Although Donald Trump continues to feign ignorance of Russia’s meddling with the 2016 presidential election, or any collusion his campaign had with the hostile country — NBC News is now reporting that at the very least, the Trump campaign was warned by the FBI around August of 2016 about possible Russian interference into his campaign. The briefings took place just shortly after Trump had received the official Republican nomination.
The briefing was more or less standard, occurring around the time candidates began receiving classified intelligence, and Hillary Clinton received the same warning as Trump. What’s notable, however, is that both campaigns were instructed to notify the FBI about any suspicious dealings, and at that point at least seven people involved with the Trump campaign — including Donald Trump Jr. and Jeff Sessions — had been in contact with Russia or individuals connected to Russia:
Trump was “briefed and warned” at the session about potential espionage threats from Russia, two former law enforcement officials familiar with the sessions told NBC News. A source close to the White House said their position is that Trump was unaware of the contacts between his campaign and Russians.
White House spokesman Raj Shah dismissed NBC’s report with a statement that said presidential candidates receiving standardized counterintelligence briefings is “hardly a news story.” He continued, “That NBC News hears about the contents of this classified conversation due to an inappropriate leak is a news story.”
(Via NBC News)