Russia: The problem Trump can't escape

On Friday last week, US investigators said they had corroborated some details in the 35-page document, compiled by a former British intelligence agent, through intercepted communications, giving some weight to the veracity of at least parts of the document as other allegations are investigated.

Investigators did not confirm some of the more salacious allegations, but did detail around a dozen conversations between senior Russian officials and other Russian individuals mentioned in the document, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings told CNN.

The two-page synopsis originally presented to Trump and Obama included allegations of a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government, according to two national security officials.

The White House has denied the allegations made in the dossier and dismissed them as "fake news." Russian President Vladimir Putin also shrugged off the allegations as "rubbish."

An ongoing investigation into Russia's activities in the US -- following the country's alleged interference in the 2016 US election -- has opened up a Pandora's box for the Trump administration.

On Monday, Flynn, Trump's top security adviser, resigned over phone calls he had with Russia's ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, in December before Trump took office. Flynn's calls were being scrutinized by US investigators as part of the broader investigation, law enforcement and intelligence officials told CNN.

The Washington Post first reported that Flynn had made several calls to the ambassador in December before Trump took office, including some on the same day that the Obama administration placed fresh sanctions on Russia over the alleged election meddling. Law enforcement and intelligence officials also told CNN that the calls were made that day.

If Flynn discussed detailed policy with the Russian envoy, he could have theoretically infringed the Logan Act that prevents private citizens negotiating with foreign governments over their disputes with the United States.

The Trump administration has denied anything illegal took place, but the President asked Flynn to step down anyway for failing to notify then Vice President-elect Mike Pence on the full details of the calls, or for giving "incomplete information," as Flynn himself put it Monday.

But the investigators' net has been cast wider, and on Tuesday evening, law enforcement and administration officials told CNN that high-level advisers close to Trump were in constant communication with Russians known to US intelligence during the campaign period.

Among them were Flynn and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

In an interview, Manafort emphatically denied that he was in contact with Russians known to US intelligence, saying it was "100% not true."

The officials who told CNN of the allegations said the frequency of communications and the proximity to Trump of those involved "raised a red flag" with intelligence and law enforcement.

Both Trump's team and Russian officials had called for better relations between the old Cold War adversaries, and Trump and Putin openly exchanged compliments during the campaign.

Despite the Kremlin's calls for warmer relations, Russia has made a string of provocative moves since Trump took office. On Tuesday a senior military official told CNN that Russia had deployed a cruise missile in an apparent treaty violation.

The Kremlin on Wednesday denied that it had violated the treaty.

Moscow has also positioned a spy ship off the coast of Delaware and carried out flights near a US Navy warship, concerning American officials. The US administration has not officially drawn any links between the three events.

The ground-launched cruise missile seems to run counter to the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the military official said. The New York Times first reported is deployment.

While declining to speak on intelligence matters, a spokesman for the US State Department said that Russia was in violation of the treaty.

Acting spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement Tuesday that Russia was obliged "not to possess, produce or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles."

He said the White House had "made very clear our concerns about Russia's violation."

Russia is believed to have tested one such missile in 2014.

Last week on Friday a US Navy warship in the Black Sea had three encounters with Russian aircraft Friday that were deemed to be unsafe and unprofessional because of how close the Russian planes flew to the US, according to a senior defense official.

Moscow pushed back on the allegation Tuesday, with Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov telling state media "there has been no incident on February 10th involving flybys of Russian military planes in the Black Sea next to USS Porter."

The Trump administration and the Kremlin have already found themselves in back-and-forth commentary over Russia's annexation of Crimea.

As scrutiny over the Trump administration's ties to Russia grows, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Trump had on the contrary been "incredibly tough on Russia."

"He continues to raise the issue of Crimea, which the previous administration had allowed to be seized by Russia. His ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, stood before the UN Security Council on her first day and strongly denounced the Russian occupation of Crimea," he told reporters at a press briefing.

He said that Trump had made it clear he expected the Russian government to "deescalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea," while at the same time pursuing better relations with Russia.

Trump had previously buoyed the Kremlin's claim on Crimea.

The Kremlin shot back at Spicer's comments early Wednesday. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia was "not returning our territory. Crimea is part of the Russian Federation."

Russia annexed Crimea, a territory in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine, in March 2014 following tensions with its neighbor. The US, the European Union and several other Western countries placed sanctions on Russia over the annexation.