The FBI says there is no direct connection between Donald Trump and Russia


The FBI says there is no definitive connection between Donald Trump and the Russian government, after a wide-ranging investigation that stemmed from concerns about the Republican presidential candidate's foreign associations.

In a New York Times report published on Monday night, the newspaper cited law-enforcement officials who said, if anything, Russia's alleged interference — by way of cyberattacks against Democratic Party organizations — were "aimed at disrupting the presidential election rather than electing Trump."

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Democratic leaders have called on the FBI to investigate Trump for any potentially illicit connections in Russia, a call prompted in part by the real-estate businessman's ostensibly pro-Russia bombast.

In its investigation, the FBI also found no conclusive evidence of secret, deliberate communications between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank that was previously outlined by Slate on Monday.

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US intelligence officials in early October formally accused the Russian government of hacking Democratic Party organizations in an attempt to disrupt the election.

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