'Stupid' to suggest Trump is working for Russia: Top Putin aide

A top Putin aide said Wednesday it was "stupid" to suggest US President Donald Trump might be working for Russia. 

"Why comment on something stupid? How can the US president be an agent of another country?" President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told a briefing after a journalist asked if Trump was a Russian agent.

Ushakov said Russia's relations with the US were "at rock bottom" and "nothing has happened in the context of developing them."

The intriguing question of whether Trump is a Russian agent — he has been uncharacteristically soft on Putin — was raised after reports in the New York Times and the Washington Post. 

The Post said Trump had gone out of his way to keep the details of his meetings with Putin — they have met five times since Trump became president — secret, even from his own aides. 

The Times meanwhile reported that the FBI had opened an investigation into whether Trump was actually working for Russia after he fired former FBI director James Comey. 

Trump was then asked by Fox News' Jeanine Pirro whether he did or had ever worked for Russia. The question was friendly but Trump seemed to exacerbate the situation by saying that "was the most insulting thing he had ever been asked", while refusing to say a simple no. 

Trump later said that he had "never worked for Russia" and told reporters: "It's a disgrace that you even ask that question." 

(With inputs from AFP)