BuzzFeed News published a set of unverified memos on January 10, 2017 that allege Russian operatives had compromising personal and financial information about then President elect Donald Trump. BuzzFeed said clearly that the claims were unverified and had not been confirmed by any official source.
According to reports from CNN and others, a short summary of the claims was included in classified briefing materials presented to President Obama and Trump last week. The memos themselves claim Russia had cultivated a relationship with Trump for at least five years and that Russian intelligence held material that could be used to pressure him.
Trump and his team rejected the claims, and Trump called the report fake news. Russian officials, including Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, also denied the allegations.
Because none of the claims in the memos have been independently confirmed, they should be treated as allegations and nothing more. We will update if verified reporting emerges.
