Donald Trump may want to improve his image during his current trip to the Middle East, but he can't completely escape the ongoing controversy back home. On Tuesday, several reports claimed Trump attempted to persuade two of the highest-ranking US intelligence officials to publicly deny that there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.First reported by the Washington Post late Monday, the story has since been backed up by CNN, which also cites current and former officials with knowledge of the phone calls. The reports claim Trump separately contacted the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers in March, with both men refusing to comply with the requests, which they are said to have found inappropriate.The calls to Rogers and Coats came just days after then-FBI director James Comey confirmed to Congress that his agency was investigating any possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.Continue reading on VICE News.