In the twilight era of the Obama administration, staff members quietly worked to preserve intel about the Trump campaign's connections to Russia and Russian interference in the United States election, the New York Times reported Wednesday night.

Reportedly, several members of the administration were intentionally leaving a trail so that the Trump administration couldn't easily brush it under the rug. According to the piece, former anonymous officials had two goals in mind: "to ensure that such meddling isn't duplicated in future American or European elections, and to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators."

Obama officials told The New York Times that American allies, "including the British and the Dutch," contributed information about meetings in Europe between Russian officials and Trump associates. American intelligence agencies also intercepted communications of the Russian officials "discussing contacts with Mr. Trump's associates."

In light of Trump's constant denial of these allegations, Obama administration members were reportedly afraid that intel could be contaminated once President Trump took over the White House, "reflect[ing] the suspicion among many in the Obama White House that the Trump campaign might have colluded with Russia on election email hacks":

"As Inauguration Day approached, Obama White House officials grew convinced that the intelligence was damning and that they needed to ensure that as many people as possible inside government could see it...Some officials began asking specific questions at intelligence briefings, knowing the answers would be archived and could be easily unearthed by investigators —including the Senate Intelligence Committee, which in early January announced an inquiry into Russian efforts to influence the election."

Obama officials also tried to process "as much raw intelligence as possible" and keep reports at a "relatively low level of classification" so that as many people across the government and among European allies could read them, according to the report.

Eric Shultz, an Obama spokesman, said in a statement:

"This situation was serious, as is evident by President Obama's call for a review — and as is evident by the United States response. When the intelligence community does that type of comprehensive review, it is standard practice that a significant amount of information would be compiled and documented."

(H/T The New York Times)

From: Esquire US