Law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted these communications the same time they discovered evidence Russia was hacking the Democratic National Committee to disrupt the 2016 election. Multiple agencies made efforts to determine whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian intelligence and hackers in influencing the election.
Officials interviewed in recent weeks by the Times said they did not see evidence of “such cooperation.” The intercepts were considered alarming due to the amount of contact between the campaign while President Trump spoke favorably of Russian president Vladimir Putin, even saying he hoped Russian intelligence services had stolen Hillary Clinton’s emails and would make them public.
The Times wrote communications weren’t limited between intelligence and campaign officials, but also included associates of President Trump and and members of the Russian government. The Times said all sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the continuing investigation being classified.
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