NOTE TO EDS: THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE PACKAGE YOU'LL BE RECEIVING ON OBAMA'S SPEECH, AND IS A STAND-ALONE PIECE ON TRUMP AND THE UNSUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM.
Donald Trump is dismissing as "fake news" unsubstantiated reports that the Russians may have a trove of compromising materials relating to both his business and personal behavior.
The reports were considered so explosive that the President-elect, President Obama and senior Congressional leaders were briefed about them by US intelligence last week.
The revelations came just as President Obama, in Chicago, was making his farewell speech to Americans.
Our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks reports.
IN: "What if anything…."
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What if anything have the Russians got on Donald Trump?
Rumors that they may have compromising materials have swirled in political and journalistic circles since last autumn…..especially among those reporters and policymakers who can't find any logical explanation for the fact that the President-elect seems so beguiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Now, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal report that Mr Trump, President Obama and Congressional leaders have been briefed about explosive claims contained in a document allegedly written by a retired British intelligence officer.
Donald Trump has hit back furiously at the reports, calling them "fake news" and a "total political witch-hunt".
He reserved particular opproprobium for the website Buzzfeed which published the 35-page dossier in its entirety, even as it also conceded the document was unverified and contained demonstrable errors.
But the revelations came just hours before Donald Trump was due to face reporters at a press conference in New York - his first full encounter with the media since last July.
If that event still goes ahead, he knows he will be peppered with questions about the allegations, and about whether US intelligence told him whether they think Vladimir Putin might have what the Russians call "kompromat" - compromising documents and videotape relating to Mr. Trump's behavior during a 2013 visit to Moscow and also relating to his business dealings in Russia.
The truth at this point is unknowable….but the story is now out there, and will be hard for the President-elect to control.
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