Report: Pre-election, U.S. spies learned Russians talked about how to influence Trump's aides
Last summer, U.S. spies gathered intelligence that senior Russian officials were talking about how they could, through Donald Trump's advisers, influence his opinion of Russia, according to a New York Times report.
Those advisers included then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Lt.-Gen. Michael Flynn, who would later be named national security adviser. Russians were heard bragging about their relationships with Flynn, while others talked about their ties to deposed Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovich -- Manafort used to lobby for Yanukovich's political party, the Times reported, citing three current and former U.S. officials who are familiar with the intelligence.
The report also said, however, that it is not clear whether Russian officials had directly tried to influence Manafort or Flynn.
At a hearing Tuesday, former CIA Director John Brennan said he was "aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign," and these were interactions he said that he "was concerned about" because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals. Brennan said it raised questions in his mind about whether Russia gained cooperation. Even now, he added, Russia is watching Washington closely in order to exploit the situation and further partisan animosity.
Former and current officials told CBS News last week that there had been "multiple" and "regular" contacts between individuals in Russia (or tied to Russia) and people connected to Mr. Trump either through politics or business.
