REPORT: Trump Asked Intelligence Community And Members Of Congress To Downplay Russia Stories
According to a new report in the Washington Post, members of the Trump administration asked intelligence officials and members of Congress to help them downplay and speak out against the news reports about the Trump campaign’s communications with Russian intelligence officials.
The Post noted that the administration attempted to persuade FBI officials to speak out against these news reports but were unsuccessful.
The Washington Post reported, “Acting at the behest of the White House, the officials made calls to news organizations last week in attempts to challenge stories about alleged contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives, U.S. officials said. The calls were orchestrated by the White House after unsuccessful attempts by the administration to get senior FBI officials to speak with news organizations and dispute the accuracy of stories on the alleged contacts with Russia.”
Two Republican members of Congress were enlisted by the White House to help them push back against the Trump-Russia stories. According to the Post story, Senato Richard Burr and Congressman Devin Nunes had begun speaking with the press and according to a spokesperson for Nunes, “at the request of a White House communications aide, Chairman Nunes then spoke to an additional reporter and delivered the same message.”
You can read the full Washington Post report here.
