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By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) - Senior Russian intelligence and political officials discussed how to influence Donald Trump through his advisers according to information gathered by American spies last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday,

Citing three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence, the newspaper said the conversations focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump presidential campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, a retired general who was then advising Trump.

U.S. congressional committees and a special counsel named by the Justice Department this month are investigating whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and the possibility of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.

The controversy has engulfed Trump's young administration since he fired FBI Director James Comey two weeks ago amid the agency's investigation of possible Russia ties. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.

The New York Times report was the latest indication of the depth of concerns within the U.S. intelligence community about Russian efforts to tip November's election toward Trump as he battled Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On May 18, Reuters reported that Flynn and other advisers to Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, citing current and former U.S. officials.

On Tuesday, former CIA Director John Brennan told lawmakers he had noticed contacts between associates of Trump's campaign and Russia during the campaign and grew concerned Moscow had sought to lure Americans down "a treasonous path."

In its report, the New York Times said some Russians boasted about how well they knew Flynn, who was subsequently named Trump's national security adviser before being dismissed less than a month after the Republican took office.

Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Manafort, who was dismissed from Trump's campaign, the newspaper reported.

FORMER TRUMP AIDE TO TESTIFY

Separately, Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump's presidential campaign, told Reuters via text message that he would testify before the House Intelligence Committee but was "still working out details."

"Nothing (is) fully confirmed at this stage," Page wrote, adding that if invited, he would also testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, but had yet to receive such a request.