Getty Images
A new report released yesterday alleges that a number of those close to President Donald Trump had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence officials while working on his campaign.
According to The New York Times, the FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies are examining a trove of phone records and intercepted calls made between high level advisers and others linked to Trump’s campaign, and Russian operatives in the year before the presidential election.
Intelligence agencies discovered the calls while investigating evidence that Russia hacked the DNC to disrupt the election, and wanted to determine if the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia. However, even the Times had to admit that “officials interviewed in recent weeks said that, so far, they had seen no evidence of such cooperation.”
Even some liberals were quick to point out that they shouldn’t jump the gun on this story, because it’s not as solid as you’d think.
Not to pour some cold water on this. but the NYTs notes that there’s no evidence, yet, that Trump’s campaign was topic of discussion
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) February 15, 2017
Tonight's @nytimes story is truly explosive. But vital to remember it relies on unnamed sources. Caution still warranted…
— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) February 15, 2017
This news comes right after Michael Flynn’s resignation, after it was discovered that he had lied about conversations he had with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., so it appeared to confirm a larger narrative about collusion between Russia and the U.S.
When a news article fulfills your most urgent political desires, and is based 100% on anonymous sources of unstated motivation, be skeptical
— Matt Welch (@MattWelch) February 15, 2017
The Kremlin issued a response earlier to counter the report. According to The Hill:
The Kremlin says there is no truth to reports Donald Trump’s presidential campaign frequently spoke with senior Russian intelligence officials during the 2016 campaign.
“It’s very hard to differentiate real from fake,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vlaidmir Putin, , according to The Guardian. “This is absolutely a newspaper report that isn’t based on facts and that doesn’t point to any concrete facts,” he added of The New York Times.
Peskov said talks between Trump advisers and Russian officials were ongoing as part of the “normal diplomatic practice.” “This all has a place,” he said, adding U.S. officials frequently travel in Russia and speak with officials there.
Officials told the Times they had seen no evidence of collusion in regards to hacking or the 2016 race, and it is unclear if any of the discussions focused on Trump himself.
The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred. @MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable. @foxandfriends is great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017
This Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing campaign.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017
Another day, another fake news story? It appears so.
[Note: This post was written by Matt Palumbo. Follow him on Twitter @MattPalumbo12]
