Donald Trump kept in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin after leaving office, calling him "multiple" times on his private phone following his presidency, according to a prominent journalist's new book.
"According to Trump's aide, there have been multiple phone calls between Trump and Putin, maybe as many as seven in the period since Trump left the White House in 2021," Journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his upcoming book "War," according to a first look at the book by CNN.
Woodward claims that Trump previously asked a senior aide in Mar-a-Lago to leave the room so "he could have what he said was a private phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin," the book stated.
Trump aide Jason Miller told Woodward that he was not "aware of" any conversations between Trump and Putin after his presidency concluded. Miller told Woodward, "I have not heard that they're talking, so I'd push back on that,"
Avril Haines, President Joe Biden's director of national intelligence, spoke similarly, telling Woodward, "I would not purport to be aware of all contacts with Putin. I wouldn't purport to speak to what President Trump may or may not have done."
Woodward also wrote that Putin asked Trump to not "tell anybody" that he sent the Russian president COVID-19 testing machines for his "personal use." Putin said, according to Woodward, "I don't want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me. They don't care about me."
The United States and Russia did previously exchange medical equipment during the pandemic, CNN previously reported in 2020.
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