'These people really seem to be grasping at straws:' FBI casts doubt on Trump's ties to Russia

The Trump campaign has been under investigation for its possible ties to Russia in recent months, after coming under fire upon the DNC's email server being hacked, the New York Times reports.

Republican nominee Donald Trump had called on Russia in July for help finding Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's missing emails.

During a news conference in July, Trump said, "Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing."

However, US officials are now casting doubt on liberal fears over Trump's Kremlin ties. The New York Times' report notes the following:

Law enforcement officials say that none of the investigations so far have found any link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government. And even the hacking into Democratic emails, F.B.I. and intelligence officials now believe, was aimed at disrupting the presidential election rather than electing Mr. Trump.

The FBI reportedly opened an investigation into Trump's ties to Russia after finding alleged connections between Trump aides and Moscow, including former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.

However, some top officials made clear that their investigation wasn't about the election necessarily, but about American democracy generally.

Former Merrill Lynch banker and an early Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page gave a speech over the summer criticizing the US government's Russian witch hunt.

Page was referred to — though not by name — in a letter to FBI director James Comey as an employee of the Trump campaign "with significant and disturbing ties to the Russia and the Kremlin."

Calling it irresponsible, Page said it was "hypocritical [to] focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change" in Russia.

He added, "These people really seem to be grasping at straws."

Read the full report here.