White House chief of staff Reince Priebus on Sunday denied that members of President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE's campaign had contact with Russia before Trump's victory.

"The New York Times last week put out an article with no direct sources that said that the Trump campaign had constant contacts with Russian spies," Priebus said on "Fox News Sunday."

"I can assure you, and I've been approved to say this, that the top levels of the intelligence community have assured me that that story is not only inaccurate but it's grossly overstated."

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Priebus said the story was "wrong," adding "there's nothing to it."

"If I can say that to the American people, then what does it say about this story?" he asked.

Intercepted phone calls and phone records show that several aides and allies to Donald Trump 's presidential campaign were in repeated contact with senior Russian intelligence officials, according to The New York Times . Current and former officials who spoke with the Times would not give many details, and it's not clear exactly who, both from the U.S. and Russia, was part of the conversations or what they talked about, including if discussions centered on Trump himself.

Priebus on Sunday called the Times story "garbage" and emphasized that he had been told there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"When I say top-level people, I mean top-level people," Priebus said.