US President Donald Trump has dismissed the idea of any "Russian connection" in a tweet that came amid a New York Times report that says members of his presidential campaign had contacts with Russian intelligence officials.
"This Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing campaign," he said in a post on Twitter, citing his former Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential contest.
He also took a shot at the US intelligence agencies, blaming them for leaks to the "failing" Times and Washington Post newspapers, and said the US had been "too soft" on Russia under Barack Obama, letting it take Crimea from Ukraine.
US media reported on Wednesday (NZ time) Mr Trump's campaign team and advisors were in constant communication with Russian operatives during last year's election campaign.
It comes after Mr Trump's national security advisor Michael Flynn was forced to resign after admitting he misled Vice President Mike Pence about a phone call he made to the Russian ambassador in December.
It's not clear yet if the Trump team had knowledge of Russia's cyber attacks and misinformation campaigns aimed at tipping the election in the business mogul's favour.
Reuters / Newshub.
