Trump campaign reportedly had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians

Michael Flynn and otheradvisers to Donald Trump's campaign were in contact with Russianofficials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls andemails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidentialrace, current and former U.S. officials familiar with theexchanges told Reuters.

The previously undisclosed interactions form part of therecord now being reviewed by FBI and congressional investigatorsprobing Russian interference in the U.S. presidential electionand contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Six of the previously undisclosed contacts described toReuters were phone calls between Sergei Kislyak, Russia'sambassador to the United States, and Trump advisers, includingFlynn, Trump's first national security adviser, three currentand former officials said.

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Conversations between Flynn and Kislyak accelerated afterthe Nov. 8 vote as the two discussed establishing a back channelfor communication between Trump and Russian President VladimirPutin that could bypass the U.S. national security bureaucracy,which both sides considered hostile to improved relations, fourcurrent U.S. officials said.

In January, the Trump White House initially denied anycontacts with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign. TheWhite House and advisers to the campaign have since confirmedfour meetings between Kislyak and Trump advisers during thattime.

It's rare to have that many phonecalls to foreign officials. RichardArmitage, former deputy secretary of state

The people who described the contacts to Reuters said theyhad seen no evidence of wrongdoing or collusion between thecampaign and Russia in the communications reviewed so far. Butthe disclosure could increase the pressure on Trump and hisaides to provide the FBI and Congress with a full account ofinteractions with Russian officials and others with links to theKremlin during and immediately after the 2016 election.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.Flynn's lawyer declined to comment. In Moscow, a Russian foreignministry official declined to comment on the contacts andreferred Reuters to the Trump administration.

Separately, a spokesman for the Russian embassy inWashington said: "We do not comment on our daily contacts withthe local interlocutors."

Strained by sanctions

The 18 calls and electronic messages took place betweenApril and November 2016 as hackers engaged in what U.S.intelligence concluded in January was part of a Kremlin campaignto discredit the vote and influence the outcome of the electionin favor of Trump over his Democratic challenger, formersecretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Those discussions focused on mending U.S.-Russian economicrelations strained by sanctions imposed on Moscow, cooperatingin fighting Islamic State in Syria and containing a moreassertive China, the sources said.

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Members of the Senate and House intelligence committees havegone to the CIA and the National Security Agency to reviewtranscripts and other documents related to contacts betweenTrump campaign advisers and associates and Russian officials andothers with links to Putin, people with knowledge of thoseinvestigations told Reuters.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it hadappointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counselto investigate alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidentialcampaign and possible collusion between Trump's campaign andRussia. Mueller will now take charge of the FBI investigationthat began last July. Trump and his aides have repeatedly deniedany collusion with Russia.

Business-style approach

In addition to the six phone calls involving Kislyak, thecommunications described to Reuters involved another 12 calls,emails or text messages between Russian officials or peopleconsidered to be close to Putin and Trump campaign advisers.

One of those contacts was by Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainianoligarch and politician, according to one person with detailedknowledge of the exchange and two others familiar with theissue.

It was not clear with whom Medvedchuk was in contact withinthe Trump campaign but the themes included U.S.-Russiacooperation, the sources said. Putin is godfather toMedvedchuk's daughter.

I am not acquainted with any of Donald Trump's close associates. UkrainianpoliticianViktorMedvedchuk

Medvedchuk denied having any contact with anyone in theTrump campaign.

"I am not acquainted with any of Donald Trump's closeassociates, therefore no such conversation could have takenplace," he said in an email to Reuters.

In the conversations during the campaign, Russian officialsemphasized a pragmatic, business-style approach and stressed toTrump associates that they could make deals by focusing oncommon economic and other interests and leaving contentiousissues aside, the sources said.

Veterans of previous election campaigns said some contactwith foreign officials during a campaign was not unusual, butthe number of interactions between Trump aides and Russianofficials and others with links to Putin was exceptional.

"It's rare to have that many phone calls to foreignofficials, especially to a country we consider an adversary or ahostile power,"Richard Armitage, a Republican and former deputysecretary of state, told Reuters.

Flynn fired

Beyond Medvedchuk and Kislyak, the identities of the otherPutin-linked participants in the contacts remain classified andthe names of Trump advisers other than Flynn have been "masked"in intelligence reports on the contacts because of legalprotections on their privacy as American citizens. However,officials can request that they be revealed for intelligencepurposes.

U.S. and allied intelligence and law enforcement agenciesroutinely monitor communications and movements of Russianofficials.

After Vice President Mike Pence and others had denied inJanuary that Trump campaign representatives had any contact withRussian officials, the White House later confirmed that Kislyakhad met twice with then-Senator Jeff Sessions, who later becameattorney general.

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Kislyak also attended an event in April where Trump said hewould seek better relations with Russia. Senior White Houseadviser Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, also attended thatevent in Washington. In addition, Kislyak met with two otherTrump campaign advisers in July on the sidelines of theRepublican convention.

Trump fired Flynn in February after it became clear that hehad falsely characterized the nature of phone conversations withKislyak in late Decemberafter the Nov. 8 election and justafter the Obama administration announced new sanctions onRussia. Flynn offered to testify to Congress in return forimmunity from prosecution but his offer was turned down by theHouse intelligence committee.