Trump adviser had five calls with Russian envoy on day of sanctions: sources (This January 13th story deletes reference to Interfax being state-run in paragraph 22) By Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for national security adviser, held five phone calls with Russia’s ambassador to Washington on the day the United States retaliated for Moscow’s interference in the U.S. presidential election, three sources familiar with the matter said. The calls occurred between the time the Russian embassy was told about U.S. sanctions and the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he had decided against reprisals, said the sources. They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing internal U.S. government deliberations about the issue. The calls raised fresh questions among some U.S. officials about contacts between Trump’s advisers and Russian officials at a time when U.S. intelligence agencies contend that Moscow waged a multifaceted campaign of hacking and other actions to boost Republican Trump’s election chances against Democrat Hillary Clinton. On Dec. 29, U.S. President Barack Obama announced he had ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over their involvement in hacking U.S. political groups. The administration told Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, an hour before the decision was made public, one of the sources said. The phone calls between Flynn and Kislyak were first reported by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. A Trump official confirmed one phone conversation between the two men on Dec. 29, and said their understanding was they did not discuss the sanctions. The three sources stressed to Reuters that they did not know who initiated the five calls between Flynn, a former three-star Army general who headed the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama, and Kislyak. Nor did they know the contents of the conversations, and declined to say how they learned of them. One source said there was nothing intrinsically odd or wrong about a Russian diplomat speaking to a member of Trump’s team following the U.S. announcement. Moscow, the source added, probably would want to have some sense of what Trump’s team thought about the measures. That sentiment was echoed Friday by State Department spokesman Mark Toner. “This building doesn’t see anything necessarily inappropriate about contact between members of the incoming administration and foreign officials,” Toner said. The other two sources, however, said the timing of the calls raised a question about whether Flynn had given Kislyak any assurances to soothe Russian anger over the U.S. moves. If that were the case, it would have raised a possible entanglement with the Logan Act. The 1799 law bars unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign governments with which the United States has disputes. It is aimed at preventing the undermining of official U.S. government positions. Alexey Mosin, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington, said: “The Embassy does not comment on multiple contacts, which are carried out on a daily basis with local interlocutors.” Flynn raised eyebrows among some U.S. foreign policy veterans when he was pictured sitting at the head table with Putin at a banquet in Moscow in late 2015 celebrating Russia Today, an international broadcasting network funded by the Russian government. However, Flynn has also expressed skepticism about Moscow’s intentions - a view that does not seem to fit Trump’s vision of closer ties with Moscow. Classified documents that the heads of four U.S. intelligence agencies presented last week to Trump included  unsubstantiated information compiled by a private security firm suggesting Moscow had compromising personal and financial details about Trump. Trump called a dossier that contains salacious claims about him in Russia “fake news” and “phony stuff.” One of the sources said the U.S. actions “took the Russians by surprise.” Russian officials threatened to shutter the Anglo-American School of Moscow, the source said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed tit-for-tat expulsions. But on Dec. 30, Putin announced that he would not retaliate.  Trump praised Putin for the decision, writing in a Twitter post, “Great move on delay (by V.Putin). I always knew he was very smart!” Trump spokesman Sean Spicer earlier Friday said Flynn and Kislyak had spoken on Dec. 28, the day before Washington announced the expulsions and sanctions.  But a Trump official acknowledged later in the day that they held one conversation on Dec. 29 about setting up a telephone call between Trump and Putin after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was aware of only one phone call between the two that day and did not know if they spoke again since. After the Nov. 8 election, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency that the Russian government was in touch with members of Trump’s political team during the U.S. election campaign and knew most of his entourage. At a news conference on Wednesday, Trump declined to answer whether anyone connected to him or the campaign had contact with Moscow during the campaign and said he had no loans or business deals with or in Russia. White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday said it remained unclear whether such a call between Flynn and the Russian ambassador would be objectionable .  “It depends on what they discussed,” Earnest told reporters. He said he could not weigh in without knowing the content. politicsNews
trump adviser five calls russian envoy day sanctions sources this january story deletes reference internal paragraph by jonathan land arched mohammed washington reuters michael flynn donald trump choice national security adviser held five phone calls russia ambassador washington day united states retaliated moscow interference presidential election three sources familiar matter said the calls occurred time russian embassy told sanctions announcement russian president vladimir putin decided reprisals said sources they spoke condition anonymity citing internal government deliberations issue the calls raised fresh questions among officials contacts trump advisers russian officials time intelligence agencies contend moscow waged multifaceted campaign hacking actions boost republican trump election chances democrat hillary clinton on president barack obama announced ordered expulsion russian diplomats suspected spies imposed sanctions two russian intelligence agencies involvement hacking political groups the administration told russian ambassador united states series kislyak hour decision made public one sources said the phone calls flynn kislyak first reported washington post columnist david ignatius a trump official confirmed one phone conversation two men said understanding discuss sanctions the three sources stressed reuters know initiated five calls flynn former army general headed defense intelligence agency obama kislyak nor know contents conversations declined say learned one source said nothing intrinsically odd wrong russian diplomat speaking member trump team following announcement moscow source added probably would want sense trump team thought measures that sentiment echoed friday state department spokesman mark tower this building see anything necessarily inappropriate contact members incoming administration foreign officials tower said the two sources however said timing calls raised question whether flynn given kislyak assurances south russian anger moves if case would raised possible entanglement logan act the law bars unauthorized citizens negotiating foreign governments united states disputes it aimed preventing undermining official government positions alexa music spokesman russian embassy washington said the embassy comment multiple contacts carried daily basis local flynn raised eyebrows among foreign policy veterans pictured sitting head table putin banquet moscow late celebrating russia today international broadcasting network funded russian government however flynn also expressed skepticism moscow intentions view seem fit trump vision closer ties moscow classified documents heads four intelligence agencies presented last week trump included unsubstantiated information compiled private security firm suggesting moscow compromising personal financial details trump trump called dossier contains malicious claims russia fake news phony one sources said actions took russian russian officials threatened shutter school moscow source said russian foreign minister series lvaro proposed expulsion but putin announced would retaliate trump praised putin decision writing twitter post great move delay i always knew smart trump spokesman sean spider earlier friday said flynn kislyak spoken day washington announced expulsion sanctions but trump official acknowledged later day held one conversation setting telephone call trump putin trump inauguration the official spoke condition anonymity aware one phone call two day know spoke since after election russian deputy foreign minister series ryabkov told internal news agency russian government touch members trump political team election campaign knew entourage at news conference wednesday trump declined answer whether anyone connected campaign contact moscow campaign said loans business deals russia white house spokesman josh earnest friday said remained unclear whether call flynn russian ambassador would objectionable it depends discussed earnest told reporters he said could weigh without knowing content politicsnews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: Trump adviser had five calls with Russian envoy on day of sanctions: sources (This January 13th story deletes reference to Interfax being state-run in paragraph 22) By Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for national security adviser, held five phone calls with Russia’s ambassador to Washington on the day the United States retaliated for Moscow’s interference in the U.S. presidential election, three sources familiar with the matter said. The calls occurred between the time the Russian embassy was told about U.S. sanctions and the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he had decided against reprisals, said the sources. They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing internal U.S. government deliberations about the issue. The calls raised fresh questions among some U.S. officials about contacts between Trump’s advisers and Russian officials at a time when U.S. intelligence agencies contend that Moscow waged a multifaceted campaign of hacking and other actions to boost Republican Trump’s election chances against Democrat Hillary Clinton. On Dec. 29, U.S. President Barack Obama announced he had ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over their involvement in hacking U.S. political groups. The administration told Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, an hour before the decision was made public, one of the sources said. The phone calls between Flynn and Kislyak were first reported by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. A Trump official confirmed one phone conversation between the two men on Dec. 29, and said their understanding was they did not discuss the sanctions. The three sources stressed to Reuters that they did not know who initiated the five calls between Flynn, a former three-star Army general who headed the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama, and Kislyak. Nor did they know the contents of the conversations, and declined to say how they learned of them. One source said there was nothing intrinsically odd or wrong about a Russian diplomat speaking to a member of Trump’s team following the U.S. announcement. Moscow, the source added, probably would want to have some sense of what Trump’s team thought about the measures. That sentiment was echoed Friday by State Department spokesman Mark Toner. “This building doesn’t see anything necessarily inappropriate about contact between members of the incoming administration and foreign officials,” Toner said. The other two sources, however, said the timing of the calls raised a question about whether Flynn had given Kislyak any assurances to soothe Russian anger over the U.S. moves. If that were the case, it would have raised a possible entanglement with the Logan Act. The 1799 law bars unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign governments with which the United States has disputes. It is aimed at preventing the undermining of official U.S. government positions. Alexey Mosin, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington, said: “The Embassy does not comment on multiple contacts, which are carried out on a daily basis with local interlocutors.” Flynn raised eyebrows among some U.S. foreign policy veterans when he was pictured sitting at the head table with Putin at a banquet in Moscow in late 2015 celebrating Russia Today, an international broadcasting network funded by the Russian government. However, Flynn has also expressed skepticism about Moscow’s intentions - a view that does not seem to fit Trump’s vision of closer ties with Moscow. Classified documents that the heads of four U.S. intelligence agencies presented last week to Trump included  unsubstantiated information compiled by a private security firm suggesting Moscow had compromising personal and financial details about Trump. Trump called a dossier that contains salacious claims about him in Russia “fake news” and “phony stuff.” One of the sources said the U.S. actions “took the Russians by surprise.” Russian officials threatened to shutter the Anglo-American School of Moscow, the source said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed tit-for-tat expulsions. But on Dec. 30, Putin announced that he would not retaliate.  Trump praised Putin for the decision, writing in a Twitter post, “Great move on delay (by V.Putin). I always knew he was very smart!” Trump spokesman Sean Spicer earlier Friday said Flynn and Kislyak had spoken on Dec. 28, the day before Washington announced the expulsions and sanctions.  But a Trump official acknowledged later in the day that they held one conversation on Dec. 29 about setting up a telephone call between Trump and Putin after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was aware of only one phone call between the two that day and did not know if they spoke again since. After the Nov. 8 election, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency that the Russian government was in touch with members of Trump’s political team during the U.S. election campaign and knew most of his entourage. At a news conference on Wednesday, Trump declined to answer whether anyone connected to him or the campaign had contact with Moscow during the campaign and said he had no loans or business deals with or in Russia. White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday said it remained unclear whether such a call between Flynn and the Russian ambassador would be objectionable .  “It depends on what they discussed,” Earnest told reporters. He said he could not weigh in without knowing the content. politicsNews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: trump adviser five calls russian envoy day sanctions sources this january story deletes reference internal paragraph by jonathan land arched mohammed washington reuters michael flynn donald trump choice national security adviser held five phone calls russia ambassador washington day united states retaliated moscow interference presidential election three sources familiar matter said the calls occurred time russian embassy told sanctions announcement russian president vladimir putin decided reprisals said sources they spoke condition anonymity citing internal government deliberations issue the calls raised fresh questions among officials contacts trump advisers russian officials time intelligence agencies contend moscow waged multifaceted campaign hacking actions boost republican trump election chances democrat hillary clinton on president barack obama announced ordered expulsion russian diplomats suspected spies imposed sanctions two russian intelligence agencies involvement hacking political groups the administration told russian ambassador united states series kislyak hour decision made public one sources said the phone calls flynn kislyak first reported washington post columnist david ignatius a trump official confirmed one phone conversation two men said understanding discuss sanctions the three sources stressed reuters know initiated five calls flynn former army general headed defense intelligence agency obama kislyak nor know contents conversations declined say learned one source said nothing intrinsically odd wrong russian diplomat speaking member trump team following announcement moscow source added probably would want sense trump team thought measures that sentiment echoed friday state department spokesman mark tower this building see anything necessarily inappropriate contact members incoming administration foreign officials tower said the two sources however said timing calls raised question whether flynn given kislyak assurances south russian anger moves if case would raised possible entanglement logan act the law bars unauthorized citizens negotiating foreign governments united states disputes it aimed preventing undermining official government positions alexa music spokesman russian embassy washington said the embassy comment multiple contacts carried daily basis local flynn raised eyebrows among foreign policy veterans pictured sitting head table putin banquet moscow late celebrating russia today international broadcasting network funded russian government however flynn also expressed skepticism moscow intentions view seem fit trump vision closer ties moscow classified documents heads four intelligence agencies presented last week trump included unsubstantiated information compiled private security firm suggesting moscow compromising personal financial details trump trump called dossier contains malicious claims russia fake news phony one sources said actions took russian russian officials threatened shutter school moscow source said russian foreign minister series lvaro proposed expulsion but putin announced would retaliate trump praised putin decision writing twitter post great move delay i always knew smart trump spokesman sean spider earlier friday said flynn kislyak spoken day washington announced expulsion sanctions but trump official acknowledged later day held one conversation setting telephone call trump putin trump inauguration the official spoke condition anonymity aware one phone call two day know spoke since after election russian deputy foreign minister series ryabkov told internal news agency russian government touch members trump political team election campaign knew entourage at news conference wednesday trump declined answer whether anyone connected campaign contact moscow campaign said loans business deals russia white house spokesman josh earnest friday said remained unclear whether call flynn russian ambassador would objectionable it depends discussed earnest told reporters he said could weigh without knowing content politicsnews