Donald Trump 'unwitting agent' of Russia

Donald Trump suffered more blows to his presidential campaign yesterday when a CIA ex-director accused him of being an "unwitting agent" of Russia's Vladimir Putin, and the billionaire acknowledged erring about seeing cash transferred to Iran.

Trump's drive for the White House showed no signs of stopping the hemorrhaging after a brutal week of setbacks, with a new poll showing him vulnerable in November's election in Georgia, a traditional Republican stronghold.

Despite the stumbles, including Trump's refusal to back down in a confrontation with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in action in Iraq, his campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Fox News it has been "an improving week."

But the latest setback came in the form of harsh criticism by Michael Morell, a 33-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who served presidents of both parties and then helmed the agency in 2011.

"On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton," he wrote in a New York Times column, adding that Trump "may well pose a threat to our national security."

Morell said that as Russia's president, "Putin played upon Mr Trump's vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr Putin had calculated."

"In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr Putin had recruited Mr Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," he added.

As the nation's presidential contenders, Trump and Clinton will soon begin receiving intelligence briefings from US officials, and Obama warned the impulsive Republican to keep classified information under wraps.

Polls show Clinton opening up substantial leads over Trump following last week's Democratic National Convention.

A McClatchy-Marist poll released Thursday showed Clinton surging to a 15-point advantage, 48 percent to 33 percent, a dramatic increase over her three-point lead last month.