Trump insists he had “nothing to do with Russia”

World Today

FILE – In this Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a White House senior staff swearing-in ceremony in the East Room of the White House, in Washington. Trump’s economic plans are nothing if not ambitious. Yet even to come anywhere near his goals, economists say Trump would have to surmount at least a half-dozen major hurdles that have long defied solutions. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

At a news conference Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump said he “had nothing to do with Russia”.

Trump also said “nobody that I know of” on his campaign staff contacted Russian officials.

Trump initially did not provide a straight yes or no answer whether or not anyone on his staff had made those contacts.

When pressed by reporters at a Thursday news conference, he later said he wasn’t aware of any.

He repeatedly denied having links with Russia, a claim he deemed “fake news.”

Trump asked for the resignation of Michael Flynn after the national security adviser misled the vice president about his conversations with a Russian official.

Flynn admitted that he discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador.

Story by the Associated Press.