Story highlights Flynn communicated with other transition members to try to reassure Russia after sanctions were placed by the Obama administration

Cobb told the Times there was nothing illegal about the actions of transition team members

Washington (CNN) A senior aide on President Donald Trump's transition team wrote in a December 29 email that Russia "has just thrown the USA election to him," according to a report published Saturday.

The New York Times obtained emails showing that then-transition adviser KT McFarland, who later became deputy national security adviser under Michael Flynn, wrote that the Obama administration's sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2016 election would make it harder to improve relations between the two countries.

"If there is a tit-for-tat escalation Trump will have difficulty improving relations with Russia, which has just thrown USA election to him," McFarland wrote, according to the Times.

A White House lawyer told the newspaper Friday that McFarland meant only that Democrats were painting Russia's role in the election that way.

McFarland also wrote in the emails that the Obama administration's sanctions on Russia were meant to discredit Trump's 2016 election victory.

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