that hope hicks received from hugs government addresses in the weeks after mr. trump's election. after trump took office senior fbi counterintelligence agents met with hope hicks in the white house situation room at least twice. they gave her the names of the russians who had contacted her and said that they were not who they claimed to be. the fbi was concerned that the e-mails to hope hicks may have been part of a russian intelligence operation. the meetings with hicks, what the fbi calls a defensive briefing, went beyond the standard security advice that senior white house officials routinely receive upon taking office. defensive briefings are intended to warn government officials about specific concerns or risks." so after hope hicks had her two big days of interviews, testimony with the mueller investigators thursday and friday, that was the reporting from the "new york times" that followed. now, today nbc news has this scoop. "special counsel robert mueller is trying to piece together what