According to a report published by the New York Times on Wednesday, Russian officials discussed how to influence the Trump campaign’s top advisers, say three American officials.
Based on information gathered by American spies, the report states that Russian intelligence and political officials wanted to use Paul Manafort, one of Trump’s campaign managers, and Michael Flynn, the Trump campaign’s foreign policy advisor, to influence Trump.
However, the report notes that it is not clear if the Russians actually attempted to influence Manafort and Flynn.
This report adds to the recent controversy surrounding the Trump administration. On May 9, President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was leading the investigation into the Russia probe. The Justice Department has now appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to be special prosecutor of this investigation into the Trump campaign.
Accordingly, the FBI is currently investigating Manafort and Flynn for their suspected relationship with Russia. Manafort has advised and lobbied on behalf of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is in support of Russia. Manafort has also consulted a Russian billionaire seeking to “greatly benefit” from the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He has been suspected of money laundering in relation to his ties with Russia as well.
Meanwhile, investigators have already proven that Flynn illegally discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Segey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States. Kislyak is believed to have involvement in Russia’s spy operations.
Flynn is also under investigation for lobbying work he did for the Turkish government. In 2016, he was paid more than $500,000 to aid the Turkish government in discrediting an exiled cleric. This was at the same time he was working for the Trump campaign.
Because of these investigations, Flynn was fired from his position of national security advisor. Since then, Flynn has invoked his Fifth Amendment rights, refusing to hand in documents related to the Russia probe subpoenaed by Congress.
In addition to the investigation into Trump’s advisors, former CIA Director John Brennan told the House Intelligence Committee this week that intelligence had found contacts between Russian officials and members of Trump’s campaign. He did not name the campaign members, due to security classifications.
Brennan did not have proof of the contacts; however, he believed the intelligence deserved to be further investigated by the FBI. He also reported the intelligence to the FBI.
According to Brennan, there were many “unsolved questions” about the Russia probe when he left the CIA. It is unsure if the Russians successfully influenced Trump’s associated to “work on their behalf, again, either in witting or unwitting fashion,” during the 2016 election.
This was Brennan’s first time publicly sharing his concerns relating to the Trump campaign, though news reports revealed in April that Brennan held classified briefings with leading members of Congress, including then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), several times last summer. During these briefings, Brennan disclosed what the CIA had found through the breach of the Democratic National Committee’s emails: the Russian government sought to damage Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, wanting Trump to win the presidency.
In August Reid publicly stated his concerns about Russian interference, and he later asked the FBI to look into the possible Russian connections. However, by that time the FBI had already began its investigation into Manafort and Flynn, as well as former Trump campaign advisers Carter Page and Roger Stone.
As the investigation into these Trump associates continues, the Senate Intelligence Committee is currently subpoenaing Flynn’s businesses, hoping to persuade him to turn in the documents related to the Russia probe. If Flynn does not comply with the subpoena, he could be held in contempt.
