NORFOLK (Virginia) • A defiant US President Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of nearly a dozen tweets, asserting that he has the "complete power to pardon" aides, family members and possibly even himself - an apparent response to the special counsel's widening Russia probe.

The President also decried "illegal leaks" in the "FAKE NEWS".

He lashed out at a Washington Post report of previously undisclosed alleged contacts between Attorney-General Jeff Sessions - at the time a US senator and senior adviser to Mr Trump's 2016 presidential campaign - and Russia's then ambassador to the United States.

In a tweet, Mr Trump called the disclosures an illegal new "intelligence leak".

The charge was part of his continuing effort to try to shift the public focus to what he claims is a partisan attempt to undermine his presidency.

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