President Trump said Thursday that “nobody that I know of” from his campaign contacted Russian agents or government officials before his election. Trump also defended his ousted national security advisor, Michael Flynn, saying that Flynn acted appropriately in discussing sanctions with Russia during the transition period. He said Flynn was asked to resign only because he misled Vice President Mike Pence about those discussions. Trump also promised to issue a new version of his travel ban next week, and he vowed it would withstand court scrutiny. He also said that political controversy would make it hard to cut a wide-ranging deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that he was nonetheless committed to trying.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 16, 2017 19:38 UTC