Moscow rejects report on Donald Trump ties as 'total hoax'

MOSCOW — The Russian government denied unverified reports Wednesday that it has compromising information about Donald Trump, dismissing the claims as a "total hoax."

Two U.S. officials told NBC News that briefing materials prepared for Trump included damaging allegations, which have not been verified by American intelligence agencies, about his dealings with Russians.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected these allegations out of hand.

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"The Kremlin does not have compromising information about Trump," he said, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS. "It's a total hoax, absolute fabrication and utter nonsense. The Kremlin does not collect compromising information."

Peskov also called the reports "pulp fiction."

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Trump did not respond to the reports directly but sent a tweet at 8:19 p.m. ET Tuesday.

And in an interview with NBC News before his farewell address Tuesday night in Chicago, President Barack Obama said he had not seen the news accounts of Trump's Russian ties but noted that "as a matter of principle and national security, I don't comment on classified information."