In late November 2016, a member of Donald Trumps transition team approached national security officials in the Obama White House with a curious request: Could the incoming team get a copy of the classified CIA profile on Sergey Kislyak, Russias ambassador to the United States?
Marshall Billingslea, a former Pentagon and NATO official, wanted the information for his boss, Michael Flynn, who had been tapped by Trump to serve as White House national security adviser. Billingslea knew Flynn would be speaking to Kislyak, according to two former Obama administration officials, and seemed concerned Flynn did not fully understand he was dealing with a man rumored to have ties to Russian intelligence agencies.
... The outgoing White House also became concerned about the Trump teams handling of classified information. After learning that highly sensitive documents from a secure room at the transitions Washington headquarters were being copied and removed from the facility, Obamas national security team decided to only allow the transition officials to view some information at the White House, including documents on the governments contingency plans for crises.
Some White House advisers now privately concede that the administration moved too slowly during the election to publicly blame Russia for the hack and explore possible ties to the Trump campaign. Others say it was only after the election, once Obama ordered a comprehensive review of the election interference, that the full scope of Russias interference and potential Trump ties become clearer.
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