Donald Trump’s aides ‘were in constant communication with Russian spies before the election, explosive phone records show’
Shock report claims Trump's official campaign team and his 'associates' were in repeated contact with Moscow in the run-up to the 2016 election
DONALD Trump's closest aides had "repeated contact" with Russian intelligence officials in the run-up to the 2016 election, according to top US spooks.
American spy agencies and law enforcement intercepted several communications between "campaign officials", "associates" of Trump and senior Kremlin figures, an explosive report claims.
Four current and former top US intelligence officials told the they were alarmed at the regularity of the contact between the Trump team and Russia.
The paper reports that their calls were intercepted while American agencies were investigating alleged Russian hacking of Democrat servers, later confirmed by the CIA and FBI.
Their hacks gifted the Trump team by revealing an apparent Democrat plot to support Hillary Clinton's candidacy over her left-wing rival Bernie Sanders.
But there is no evidence of direct collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to hack their Democrat rivals.
The Trump-Russia intercepts included senior figures in Putin's government, according to the US officials interviewed by the paper.
They also specifically named Paul Manafort — Trump's campaign manager who resigned after being linked to Russia through his work as an adviser in Ukraine — as one of the senior aides in contact with Moscow.
He denied the US officials' claims, saying: "This is absurd".
He added: "I have never knowingly spoken to Russian intelligence officers, and I have never been involved with anything to do with the Russian government or the Putin administration or any other issues under investigation today.
“It’s not like these people wear badges that say, ‘I’m a Russian intelligence officer.’”
Trump responded on Twitter, writing: "The Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing campaign".
He also claimed that information is being illegally dished out to the press by intelligence agencies to undermine him.
The Kremlin also denied the allegations. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It's a newspaper report which is not based on any facts."
But Brian Fallon, Clinton's press secretary during her White House run, said the Times report has revealed a "colossal scandal".
He wrote on Twitter: "Everything we suspected during the campaign is proving true.
"The NYT story directly contradicts Trump and his staff who repeatedly said no contact occurred between his campaign and Russian officials".
The shock claims come after Trump's administration was left reeling by the resignation of embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn, who admitted neglecting to reveal his ties with Russia.
Mr Flynn, a military veteran who had only been in the job for three weeks, accepted that discussions of sanctions may have come up during several calls with the Russian ambassador.
He admitted that he gave "incomplete information" about those discussions to Vice President Mike Pence who, apparently relying on information from the national security adviser, initially said Flynn had not discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy.
The New York Times also claimed that Flynn accepted money from Moscow during a trip in 2015.
It is alleged he was paid to attend a celebration of the Russia Today TV station where he sat next to Vladimir Putin.
He said in a written statement: "Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador.
"I have sincerely apologized to the president and the vice president, and they have accepted my apology."
Trump's White House has consistently denied links to Russia both before and after his election.
Answering a question on Tuesday, press secretary Sean Spicer said: ";There’s nothing that would conclude me that anything different has changed with respect to that time period".
The alleged FBI intercepts are part of a wider Trump inquiry, which includes an investigation into lurid sex allegations made against the President by a former British spy.
Christopher Steele was drafted in by the bureau to compile a report into potential blackmail opportunities for America's enemies.
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After Mr Flynn's resignation Trump named retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as the acting national security adviser.
A senior administration official said Mr Kellogg was one of three candidates the President was considering as a permanent replacement.
Trump is also considering former CIA Director David Petraeus and Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a US Navy SEAL, for the post, according to a senior administration official.
The new person in the job will head up the National Security Council during a hectic time for the fledgling administration.
It is already grappling with a series of national security challenges, including North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch.
The President, who was joined at his Mar-a-Lago estate by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the weekend, voiced solidarity with Japan.
The White House is also dealing with fallout from the rocky rollout of Trump's immigration executive order, which has been blocked by the courts.
The order was intended to suspend the nation's refugee program and bar citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Michael Flynn's Resignation Letter
Full text of the former national security adviser released by the White House:
In the course of my duties as the incoming National Security Advisor, I held numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts, ministers, and ambassadors.
These calls were to facilitate a smooth transition and begin to build the necessary relationships between the President, his advisors and foreign leaders.
Such calls are standard practice in any transition of this magnitude.
Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador.
I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology.
Throughout my over thirty three years of honorable military service, and my tenure as the National Security Advisor, I have always performed my duties with the utmost of integrity and honesty to those I have served, to include the President of the United States.
I am tendering my resignation, honored to have served our nation and the American people in such a distinguished way.
I am also extremely honored to have served President Trump, who in just three weeks, has reoriented American foreign policy in fundamental ways to restore America's leadership position in the world.
As I step away once again from serving my nation in this current capacity, I wish to thank President Trump for his personal loyalty, the friendship of those who I worked with throughout the hard fought campaign, the challenging period of transition, and during the early days of his presidency.
I know with the strong leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and the superb team they are assembling, this team will go down in history as one of the greatest presidencies in U.S. history, and I firmly believe the American people will be well served as they all work together to help Make America Great Again.
Michael T. Flynn, LTG (Ret)
Assistant to the President / National Security Advisor
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