people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business,
according to US officials familiar with the matter.
Both
the frequency of the communications during early summer and the
proximity to Trump of those involved "raised a red flag" with US
intelligence and law enforcement, according to these officials. The
communications were intercepted during routine intelligence collection
targeting Russian officials and other Russian nationals known to US
intelligence.
Among several
senior Trump advisers regularly communicating with Russian nationals
were then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and then-adviser Michael
Flynn.
Officials
emphasized that communications between campaign staff and
representatives of foreign governments are not unusual. However, these
communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency and the
level of the Trump advisers involved. Investigators have not reached a
judgment on the intent of those conversations.
Adding
to US investigators' concerns were intercepted communications between
Russian officials before and after the election discussing their belief
that they had special access to Trump, two law enforcement officials
tell CNN. These officials cautioned the Russians could have been
exaggerating their access.
Trump dismissed the claims that his advisers had close ties to Russia in a tweet Wednesday.
"This
Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many
mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing campaign," Trump tweeted.
CNN
has reached out to Flynn for comment. In an interview, Manafort
emphatically denied that he was in contact with Russians known to US
intelligence.
"That is 100% not
true, at least as far as me," he said. "I cannot believe that they are
including me in anything like that. I have not been involved in any of
these activities."
Manafort said he
did not know where US officials got the idea that he was in contact
with suspected Russian operatives during the campaign but said he never
spoke with any Russian officials during that time.
"I
don't remember talking to any Russian officials, ever. Certainly during
the time we're talking about," he said, calling the allegations
"boggling."
"I have knowingly never
talked to any intelligence official or anyone in Russia regarding
anything of what's under investigation," he said. "I have never had any
connection to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin or the Russian
government before, during or after the campaign."
Manafort
said the FBI has not contacted him about the allegations and said he
was not aware of any other Trump campaign officials or people close to
Trump being in touch with Russians known to US intelligence.
Manafort,
who has held business ties with Russian and Ukrainian individuals, also
emphasized that his work for the Yanukovich government in Ukraine
should not be interpreted as closeness to the Russians. He said he
worked for Yanukovich during a time when Ukraine was "moving into the
European orbit."
The extensive
contacts drew concerns of US intelligence and law enforcement officials
in part because it came at a time of Russian cyberactivities targeting
mostly Democratic Party political organizations.
Post-election
intelligence briefings on Russian meddling in the US elections included
details of those communications, which included people involved in
Trump's businesses.
The
communications were gathered as part of routine US intelligence
collection and not because people close to Trump were being targeted.
The FBI and US intelligence agencies continue to try to determine what the motive for the communications were.
One
concern was whether Trump associates were coordinating with Russian
intelligence operatives over the release of damaging information about
the Hillary Clinton campaign.
"If that were the case, then that would escalate things," one official briefed on the investigation said.
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