Journalist, ThinkProgress. Twitter: @atrupar. Email: arupar@americanprogress.org
“They feared the new administration would obstruct their efforts.”
On the eve of the inauguration, the New York Times, citing unnamed officials, reported that the FBI and intelligence agencies “are examining intercepted communications and financial transactions as part of a broad investigation into possible links between Russian officials and associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.”
Manafort left the campaign in August amid reports Ukrainian authorities were investigating him for allegedly receiving $12.7 million in illegal payments from Ukraine’s former pro-Russia ruling party. The Times reports that Roger Stone and former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page and Roger Stone are the two other Trump associates under investigation. It’s unclear whether the communications and transactions in question have anything directly to do with Trump or his campaign.
The Times report comes a day after the McClatchy Washington Bureau broke news that “the FBI and five other law enforcement and intelligence agencies have collaborated for months in an investigation into Russian attempts to influence the November election, including whether money from the Kremlin covertly aided President-elect Donald Trump.” Earlier this month, intelligence agencies released a report detailing how they believe Russian officials meddled in the election on behalf of Trump, who has signaled a desire to forge closer ties with Russia and repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The intelligence community’s findings about Russian meddling have fueled an ongoing feud with President-elect Trump, who in December released a statement questioning their conclusions and describing intelligence officials as “the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.” Earlier this month, Trump compared leaks from intelligence officials about Russian meddling to the behavior of officials in Nazi Germany.
Source
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-russia-intercepted-communications-leak-924defcffd17#.893kq0m45
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