During the 2016 presidential election, Russian officials bragged in intercepted communications that now-fired National Security Adviser retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn was their patsy and would be the lever they would use to exert control over the administration of President Donald Trump.

CNN political analysts Pamela Brown and Gloria Borger revealed the explosive information on "Anderson Cooper: 360" on Friday night.

Brown said that "multiple sources" confirmed that Russian operatives boasted that they had cultivated a relationship with Flynn "that they could use to influence Donald Trump and his team."

She continued, "Those conversations deeply concerned U.S. intelligence officials and it even impacted what intelligence the incoming administration was privy to because some Obama intelligence acted on their own to limit how much sensitive information they shared with Flynn."

Borger said an intelligence official told her "the way the Russians were talking about Flynn was regarded as what they call a 'five-alarm fire' from early on."

However, U.S. officials cautioned that the Russians may have been exaggerating about the degree of control they had over Flynn.

Flynn and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort are reportedly under intense federal scrutiny over their relationships with Russian officials and pro-Putin factions in Ukraine.

Watch the video, embedded below:

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