New York Times readers responded strongly to the revelation that members of President Trump’s campaign staff and other associates spoke repeatedly to Russian officials in the year before the election, according to four current and former American officials. Below is a selection of the thousands of comments received on nytimes.com.

Comments were edited for length and clarity.

‘These Russian Contacts Could, Potentially, Be Treason’

Some readers questioned whether the actions of Mr. Trump’s campaign staff and associates were treasonous.

“I’m trying to figure out one scenario where the Trump campaign having repeated contacts with Russian intelligence during the campaign is NOT treasonous. Either they were collaborating with the Russians or they were private citizens engaging in foreign diplomacy. Neither is OK.” — Dan in Atlanta

“These Russian contacts could, potentially, be treason. That puts this at a whole other level. Things are moving at warp speed by D.C. standards. Something big is happening, very big.” — RBS in Maine