DEDICATED

Report: Trump Team Preparing ‘War Room’ for Russia Probe

To provide a “stronger rapid response” to negative coverage.

President Trump’s top advisers are reportedly preparing an internal “war room” to counter negative stories bombarding the White House amid the FBI’s Russia probe. An unnamed White House official cited by CNN said Trump’s team had realized it was fighting a mounting backlash over allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, leading to preparations for a communications center to combat negative news stories about the investigation. “This is the reality of the world we live in now,” the official was cited as saying. “Everyone realizes we have to bolster our efforts and it’s still (to be decided) what that means,” the official said. “There’s got to be a stronger rapid response and communications effort overall,” he said, adding that Trump still has to give final approval for the plans. Conversations are reportedly under way on who would manage the White House rapid-response operation, with talks of outside Trump allies like former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former campaign official David Bossie possibly getting involved, the report said. Axios, the first to report on the “war room” plans on Thursday, cited a Trump ally involved in the matter saying the team is “getting street fighters ready to go.”