Story highlights Trump insists that there is no there there. That there is no fire.

But there is a whole heck of a lot of smoke.

(CNN) President Donald Trump likes to dismiss the allegations surrounding the contacts between top aides on his campaign and Russian officials as "fake news."

Trump insists that there is no there there. That there is no fire.

To date, he's right. But there is a whole heck of a lot of smoke.

Consider:

Erik Prince, who founded Blackwater.

Erik Prince, who founded Blackwater and is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's brother, was part of a secret meeting in January in the Seychelles Islands with a Russian close to Vladimir Putin, according to reporting , who founded Blackwater and is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's brother, was part of a secret meeting in January in the Seychelles Islands with a Russian close to Vladimir Putin, according to reporting from the Washington Post on Monday . Russia's goal in the meeting, according to the Post, was to establish a sort of unofficial line of communication with the Trump administration. Prince played no formal role in the Trump campaign or the transition, but did donate $250,000 to a combination of Trump campaign entities.