President Donald Trump said he was the subject of a “witch hunt” on Thursday, just one day after the Department of Justice appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to lead an investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
A new report says U.S. intelligence services obtained information during the 2016 presidential election that showed senior Russian officials discussing how to influence Donald Trump through his campaign advisers.
That's according to The New York Times, which cites three current and former American officials. The report Wednesday says the Russians zeroed in on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, a former head of U.S. military intelligence who was a key Trump campaign adviser.
The report says the Russian officials thought Manafort and Flynn could be used to influence Trump's views on Russia. The Times says some of the officials bragged about ties to Flynn. Others thought they could use Manafort's association with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who led a pro-Russian political party, to their advantage.
