White House asked members of Congress and intelligence officials to dispute campaign's Russia contacts

Along with asking the FBI to dispute reports about Russia's involvement in the campaign, the White House tried recruiting senior members of the intelligence community and Congress to help out, organizing phone calls between the officials and the Washington Post.

Why this matters:, per the key paragraph in the Post:

The decision to involve those officials could be perceived as threatening the independence of U.S. spy agencies that are supposed to remain insulated from partisan issues, as well as undercutting the credibility of ongoing congressional probes.