Clinton officials slam alleged Trump ties to Russia
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign spokesman has denounced the alleged contacts Donald Trump's campaign officials had with Russia prior to the election calling it a 'colossal scandal'.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that phone records and intercepted calls showed members of Trump's campaign and other associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election.
An outraged Brian Fallon, who was the Clinton campaign's press secretary, took to Twitter soon after slamming Trump and his staff over the alleged Russian ties.
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign spokesman Brian Fallon (above) called the information about Trump's campaign officials alleged contacts with Russia a 'colossal scandal'
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign spokesman Brian Fallon tweeted about the 'colossal scandal' on Tuesday night after the Times report emerged
'Everything we suspected during the campaign is proving true. This is a colossal scandal,' he tweeted.
'The NYT story directly contradicts Trump and his staff who repeatedly said no contact occurred between his campaign and Russian officials,' Fallon added.
Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook also took to Twitter saying: 'I'd like the FBI to explain why they sent a letter about Clinton but not this'.
The Times said its allegations are based off interviews it carried out with four 'current and former American officials' in recent weeks.
U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around the same time they were discovering evidence that Russia was trying to disrupt the presidential election by hacking into the Democratic National Committee, three of the officials said.
The intelligence agencies then sought to learn whether the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election.
The officials interviewed in recent weeks said they had seen no evidence of such cooperation so far.
Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook also took to Twitter saying: 'I'd like the FBI to explain why they sent a letter about Clinton but not this'
Trump (L-R), joined by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and former national security advisor Michael Flynn, speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House on January 28
Brian Fallon, who was the Clinton campaign's press secretary, took to Twitter soon after the report emerged on Tuesday slamming Trump and his staff over the alleged Russian ties
The new report claims Paul Manafort - Trump's former campaign chairman - was one of the people who spoke to Russian intelligence. He (pictured in April 2016) has denied the allegation
However, the intercepts alarmed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, in part because of the amount of contact that was occurring while Trump was speaking glowingly about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The intercepted calls are different from the wiretapped conversations last year between Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, and Sergei I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, according to the Times.
During those calls, the two men discussed sanctions that the Obama administration imposed on Russia in December. Flynn misled the White House about those calls and was asked to resign on Monday night.
CNN reports senior US intelligence officers said President Barack Obama and then-president elect Trump: 'were both briefed on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business'.
Officials who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, due to the fact the investigation is ongoing, said Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was one of the people who was in contact with Russian intelligence.
Manafort, who has not been charged with any crimes, dismissed the accounts of the U.S. officials in a telephone interview with the Times on Tuesday.
The bombshell report was published after it was revealed that Michael Flynn (pictured) had been interviewed by the FBI in the first days of the Trump administration over claims he made about a pre-inauguration talk with a Kremlin representative Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4225942/Report-claims-Trump-s-team-spoke-Russian-intelligence.html#ixzz4YjSfCRrm Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook