U.S. officials: Russia may have 'compromising' information on Trump

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last updated 11 January 2017

Russian operatives reportedly have "compromising personal and financial information" about President-elect Donald Trump, CNN reported Tuesday, citing U.S. officials. Trump was reportedly informed of this last week when he and President Obama were presented with a joint intelligence report on the Russian cyberattacks ahead of the U.S. presidential election by the four intelligence chiefs: Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, and NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers. The two-page synopsis was reportedly only shared with Trump, Obama, and the chairmen and ranking members of House and Senate intelligence committees.

The information was given to the U.S. by a former British intelligence operative, who is considered a "credible" source by U.S. intelligence officials, CNN reports. The FBI is reportedly still investigating the "credibility and accuracy of these allegations." CNN reported the information was included in the intelligence briefing last week to ensure Trump knows "such allegations involving him are circulating among intelligence agencies, senior members of Congress, and other government officials in Washington," and also to prove Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party were not the only targets of Russian hacking, even though though leaks have only targeted them so far.

The Trump transition team repeatedly denied CNN's request for comment. "I have a sense the outgoing administration and intelligence community is setting down the pieces so this must be investigated seriously," a "high-level administration official" told CNN. "I think [the] concern was to be sure that whatever information was out there is put into the system so it is evaluated as it should be and acted upon as necessary." You can watch the CNN report below: