Now it’s going to get interesting
Russia Deploys Missile, Violating Treaty and Challenging Trump By MICHAEL R. GORDONFEB. 14, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/world/europe/russia-cruise-missile-arms-control-treaty.html WASHINGTON — Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile that American officials say violates a landmark arms control treaty, posing a major test for President Trump as his administration is facing a crisis over its ties to Moscow. The new Russian missile deployment also comes as the Trump administration is struggling to fill key policy positions at the State Department and the Pentagon — and to settle on a permanent replacement for Michael T. Flynn, the national security adviser who resigned late Monday. Mr. Flynn stepped down after it was revealed that he had misled the vice president and other officials over conversations with Moscow’s ambassador to Washington. ...
Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT, MARK MAZZETTI and MATT APUZZOFEB. 14, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html WASHINGTON — Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, according to four current and former American officials. American law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around the same time they were discovering evidence that Russia was trying to disrupt the presidential election by hacking into the Democratic National Committee, three of the officials said. The intelligence agencies then sought to learn whether the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election. ...
NSA so concerned over Donald Trump's ties to Russia they've 'withheld information from presidential briefings' Follows claims National Security Adviser Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Kremlin ambassador Jon Sharman Tuesday 14 February 2017 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nsa-donald-trump-team-ties-russia-mike-flynn-national-security-adviser-daily-intelligence-briefings-a7576986.html For the past three weeks, according to a former National Security Agency (NSA) analyst and counter-intelligence officer, some the America's spy agencies have begun withholding intelligence from the Oval Office amid fears "the Kremlin has ears inside" the White House situation room. The claims follow reports that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn discussed lifting sanctions against Moscow with a Russian diplomat before Mr Trump took office. An NSA official told the New York Observer it was holding back some of the "good stuff" from the White House, while one Pentagon worker said: "There's not much the Russians don't know at this point. Since January 20, we’ve assumed that the Kremlin has ears inside the [situation room]." ... ... The New York Observer's website is an amalgamation of several media brands bought by Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Mr Kushner was the owner of the news website until last month when he was named a senior White House adviser. ...
GOP Senate Intel Member: Exhaustive investigation into Trump-Russia connections needed following Flynn resignation By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN Updated 2:47 PM ET, Tue February 14, 2017 http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/kfile-roy-blunt-flynn-investigation/ (CNN)Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday called for an exhaustive investigation into connections between President Donald Trump and Russia and said the Intelligence Committee should immediately speak with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn resigned Monday evening amid revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about conversations he had in December with Russia's ambassador to the US about sanctions placed on Russia. Pence had defended Flynn on television and denied he discussed sanctions after initial reports of the conversations. "I think everybody needs that investigation to happen," Blunt said on KTRS radio. ...
Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign By Pamela Brown, Jim Sciutto and Evan Perez, http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/donald-trump-aides-russians-campaign/index.html (CNN)High-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell CNN. President-elect Trump and then-President Barack Obama were both briefed on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business, according to US officials familiar with the matter. Flynn scrambles White House Both the frequency of the communications during early summer and the proximity to Trump of those involved "raised a red flag" with US intelligence and law enforcement, according to these officials. The communications were intercepted during routine intelligence collection targeting Russian officials and other Russian nationals known to US intelligence. Among several senior Trump advisers regularly communicating with Russian nationals were then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and then-adviser Michael Flynn. ...