U.S. counterintelligence agents investigated national security adviser Michael Flynn’s communications with Russian officials, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night.
Flynn is the first person inside President Trump’s White House whose communications are known to have been combed as part of a multiagency investigation by the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency, among others, into whether Russia’s government orchestrated an influence campaign to help elect Trump.
{mosads}The Journal said it’s unclear when the inquiry began or whether it produced any incriminating evidence. It is unknown if the matter is closer or ongoing. The report came hours after Flynn was sworn in Sunday, along with other senior advisers.
The primary focus is a series of calls Flynn made to Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak on Dec. 29, the Journal reported, the day the Obama administration announced sanctions against Russia.
The goal of the probe is to determine the nature of Flynn’s contact with Russian officials and whether it may have violated the law, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
But the White House denied the investigation on Sunday.
“We have absolutely no knowledge of any investigation or even a basis for such an investigation,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement to the paper.
The report follows a similar one from The New York Times published Thursday that said intelligence and law enforcement agencies are looking at intercepted communications and financial transactions from former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and campaign advisers Carter Page and Roger Stone.