President Trump defends 'wonderful' Flynn who was 'treated unfairly'

President Donald Trump says former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who quit over links with Russia, is a "wonderful man".

The US leader said retired army general Flynn had been treated "very, very unfairly by the media", including what he called "fake media".

He said it was "really a sad thing", as he hit out at alleged leaks of papers by the US intelligence services, saying the "leaks" were "criminal acts".

Gen Flynn resigned on Monday - less than a month into the job - after he allegedly discussed US sanctions against Moscow with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in a phone call late last year.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer said the President had lost trust in Gen Flynn and had been "very concerned" he misled Vice President Mike Pence and others.

Mr Spicer said Gen Flynn forgot "critical details" about his phone call, creating "a critical mass and an unsustainable situation".

Mr Spicer said: "The President was very concerned that General Flynn had misled the Vice President and others.

"The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the President to ask for Gen Flynn's resignation."

Gen Flynn has apologised for giving Mr Pence and others "incomplete information" about the call, which happened on 29 December - the same day President Obama announced new sanctions on Russia.

The conversation took place before Gen Flynn took up his NSA post and also before Mr Trump was inaugurated as president.

Under the Logan Act, it is illegal for an unauthorised citizen to conduct diplomacy on behalf of the US.

But the press secretary insisted Gen Flynn had stepped down over a "matter of trust" rather than a legal issue.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump has dismissed claims his campaign team had repeated contact with Russian intelligence officials before the US election as "nonsense".

He tweeted that the allegations were "merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing campaign".

US spy agencies intercepted communications between Trump aides and Moscow around the same time they discovered evidence Russia had hacked into Democrat emails, said the New York Times.

Citing four US officials, the newspaper said agencies were investigating "whether the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election".