Sean Spicer 'enlisted CIA boss to dismiss Trump-Russia links story'

Intelligence officials say it is rare for CIA director to talk directly with individual journalists

Samuel Osborne
Monday 27 February 2017 17:37 GMT
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Sean Spicer said colleague Jessica Ditt was upset about the Navy Seal's death
Sean Spicer said colleague Jessica Ditt was upset about the Navy Seal's death

White House press secretary Sean Spicer reportedly enlisted the CIA director and a Republican senator to dismiss a story about Trump campaign aides' links with Russia.

Mr Spicer connected journalists from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr, Axios reported.

The attempted dismissal came in response to a front-page New York Times report earlier this month on Mr Trump's campaign aides having "repeated contact" with senior Russian intelligence officials a year before the election.

Mr Spicer allegedly called reporters to connect them with Mr Pompeo and Mr Burr and then remained on the line.

They told reporters the New York Times report was not accurate, but declined to offer specifics.

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Intelligence officials from the Obama administration told Axios it is rare for the CIA director to talk directly with individual journalists.

It comes as the chair of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee dismissed calls for an investigation into Mr Trump’s alleged links with Russian security services, claiming there is “nothing there”.

Devin Nunes, a Republican congressmen from California, said such an inquiry would be “a witch hunt against innocent Americans”.

A number of congressional committees, including the Senate’s Intelligence Committee and Judiciary Committee, along with the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, are already conducting inquiries into the allegations.

Mr Nunes vowed his committee would not be following suit.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied his team had contact with Russia.

"I have nothing to do with Russia”, Mr Trump told a White House press conference earlier this month. “To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.”

“How many times do I have to answer this question? Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia.”

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