Report: Intercepted calls show Trump campaign aides had repeated contact with Russian intelligence


Prior to the 2016 presidential election, members of Donald Trump's campaign team and other close associates were repeatedly in contact with senior Russian intelligence officials, four current and former U.S. officials told The New York Times.
Their phone calls were intercepted at around the same time U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies found evidence that Russia, in an attempt to disrupt the election, had hacked the Democratic National Committee. The officials told the Times they have so far not seen any evidence of collusion, but the discovery was worrying because Trump often praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and during a press conference in the summer called on Russia to steal Hillary Clinton's emails.
The officials identified only one person picked up on the phone calls, Paul Manafort, who served for several months as Trump's campaign chairman and had worked as a political consultant in Russia and Ukraine. Manafort told the Times the report was "absurd" and he had "no idea what this is referring to," adding, "It's not like these people wear badges that say, 'I'm a Russian intelligence officer.'" The officials would not reveal to the Times the other Trump associates and aides who made calls, the Russians they spoke with, or the topics of discussion, but did say this is not connected to December calls between Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, in which they discussed sanctions imposed by outgoing President Barack Obama. These conversations led to Flynn's resignation on Monday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 hastily redrawn cartoons about redistricting
Cartoons Artists take on Donald Trump's draughtsmanship, the White House ballroom, and more
-
Bonnie Blue: taking clickbait to extremes
Talking Point Channel 4 claims documentary on the adult performer's attention-grabbing sex stunts is opening up a debate
-
Crossword: August 9, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monuments
Speed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seat
speed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting vote
Speed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts