'War Room': Trump Aims to Set Up Special Group to Counter Information Leaks

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The administration of  US President Donald Trump considers an option of creating a special group, a so-called “war room” within the White House in order to combat threats to Trump’s presidency such as allegations of secret ties with Russia, media reported Sunday, citing sources from the White House.

On Friday, the Washington Post newspaper reported, citing unnamed officials, that Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner allegedly discussed with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak the possibility of establishing a communication channel between Trump’s team and the Kremlin.

According to the newspaper, the White House has been discussing the creation of the special group, lead by White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon, with Trump’s former deputy campaign managers David N. Bossie and Corey Lewandowski. The aim of the group will be largely devoted to countering media allegations of Trump’s ties with the Kremlin and other controversies, the sources told the newspaper.

Among other changes on the agenda of the US administration is an increase in Trump’s campaign-style rallies through the United States in order improve the president’s connections with supporters and a less public role for the White House press secretary Sean Spicer. The administration also considers to significantly change the frequency and format of the press briefings, according to the newspaper.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is calling on the US media to stop spreading lies about Kislyak. She also said allegations of Russian meddling in US elections are part of a well-thought out "smear campaign" that has nothing to do with reality.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed the allegations as baseless and unfounded, noting that Russia had no intention to interfere in the US presidential election and had no contacts with the Trump campaign.