U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI are conducting multiple investigations to determine the full extent of contacts that President Donald Trump’s advisers and associates had with Russia during and after the 2016 campaign, according to four national security officials with knowledge of the matter.

Several agencies are conducting the inquiries into Russia’s efforts to meddle in the U.S. election and coordinating as needed, said the officials, who requested anonymity to speak about sensitive matters. The investigations predate the dismissal of retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as national security adviser on Monday.

Trump associates whose activities the agencies are examining include his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, energy consultant Carter Page, longtime Republican operative Roger Stone and Flynn, two of the officials said. Manafort, in a statement to Bloomberg, said he “never had any connection to Putin or the Russian government -- either directly or indirectly -- before during or after the campaign.”

The FBI has two parallel ongoing investigations, one official said. A counterintelligence investigation is looking at Russian espionage activities and to what extent, if any, they involve communications with or collusion by U.S. officials. The second, a cybersecurity investigation, is probing the hacking of U.S. political groups and operatives.

For example, investigators are focusing on a phone call Flynn had in December with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., which was intercepted by intelligence agencies and shared with the FBI, the two officials said. The FBI interviewed Flynn about that communication shortly after Trump was inaugurated.

Leading congressional Republicans have joined calls by Democrats for a deeper look at contacts between Trump’s team and Russian intelligence agents Wednesday, indicating a growing sense of political peril within the party as new reports surfaced of extensive contacts between the two.

Senate Intelligence Committee staff started collecting information in January on its broader probe of Russia’s alleged interference in last year’s election, according to Democrat Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who sits on the panel. Manchin said Wednesday he expects the committee to begin calling in witnesses starting later this month. Among those he would like to see testify are Flynn, Manafort and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who was fired after she refused to defend Trump’s executive order on immigration.

David Fuller's view

This beggars belief. 

Worryingly, Trump has made far more enemies than friends since winning the US presidential election. This will both isolate and distract President Trump, to the detriment of his office. 

The smart move by Trump would be to welcome the multiple investigations by US intelligence agencies and the FBI, while promising full cooperation. 

Meanwhile, Wall Street remains temporarily bulletproof.  Investors and undoubtedly trend following algorithms continue to pump more money in than they take out.  An obvious point is that the higher US stock market indices move in the short to medium term, the more sharply they will eventually react.  However, if Trump’s economic policies remain on course, as I expect, that reaction may prove to be another buying opportunity in this bull market. 

Remember, stocks perform better in 1Q and 4Q, on average, than they do in 2Q and 3Q.  Nevertheless, there can also be some dramatic exceptions, as we saw in 1Q 2016.  Therefore, in the current environment subscribers should monitor trend consistency characteristics.     

Today, Wall Street is more influential than ever and many other stock markets will follow its lead.