Friday 30 November 2018

Russia timeline: Key players, meetings and investigation details


By NBC News
As special counsel Robert Mueller continues his inquiries into Russia collusion in the 2016 election, new information continues to be added to the timeline of facts.
NBC News has gathered information starting as early as 2004 to help make sense of the convoluted series of events around President Donald Trump and his inner circle. The timeline will be updated as new information develops.
Sort by player or read the full timeline.

November 29, 2018: Michael Cohen pleads guilty in federal court to a single count of making false statements to Congress about the project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The lie was in support of a claim that Trump made during his 2016 campaign that he had no business interests in Russia. Cohen said in his plea that those business interests were not severed at that time. More ⇢
November 27, 2018: Federal prosecutors ask a judge to sentence Paul Manafort, saying he broke his plea agreement by lying to the FBI and special counsel investigators. There were no details as to what the government believes Manafort lied about. Mueller's team said it would file a "detailed sentencing submission" describing what they said were his "crimes and lies," which could be filed unsealed.More ⇢
November 27, 2018: NBC News obtains draft court papers showing emails from Jerome Corsi to Roger Stone regarding stolen emails from the Clinton campagin. "Word is friend in embassy plans 2 more dumps," Corsi wrote on Aug. 2, 2016, referring to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to the draft court papers. "One shortly after I'm back. 2nd in Oct. Impact planned to be very damaging."More ⇢
November 26, 2018: Jerome Corsi says he plans to reject a plea deal from special counsel Robert Mueller. The plea deal pertained to one count of perjury related to statements about his contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. "They want me to say I willfully lied. I did not intentionally lie to (the) special counsel," Corsi told NBC News.More ⇢
November 16, 2018: A court document filed by mistake reveals the Justice Department filed undisclosed criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The prosecutor wrote that the charges and arrest warrant “would need to remain sealed until Assange is arrested in connection with the charges in the criminal complaint and can therefore no longer evade or avoid arrest and extradition in this matter.”More ⇢
November 7, 2018: After months of attacks from President Trump over his recusal from the special counsel investigation, Jeff Sessions resigns as attorney general. His resignation letter indicates this was done at Trump's request. Matthew Whitaker, who previously criticized the scope of the investigation, is installed as acting attorney general.More ⇢
October 23, 2018: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office obtains communications suggesting that right-wing conspiracy theorist, Jerome Corsi might have had advance knowledge that the emails of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman had been stolen by Russian intelligence officers and given to WikiLeaks. Mueller is investigating whether he passed information about the stolen emails to Donald Trump associate Roger Stone.More ⇢
October 19, 2018: A Russian woman, Elena A. Khusyaynova, who works for an oligarch close to Putin has been charged with attempting to meddle in the 2018 midterm election. The charges accuse Khusyaynova of using social media platforms to create thousands of social media and e-mail accounts — appearing to be from U.S. persons — to "create and amplify divisive social media and political content." The case is not being brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's teamMore ⇢
October 19, 2018: A federal judge schedules Manafort to be sentenced Feb. 8 for eight counts of tax evasion and bank fraud and dismisses the remaining charges against him.More ⇢
October 11, 2018: The judge in Paul Manafort's Virginia trial tells Mueller's prosecutors that they cannot hold the prospect of a retrial over Manafort's head while they evaluate his cooperation.More ⇢
October 10, 2018: Richard Pinedo, a cooperating witness in the Mueller investigation, is sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement for engaging in a scheme to sell fake online identities that were used by the 13 Russians indicted by Mueller for 2016 election interference. Pinedo pleaded guilty to a count of identity fraud in February for helping online users circumvent PayPal identity verification to sell bank account and other stolen identify information.More ⇢
October 8, 2018: Trump ends speculation that he will fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, telling reporters that they "get along very well", before embarking on a flight together on Air Force One.More ⇢
September 24, 2018: Rosenstein is summoned to the White House for what is revealed to be a "principles" meeting. Rosenstein reportedly offered his resignation to WH chief of staff John Kelly, who refused to accept it. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders tweeted a statement saying that Rosenstein will meet with President Trump on Thursday to discuss his position.More ⇢
September 21, 2018: The NYT reports that deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein discussed wearing a wire to secretly record conversations with President Trump, as well as invoking the 25th amendment to remove him from office. The official and a source who was in the room when Rosenstein made the remark to characterized it as sarcastic.More ⇢
September 17, 2018: President Trump directs the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Justice and the FBI to declassify about 20 pages of a surveillence application against former Trump aide Carter Page. The documents reflect a specific request made by the Republican members of the House judiciary and intelligence committees this summer. Justice and intelligence officials had resisted releasing the information on the grounds that it was too sensitive.More ⇢
September 14, 2018: Paul Manafort agrees to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice to avoid a second trial in Washington. The cooperation agreement states the remaining charges against Manafort will be dropped at sentencing or at the end of his cooperation. More ⇢
August 28, 2018: Trump tweets that White House counsel Don McGahn will resign in the fall, after helping confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme CourtMore ⇢
August 21, 2018: Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is found guilty on five counts of tax fraud, one count of failure to file a report of foreign bank and financial accounts and two counts of bank fraud. The other 10 charges are declared a mistrial. More ⇢
August 21, 2018: Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, reaches a plea deal with federal prosecutors, and pleads guilty to 8 counts. The charges are related to bank and tax fraud, as well as campaign finance violation, stemming from Cohen's hush-money payments to women who claimed they had sexual encounters with Trump.More ⇢
August 19, 2018: On Meet the Press, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani says that he does not want to rush Trump into an interview with Mueller "so that he gets trapped in a perjury." When asked why, Giuliani responds that Trump's version of the truth may be different to Mueller's. When pushed on this point, Giuliani responds "Truth isn't truth."More ⇢
August 19, 2018: The New York Times reports that White House counsel, Don McGahn, has been cooperating extensively with Mueller's probe, sitting for at least three interviews totaling over 30 hours over the past 9 months. The Times reports that McGahn and his attorney were worried that Trump was setting him up to take the blame for any possible illegal acts of obstruction, so they sought to cooperate as fully as possible with Mueller's probe.More ⇢
August 13, 2018: Peter Strzok, the senior FBI official who helped lead the initial probe of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, is fired from the agency. Strzok exchanged anti-Trump texts with FBI lawyer Lisa Page during the 2016 presidential campaign. Both worked on the Hillary Clinton email investigation and also on special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. When Mueller learned of the texts, he removed Strzok from the team.More ⇢
August 10, 2018: Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller is held in contempt after refusing to appear in front of the grand jury hearing testimony in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Miller's motivation was to prove the probe was illegitimate. More ⇢
August 6, 2018: Paul Manafort's former lieutenant, Rick Gates, testifies. When asked by the prosecution, "Were you involved in any criminal activity with Mr. Manafort?" Gates answered, "Yes." The prosecution then asked, "Did you commit any crimes with Mr. Manafort?" Gates answered affirmitively.
July 31, 2018: Manafort's trial for tax fraud begins. The prosecution attempts to paint a picture of a man who lead a lavish lifestyle, who saw himself as above the law, and who under-reported his overseas income to avoid paying taxes. More ⇢
July 26, 2018: A knowledgable source says Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal attorney, asserts that Trump knew in advance about a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 between his son Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, in contradiction to Trump Jr.'s congressional testimony in May 2017. The source also told NBC News that Cohen is willing to inform Mueller that Trump Jr. told his father about the meeting.More ⇢
July 17, 2018: Trump walks back his comments from his press conference with Putin, reading from a typed statement that he meant to say he didn't see any reason why it "WOULDN'T be Russia". While reading the statement, however, he added that, "could be other people also, there’s a lot of people out there."More ⇢
July 16, 2018: During a joint press conference between Trump and Putin, Trump refuses to denonunce Russian involvement in the 2016 election, while repeatedly praising Russia. Trump calls the Mueller probe "a disaster for our country," attributes it to bad U.S./Russian relations, and says both leaders are in agreeance there was no collusion. Putin also says he wanted Trump to win the 2016 election.More ⇢
July 13, 2018: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announces indictments on 12 Russian nationals for their alleged roles in computer hacking conspiracies during the 2016 election. More ⇢
June 18, 2018: Trump associates Roger Stone and Michael Caputo acknowledge they forgot to tell investigators about their contact with a Russian national, Henry Greenberg, who offered dirt on Hillary Clinton for $2 million. Stone said he recalled the meeting when Caputo mentioned it to him, after Caputo was questioned about text messages by Mueller's office. Caputo set up the meeting with Greenberg after Greenberg approached Caputo's Russian-born business partner.More ⇢
June 15, 2018: Paul Manafort is going to jail. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office convinced a federal judge to revoke the bail of President Donald Trump's former campaign chief after he was accused of witness tampering.More ⇢
June 14, 2018: The Inspector General releases a report on the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails during the 2016 election. Investigators say they did not find any political bias in James Comey's handling of the case or his decision to begin an investigation into Russian election meddling, but that his conduct was "insubordinate".More ⇢
June 4, 2018: Federal prosecutors allege that Paul Manafort tried to tamper with potential witnesses on pretrail release.More ⇢
June 4, 2018: President Donald Trump tweets that he has the right to pardon himself, but wouldn’t do so because he has "done nothing wrong." "As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?" he tweeted. The tweet comes after his lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, appeared on "Meet the Press" and noted that the President pardoning himself would "probably lead to an immediate impeachment."More ⇢
June 2, 2018: President Trump's lawyers compose a secret 20-page letter to special counsel Mueller to assert that he cannot be forced to testify, and arguing that he has absolute authority over all federal investigations. Dated Jan. 29 from John Dowd, the letter argues that the president cannot be charged with illegal obstruction because the Constitution empowers the president to, "if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon."More ⇢
May 31, 2018: The Associated Press reports former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe drafted a memo on circumstances leading up to the firing of James Comey. The memo concerns a conversation between McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about Rosenstein's preparations for Comey's firing. Rosenstein wrote a memo faulting Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation that the White House held up as justification for President Trump's decision to fire the FBI director.More ⇢
May 24, 2018: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee’s ranking Dem., is given a last minute invitation to the meeting between the Department of Justice and leading House Republicans. Trump's lawyer, Emmet Flood, made brief remarks on Trump's behalf before the meeting to call for openness but also protection of human intelligence services. Various other staff, from the FBI and Director of Naval Intelligence, attended the briefing, according to a DOJ official.More ⇢
May 22, 2018: White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announces that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) will have a classified briefing with the Justice Department and intelligence officials regarding the confidential FBI source in the Russia probe. Officials include: Christopher A. Wray, the director of the FBI; Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; and Edward O'Callaghan, a top DOJ official. Rod Rosenstein, the deputy Attorney General, was notably absent from Sanders's list. Sanders said no Democrats would attend the meeting because they "have not requested that information."
May 22, 2018: Evgeny Freidman, Michael Cohen's business partner known as the "Taxi King" pleads guilty in Albany County Court to stealing nearly $5 million in state taxes and has agreed to cooperate in state or federal investigations. He will pay the state $5 million but avoid jail time. Freidman's plea deal means he could potentially testify in any criminal case related to Cohen.More ⇢
May 21, 2018: The Justice Department directs the Inspector General to probe accusations ino whether the FBI infiltrated President Trump's campaign for political purposes. The directive followed demands by President Trump for the DOJ to investigate his claim that his campaign had been "infiltrated or surveilled" by the FBI.More ⇢
May 20, 2018: President Trump says he will "demand" that the Justice Department open an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign for political purposes and whether any demands or requests for such action originated with the Obama administration. More ⇢
May 19, 2018: The New York Times reports that a second secret Trump Tower meeting, between Donald Trump, Jr. and George Nader, a representative of Saudia Arabian and UAE princes, took place on Aug. 3, 2016. Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater, and Joel Zamel, an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation, aslo attended the meeting. The meetings between the Trump Team and Nader are the first indiciation that countreis other than Russia may have offered assitance to the Trump campaign in the months before the presidential election. More ⇢
May 17, 2018: It has been one year since the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. President Trump tweets in response, "Congratulations America, we are now into the second year of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History...and there is still No Collusion and No Obstruction. The only Collusion was that done by Democrats who were unable to win an Election despite the spending of far more money!"More ⇢
May 17, 2018: Paul Manafort’s former son-in-law, real estate developer Jeffrey Yohai, agrees to plead guilty in connection with a criminal investigation in Los Angeles, multiple sources familiar with the investigation said.More ⇢
May 16, 2018: The Senate Judiciary Committee releases over 2,500 pages of documents related to its investigation into 2016 meeting between Trump aides and Russians who promised to help the campaign. The documents reaffirm the account that Donald Trump Jr. and his associates sought "dirt" on Hillary Clinton but that information never materialized. According to the documents, Donald Trump Jr. told Congress that he did not remember discussing the meeting with his father before news of it broke last year.
May 8, 2018: Stormy Daniels lawyer, Michael Avenatti, claims President Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen received $500,000 from a company controlled by a Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg. The money was deposited into an account for a company also used to pay off the adult film actress.
May 6, 2018: Rudy Giuliani, attorney to the President, says it is less likely that Trump would speak with special counsel Mueller in the Russia investigation. Giuliani said Mueller and his team were being "heavy-handed" and were "setting the president up for perjury." When asked if President Trump would invoke the fifth amendment, Giuliani wouldn't rule out the possibility.
May 3, 2018: NBC News reports federal investigators kept records of Michael Cohen's phone calls of Michael Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal lawyer. While it is not immediately clear how long the wiretap has been authorized, NBC News has learned that it took place in during the weeks leading up to the raids on Mr. Cohen's offices, hotel room and home in early April 2018.
May 2, 2018: President Trump's newly appointed lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, reveleals on Fox News that Trump repaid his attorney Michael Cohen for the $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels roughly two weeks before election day. Giuliani says payment was made over several months and does not constitute an illegal campaign contribution because it did not come from campaign funds.
May 2, 2018: Ty Cobb, President Trump's lead lawyer in the special counsel's Russia investigation, plans to retire from the president's legal team at the end of May. The New York Times reports that Trump plans to add attorney Emmett Flood, who advised Bill Clinton during his impeachment proceedings, to his legal team to assist him with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.
May 1, 2018: The New York Times publishes a list of questions that Special Counsel Mueller reportedly wants to ask Donald Trump. The questions range from topics including whether Trump's 2016 presidential campaign coordinated with Russia, to Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, and the resignation in February 2017 of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
April 29, 2018: Former FBI director James Comey dismisses the House Intelligence Committee's report on Russian collusion as a "political document" in an interview on Meet the Press.
April 27, 2018: The House Intelligence Committee on Friday releases their final full report on its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, detailing work that led Republicans to conclude there was no evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign. President Trump says the report is "totally conclusive", while Democrats say the report is evidence of Republicans shielding the president from scrutiny.
April 26, 2018: The Senate Judiciary Committee votes to advance legislation designed to make it more difficult for any president to dismiss a special counsel, a signal to President Trump amid Mueller's ongoing Russia probe, as well as protecting any and all documents relevant to the special counsel’s investigation. The bill receives bipartisan support, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he won't allow the full chamber to vote on it, remarking, "We'll not be having this on the floor of the Senate."
April 18, 2018: White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow apologized to U.N. Ambassador Nicki Haley after suggesting she was suffering from "momentary confusion" when she announced over the weekend that new sanctions against Russia were imminent. Haley had fired back at Larry Kudlow, saying, "With all due respect, I don't get confused." A White House official said Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, called Haley to apologize Tuesday afternoon in an effort to mend fences.
April 17, 2018: Former FBI Director James Comey's memoir, "A Higher Loyalty," is released. The book details his interactions with President Trump before he was fired, as well as revelations about his decision-making in the Clinton email investigation. "[M]y concern about making her [Hillary Clinton] an illegitimate president by concealing the restarted investigation bore greater weight than it would have if the election appeared closer or if Donald Trump were ahead in all polls," Comey writes.
April 16, 2018: During a court hearing, Sean Hannity is named as the third client of Michael Cohen, President Trump's personal attorney. Hannity's name is disclosed during a court hearing over whether Mr. Cohen's documents should be withheld from prosecutors by attorney-client protections. Hannity denies that he was a client of Cohen, saying he never had paid him for his services, and that the subject of his conversations with Cohen focused on real estate.
April 15, 2018: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announces that President Trump will impose new sanctions against Russia in order to punish them for enabling the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons. A day later, White House officials walk back her statements, claiming Haley got ahead of the President's decision-making.
April 13, 2018: The United States and European allies launch airstrikes on Friday night against Syrian research, storage and military targets in attempt to punish President Bashar al-Assad for a chemical attack near Damascus.More ⇢
April 13, 2018: The Justice Department's inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, delivers a highly anticipated report to Congress accusing former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe of repeatedly misleading investigators. Horowitz says when investigators asked McCabe whether he authorized aides to provide information to the reporters in October 2016, he said he did not authorize a disclosure and was unsure who did. However, McCabe did approve the F.B.I.’s contact with the reporter, according to the review.
April 13, 2018: President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, asks a federal judge in Manhattan to block the Justice Department from reading documents related to legal representation of Mr. Trump that were taken in a recent F.B.I. raid, according to reporting from the New York Times.
April 13, 2018: The Justice Department announces that President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is under criminal investigation for his personal business dealings.
April 13, 2018: The Wall Street Journal reports that Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer, negotiated a $1.6 million settlement in late 2017 with a Playboy model who said she was impregnated by deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, Elliot Broidy. Broidy is let go from his RNC finance team position. Steve Wynn was let go from the same team in January amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Michael Cohen is the other top member of the RNC finance team.
April 13, 2018: President Trump pardons 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted in 2007 of lying to the FBI and obstructing justice after an investigation regarding the leak of CIA official Valerie Plame’s name to reporters. Plame says the pardon may be a message to those cooperating with Robert Mueller's investigation. Libby’s lawyers use their statement to personally attack Former FBI Director James Comey.
April 13, 2018: NBC News reports Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told confidants that he is prepared to be fired by President Trump. More than 100 former career DOJ officials come out in his support. White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders, when asked if Rosenstein would be fired, said she had no announcements at this time, but noted President Trump has expressed frustration.
April 13, 2018: Former FBI Director James Comey discloses on ABC's Good Morning America that Trump demanded he investigate the dossier so he could convince First Lady Melania Trump it was untrue. Comey also says it “is possible” the allegations detailed in the "Steele Dossier" are true.
April 12, 2018: NBC News reports that talks between Trump's legal team and the special counsel have collapsed after the FBI raid of Michael Cohen, which frustrated the President. Trump's legal team had been preparing for a potential interview and working on setting terms of the meeting with the special counsel's office.
April 11, 2018: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faces his second day on Capitol Hill, this time testifying before the House Energy and Commerce committees.
April 10, 2018: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a joint hearing of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees, marking his first time coming before Congress. When asked by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) if Facebook has been served subpoenas for the special counsel, the CEO responds "yes," but later backtracks, saying "I am not aware of a subpoena. I'm aware that there may be, but we are working with them." When asked if his employees had been interviewed, Zuckerberg responds "yes."
April 10, 2018: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is cooperating with federal prosecutors in their investigation of President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The news comes a day after the FBI raided Cohen's office.
April 10, 2018: Following the FBI raid of attorney Michael Cohen's office, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says "I think the president is clear that he feels [the investigation] has gone too far," adding that President Trump "certainly believes he has the power" to fire Mueller. The remark follows President Trump's tweets calling the raid was a "disgrace to our country" and calling Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt" and a "disgrace."
April 9, 2018: The FBI raids the office of President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen’s lawyer. Communications with other clients, including President Trump, Cohen's payment to an adult-film actress, and his personal finances were the subject of the search.
April 9, 2018: Facebook releases information on whether users' data was compromised by Cambridge Analytica, which could have affected more than 87 million accounts. All 2.2 billion Facebook users receive a notice titled "Protecting Your Information" with a link to see what apps they use and what information they have shared with those apps.
April 6, 2018: The Trump administration announces sanctions against 38 Russian officials, oligarchs and entities. Senior administration officials say the sanctions are not in response to any particular event, but rather the Russian government's "malign activities around the world." As a result of the sanctions, Russian assets are blocked, and U.S. entities are barred from dealing with them.
April 4, 2018: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11, and to the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 12, to discuss the company's handling of user data and the involvement of Cambridge Analytica.
April 3, 2018: The Washington Post reports that in private negotiations in March 2018, Special Counsel Mueller's attorneys told President Trump's legal team that the president remains under investigation but is not currently a criminal target.
April 3, 2018: According to an August 2017 memo released by the special counsel's office, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein authorized Mueller to investigate Paul Manafort for his work with the Ukrainian government.
April 3, 2018: Lawyer Alex van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison after he admitted to lying to special counsel Robert Mueller's team in November 2017. It is the first sentence imposed since Mueller was appointed nearly a year ago.
March 30, 2018: Ted Malloch, a professor and author who once presented himself as a possible Trump administration ambassador to the European Union, was detained and questioned by the FBI at Boston Logan airport and served a subpoena from Special Counsel Mueller.
March 29, 2018: Attorney General Jeff Sessions notifies Congress that he will not appoint another special counsel. Instead, Sessions assigns Utah's top federal prosecutor, John Huber, to look into the allegations that the FBI abuse its power while surveilling a Trump campaign adviser, and the claims that the FBI did not do enough to investigate Hillary Clinton's connection to Uranium One.
March 29, 2018: In response to the poisoning of former Russian spy within the United Kingdom, U.K. PM Theresa May announces the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats. 20 countries follow suit, including the United States, which expels 60 Russian diplomats and shutters the Seattle office of the Russian consulate. Moscow expels an equal number of diplomats from the nations that expelled Russian diplomats. Moscow also announces it will close a U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg in retaliation.
March 28, 2018: London's Metropolitan Police say in a statement that former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia may have been poisoned at their front door. Police said they “identified the highest concentration of the nerve agent, to-date, as being on the front door of the address."
March 27, 2018: A court filing from Special Counsel Mueller's team states that Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, were in touch with a Manafort a associate identified as "Person A," who they knew to have links to Russian intelligence. The court filing also states that Alex van der Zwaan had pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Rick Gates and "Person A."
March 27, 2018: Nine democratic senators send a letter to senior officials at the Justice Department to urge them to protect Robert Mueller in response to ongoing criticism about the investigation from the White House.
March 22, 2018: President Trump's personal lawyer for the special counsel investigation, John Dowd, resigns.
March 21, 2018: While working at the FBI, former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe authorized an investigation into whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied to Congress during his confirmation process.
March 18, 2018: Joseph diGenova, a former U.S. attorney who has publicly pushed the theory that the Mueller probe is a scheme to delegitimize the Trump presidency, joins Donald Trump's legal team
March 16, 2018: Jeff Sessions fires Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
March 15, 2018: The United States, France and Germany formally support Britain's claim that Russia was behind the chemical attack against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
March 14, 2018: The New York Times reports that special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, some related to Russia. It is the first known instance of the special counsel demanding documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president.
March 14, 2018: The White House signed onto a statement criticizing Moscow for allegedly orchestrating a chemical attack against an ex-Russian spy in the U.K., and issuing sanctions against Russian cyber actors. The sanctions come amid criticism that President Trump had failed to confront and counter alleged Russian attacks on allied soil and efforts to destabilize U.S. politics. The sanctions overlap with previous actions by naming the Russians previously indicted by Robert Mueller for 2016 election meddling.
March 14, 2018: British Prime Minister Theresa May announces to the House of Commons that she is expelling 23 Russian diplomats in response to the chemical attack against former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia -- the largest expulsion in over 30 years. “Through these expulsions, we will fundamentally degrade Russian intelligence capability in the U.K. for years to come, and if they seek to rebuild it, we will prevent them from doing so," May says.
March 12, 2018: British Prime Minister Theresa May says that is "highly likely" that Russia is responsible for the chemical attack against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
March 12, 2018: The House Intelligence investigation concludes with "no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy” between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
March 7, 2018: The New York Times reports that the special counsel has learned of two conversations President Trump had with key witnesses about their discussions with investigators, one regarding White House counsel Don McGahn II and the other with his former chief of staff, Reince Priebus. Trump reportedly told an aide that McGahn should issue a statement denying an article about his request to fire Mueller, and also asked Priebus how his interview went and if they were "nice."
March 7, 2018: The Washington Post reports that special counsel Mueller has gathered evidence that a secret meeting in the Seychelles on January 11, 2017 was an effort to establish a backchannel between the incoming Trump administration and the Kremlin. Those said to be in attendance are George Nader, organizer of the meeting and adviser to the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, Erik Prince, Trump donor and founder of Blackwater and Kirill Dmitriev, who manages a Russian sovereign wealth fund.
March 5, 2018: Former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg starts the day by saying he will defy a subpoena from Robert Mueller and taking interviews with multiple media outlets to express his frustration with Mueller’s request for him to appear before a grand jury and turn over thousands of communications with ex-officials, namely Roger Stone. By the end of the day, Nunberg reverses his position, telling The Associated Press, “I'm going to end up cooperating with them [special counsel].”
March 4, 2018: Former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter are found unconscious in a British shopping mall, and are believed to have been poisoned with a nerve agent. Skripal passed the identity of dozens of spies to the United Kingdom's MI6 foreign intelligence agency. He was freed in 2010 as part of a U.S./Russia spy swap.More ⇢
March 1, 2018: NBC News reports that Special Counsel Mueller is assembling criminal charges against Russians who hacked and leaked private information meant to hurt Democrats in the 2016 election.More ⇢
February 28, 2018: White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, Trump's longest-serving aide, announces her resignation.More ⇢
February 28, 2018: NBC News reports that Special Counsel Mueller’s team is asking witnesses whether Donald Trump knew that Democratic emails were stolen before the public knew, and if he was aware of WikiLeaks’ plans to publish them. Mueller’s team has also reportedly asked about the relationship between Roger Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. More ⇢
February 27, 2018: White House Communications Director, Hope Hicks, is interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee, where she initially declines to answer questions about the transition period between the election and inauguration, but later “opened up,” according to Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.). Hicks stays silent about her time in the White House, but notably tells House investigators that her work for the President occasionally required her to tell "white lies."
February 23, 2018: Rick Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy and lying to federal investigators in the special counsel inquiry.This makes him the third associate of President Trump to strike a cooperation agreement with Robert Mueller. More ⇢
February 22, 2018: A federal grand jury approves new charges from special counsel Mueller against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, accusing them of lying about their business incomes to banks in order to obtain $20 million in loans. Last October, Mueller charged the Trump campaign aides with 12 counts regarding their work for a pro-Russia Ukraine political group, but now face a new indictment with 32 counts of financial, tax and bank fraud charges.
February 21, 2018: Federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating if Paul Manafort entered a quid pro quo relationship with Stephen Calk by offering a job at the White House for $16 million in home loans. Calk is the president of Federal Savings Bank and was a member of then-candidate Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers. Manafort received three loans in December 2016 and January 2017 from Federal Savings Bank, which were questioned by bank officials. At least one official is operating with investigators. More ⇢
February 20, 2018: Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who is the son-in-law of a Russian oligarch named in the “Steele dossier,” pleads guilty to lying to investigators in special counsel Mueller’s probe regarding his communications with former Trump campaign aide, Rick Gates. More ⇢
February 16, 2018: Special counsel Robert Mueller indicates 13 Russians for meddling in the 2016 election. The indictments are the first tied directly to Russian interference in the election and allege that some of the Russians traveled to U.S. under false pretenses to collect intelligence and to "reach significant number of Americans for purposes of interfering with the US political system, including the presidential election of 2016."More ⇢
February 13, 2018: At a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, DNI Dan Coats states the U.S. is “under attack” on the cybersecurity front. Coats says that Russia is likely to continue their cyberattacks on the United States by “using elections as opportunities to undermine democracy, sow discord and undermine our values.” FBI Director Christopher Wray, CIA Director Mike Pompeo and NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers also speak at the hearing.More ⇢
February 6, 2018: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tells Fox News that Russia is already attempting to influence the 2018 midterm elections and that it will be difficult to “pre-empt” the meddling. "I don't know that I would say we are better prepared, because the Russians will adapt, as well. The point is, if it's their intention to interfere, they are going to find ways to do that,” Tillerson says. More ⇢
February 2, 2018: The Republican House Intelligence memo is released to the public. The memo alleges abuse of surveillance power by the FBI.More ⇢
February 1, 2018: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), demands that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) remove Rep. Nunes (R-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee.More ⇢
January 31, 2018: The New York Times reports that former Trump legal spokesperson Mark Corallo plans to tell Robert Mueller that White House Communications Director, Hope Hicks, could have committed obstruction of justice after a conference call in which she told the President that the Donald Trump Jr. emails “will never get out." More ⇢
January 31, 2018: The FBI releases an unsigned statement, citing “grave concerns” over omissions and inaccuracies in the House Intelligence Committee memo. More ⇢
January 31, 2018: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee’s top democrat, accuses chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) of making “material changes” to the memo sent to the White House, and “deliberately misleading” the committee. Schiff demands Nunes withdraws the memo sent to the White House. A spokesperson for the committee’s Republican majority said that there were “minor edits” to the memo and that the release was “procedurally sound.” More ⇢
January 31, 2018: White House chief of staff John Kelly tells Fox News Radio that the controversial Republican "memo" detailing alleged wrongdoing by FBI officials will be released soon. “It will be released here pretty quick, I think, and the whole world can see it,”
January 30, 2018: The House Intelligence Committee votes along party lines to publicly release a classified memo spearheaded by Chairman Devin Nunes and authored by Republicans that details alleged wrongdoing by FBI officials. Members of the Committee send the memo the White House.More ⇢
January 29, 2018: The White House says it will not implement sanctions required by bipartisan legislation, because the threat of sanctions already act as a "deterrent." The Trump administration releases an unclassified version of the "oligarchs list" called for in the same sanctions legislation. Compiled using outside sources such as Forbes, the list includes 114 "senior political figures" in Putin's government and 96 oligarchs with connections to Moscow. More ⇢
January 29, 2018: CIA Director Mike Pompeo states that he fully expects Russia to interfere with the 2018 midterm elections in an interview with BBC. He adds,“I am confident that America will be able to have a free and fair election — that we'll push back in a way that is sufficiently robust that the impact they have on our election won't be great.”
January 29, 2018: FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe steps down, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. McCabe had been at the center of ongoing tensions between the White House and the FBI and had reportedly been on the receiving end of pressure to quit from President Trump.More ⇢
January 25, 2018: Reporting is released by The New York Times that states that President Donald Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller last June, but ultimately backed down after White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, threatened to resign.More ⇢
January 25, 2018: Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone tells Laura Ingraham that President Trump should not meet with special counsel Robert Mueller, calling it a "perjury trap."
January 25, 2018: The Justice Department's inspector general has informed lawmakers that missing text messages exchanged between FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page has been recovered, according to CNN.More ⇢
January 24, 2018: President Trump says he is willing to speak "under oath" to special counsel Robert Mueller. White House special counsel Ty Cobb clarifies those remarks, saying Trump will testify “subject to the terms being negotiated by his personal counsel,” which Cobb says are still being negotiated.More ⇢
January 24, 2018: Former acting attorney general Sally Yates has cooperated with the special counsel, NBC News reports.
January 24, 2018: CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who was allegedly asked by Trump to encourage James Comey, the FBI director at the time, to drop his investigation, has been questioned as a witness to possible obstruction of justice, NBC News reports.More ⇢
January 23, 2018: The New York Times reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned as part of the special counsel’s investigation the week of Jan. 15.More ⇢
January 23, 2018: James Comey met with Mueller's investigators the previous year regarding the memos he wrote detailing his interactions with President Trump, The New York Times reports in a revelation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' interview with the special counsel.More ⇢
January 16, 2018: The New York Times reports that Steve Bannon, the former White House strategist, was subpoenaed the previous week by special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before a grand jury as part of the Russian investigation. Bannon appears before the House Intelligence Committee, where he initially refuses to answer questions regarding his time in the West Wing or on the transition team, angering lawmakers of both parties. He is subpoenaed for a second time on the spot, and spoke to the committee for 10 hours behind closed doors. More ⇢
January 11, 2018: Former White House strategist Steve Bannon hires a lawyer, William Burck, for the House Russia probe, specifically for his time managing the Trump campaign.
January 10, 2018: Trump does not commit to agreeing to an interview with Mueller at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, saying, "We'll see what happens." Trump says it is "unlikely" that he will be called to testify, citing a lack collusion found by the Justice Department. More ⇢
January 10, 2018: Trump urges Republicans to "take control" of the Russian investigations, tweeting: "The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!"
January 9, 2018: The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dianne Feinstein, releases the transcript of the panel's August interview with Glenn Simpson, founder of Fusion GPS, the company behind the controversial dossier linking Trump to the Kremlin. Trump lashes out at the senator on Twitter, calling her "Sneaky Dianne Feinstein."More ⇢
January 9, 2018: Steve Bannon steps down as executive chairman of Breitbart News.More ⇢
January 7, 2018: On NBC's "Meet the Press," Wolff refers to White House conversations on the 25th Amendment, on removal of a president. "Yes, actually, they would say, sort of in the mid-period, 'We're not at a 25th Amendment level yet,'" Wolff said. "So 25th Amendment is a concept that is alive every day in the White House."More ⇢
January 7, 2018: Bannon says he "regrets" making the comments in Wolff's book. "My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda," he says.More ⇢
January 4, 2018: In a joint opinion piece in The Washington Examiner, Republicans Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio call on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step down, saying there has been "manufactured hysteria" over the Russian investigation.
January 3, 2018: Attorneys for Paul Manafort file a lawsuit in federal court that accuses special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and the Justice Department of overreach and operating outside of the law.More ⇢
January 3, 2018: In an excerpt of Michael Wolff's new book "Fire and Fury," Steve Bannon describes the 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Russians in Trump Tower as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic."
January 2, 2018: In an op-ed in The New York Times titled "The Republicans' Fake Investigations," the founders of Fusion GPS urge that their testimony be released. "We are happy to correct the record. In fact, we already have," write Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch.
December 17, 2017: Asked whether he is considering firing Mueller, Trump tells reporters, "No, I'm not," while returning from a presidential retreat at Camp David.
December 16, 2017: Kory Langhofer, an attorney representing Trump for America, accuses special counsel Robert Mueller of unlawfully obtaining private emails as part of the Russia probe. Langhofer raises questions of attorney-client privilege and the Fourth Amendment.
December 15, 2017: Trump declines to say if he would pardon Michael Flynn. "I don't want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet," he says as he leaves the White House to deliver a speech to FBI academy graduates. "We'll see what happens." More ⇢
December 14, 2017: Russian President Vladimir Putin says that accusations of Russian collusion "inflicted damage to the domestic political situation" in the United States.
December 13, 2017: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies before the House Judiciary Committee, where Republicans ask him about the integrity of the Mueller investigation in light of the Strzok-Page texts. More ⇢
December 12, 2017: Trump’s legal team calls for an additional special counsel to examine decisions and personnel at the Justice Department.
December 12, 2017: Text messages between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page showing anti-Trump sentiments are provided to Congress.
December 1, 2017: Flynn pleads guilty in federal court to making false statements to the FBI regarding his communications with Russia.More ⇢
November 29, 2017: President Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, met with Robert Mueller's special counsel that month, The New York Times reports.More ⇢
November 23, 2017: The New York Times reports that the legal team for former national security adviser Michael Flynn recently cut ties with White House lawyers, notifying them that they could no longer discuss the special counsel’s investigation.More ⇢
November 22, 2017: A former business associate of Michael Flynn, Bijan Kian, has become a subject of the special counsel’s investigation, NBC News reports.More ⇢
November 21, 2017: At a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, Trump walks back his doubts surrounding Russian meddling and says that he is “with” U.S. intelligence agencies. These agencies have concluded that Russia meddled with the 2016 election, despite denials from Trump and the Kremlin.More ⇢
November 16, 2017: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the panel's ranking member, send a letter to Jared Kushner’s lawyer, stating that the collection of documents provided to the panel’s probe into Russian election interference is “incomplete.”More ⇢
November 14, 2017: Attorney General Jeff Sessions tells lawmakers that he now recalls a meeting with former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, but asserts that he did not lie under oath when he stated that he was unaware of communications between the campaign and Russian officials.More ⇢
November 13, 2017: The Atlantic reports that Donald Trump Jr. corresponded with WikiLeaks in a series of direct messages on Twitter.More ⇢
November 11, 2017: Trump tells reporters on Air Force One that during a conversation at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Putin denied meddling in the election. Putin said "he absolutely did not meddle in our election," Trump said. "He did not do what they are saying he did."More ⇢
November 9, 2017: White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller has been interviewed by the special counsel, CNN reports.
November 1, 2017: The House Intelligence Committee releases dozens of Russian-linked social media advertisements that were created during the 2016 election, focusing their attention on ads created by a Russian troll farm that touched on divisive social issues.
October 31, 2017: NBC News reports that a person with first-hand knowledge of the Mueller investigation confirmed that Sam Clovis, the former Trump campaign official, was questioned the previous week by Mueller's team.More ⇢
October 31, 2017: Executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to speak publicly about the sale of advertisements on their platforms by Russian firms during the 2016 presidential election. More ⇢
October 30, 2017: Manafort and Gates indictment is unsealed. Both men plead not guilty during their arraignment later that day.
October 30, 2017: Court documents are unsealed in the Papadopoulos case, uncovering a series of revelations about the nature of his involvement in the campaign and his contact with individuals with connections to the Russian government.
October 27, 2017: Mueller’s office indicts former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates on charges of conspiracy against the United States, being an unregistered foreign agent, money laundering and seven counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.More ⇢
October 27, 2017: Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, is interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
October 27, 2017: Former CIA Director James Woolsey has been interviewed by FBI agents working for Robert Mueller, NBC News reports.More ⇢
October 27, 2017: Politico reports that Manafort’s realtor Wayne Holland was called before Mueller’s grand jury the previous week.
October 25, 2017: Michael Cohen appears before the Senate Intelligence committee.
October 25, 2017: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team met with Christopher Steele, British spy and author of the infamous "Steele Dossier" over the summer, CNN reports.More ⇢
October 24, 2017: According to reporting by The Washington Post, it is discovered that the Clinton campaign, as well as the Democratic National Committee, paid for research that funded the controversial dossier that was publicly released in January and contains alleged links between Donald Trump and associates in Russia.
October 24, 2017: Michael Cohen, the president's personal lawyer, appears in front of the House Intelligence Committee, a conversation that continues into the next day with the Senate Intelligence Committee.
October 24, 2017: Brad Parscale, head of the Trump digital campaign team, is interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee.More ⇢
October 18, 2017: Attorney General Sessions testifies before a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sessions provides potential new information about his conversations with Sergey Kislyak at the RNC, stating it was “possible” that “some comment was made about what Trump’s positions were,” however, “I don't think there was any discussion about the details of the campaign.” Sessions cites confidentiality regarding questions asked about his conversations with the president.
October 18, 2017: Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
October 16, 2017: Trump’s former press secretary, Sean Spicer, is interviewed by Mueller. Spicer is reportedly asked about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, and his statements regarding that decision. Spicer is also asked about the president's meetings with Russian officials, including one with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office.
October 13, 2017: Reince Priebus, Trump's former chief of staff, is interviewed by the Mueller team.
October 5, 2017: Former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos secretly pleads guilty to a single count of making false statements to the FBI as part of a cooperation agreement with Mueller. The plea details the timing and significance of conversations Papadopoulos had with contacts who are “understood to have substantial ties to Russian government officials,” a description used in the criminal information that was filed.
October 4, 2017: Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the panel’s top Democrat, announce an expansion of the investigation to include the role of social media in Russia’s influence campaign. They confirm that 21 states’ election systems were targeted by Russian hackers. They announce that the committee has "hit a wall" in their attempts to interview Christopher Steele.More ⇢
September 28, 2017: Twitter tells congressional investigators it was targeted by Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential election. The company says it shut down 201 accounts that are tied to the International Research Agency, a Kremlin-affiliated “troll-farm,” in addition to finding three accounts from the news site RT, which bought ads in 2016. More ⇢
September 21, 2017: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg releases a video where he announces that he is actively working with the U.S. government on their ongoing investigations into Russian interference. Zuckerberg says that he provided information regarding Russian ads on Facebook to the special counsel, briefed Congress and provided the ads that were uncovered to Congress as well.
September 15, 2017: Manafort’s spokesman Jason Maloni is interviewed before Mueller’s grand jury in Washington.
September 6, 2017: Facebook reveals to congressional investigators that the company sold ads to a Russian company that targeted voters during the election. Facebook reports that it traced the ad sales, which amounted to roughly $100,000, to the International Research Agency, a Russian intelligence-linked troll farm.
August 25, 2017: NBC News reports that public relations executives from the Podesta Group and Mercury LLC had been subpoenaed to testify before Mueller’s grand jury in recent days. One public relations executive told NBC News that some of the PR firms involved in lobbying with Manafort and Gates had also received subpoenas for documents in weeks prior.
August 17, 2017: Steve Bannon is fired as White House chief political strategist.
August 11, 2017: Russian-American lobbyist, Rinat Akhmetshin, who was present at the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower, testifies before the grand jury in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.More ⇢
August 2, 2017: Trump signs the Russia Sanctions Bill, which is overwhelmingly supported by both the House and the Senate. In addition to putting new sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea, the legislation also ties the president’s hands, by putting in a restriction that prevents Trump from lifting these sanctions without congressional approval.More ⇢
July 31, 2017: Anthony Scaramucci is fired as White House communications director. More ⇢
July 28, 2017: Reince Priebus is fired as Trump's chief of staff. Trump announces the dismissal via Twitter, saying: “I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F. Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American…”
July 27, 2017: George Papadopoulos is arrested in Dulles Airport, outside of Washington.
July 26, 2017: FBI agents search one of the residences of Paul Manafort. The raid occurred one day after Manafort met privately with Senate Intelligence Committee staff members.
July 25, 2017: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team met with Christopher Steele, British spy and author of the infamous "Steele Dossier" over the summer, CNN reports.
July 24, 2017: Jared Kushner releases a statement detailing his encounters with Russian officials and his role in the campaign. “I am voluntarily providing this statement, submitting documents, and sitting for interviews in order to shed light on issues that have been raised about my role in the Trump for President Campaign and during the transition period,” Kushner said. This statement was released following a closed-door meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee.More ⇢
July 21, 2017: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer unexpectedly resigns. The decision comes after a meeting at which Anthony Scaramucci accepted the position of communications director. Spicer expressed great reservations over the hiring of Scaramucci.More ⇢
July 16, 2017: On "Meet the Press," Chuck Todd speaks with Jay Sekulow, a member of President Trump's personal legal team. After being asked about Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with the Russian lawyer, Sekulow insists that James Comey’s leaks detailing conversations with President Trump are more important.
July 14, 2017: Trump hires Ty Cobb, a new addition to his growing legal team for the Russian investigation. Cobb is set to handle media inquiries related to the ongoing probe, and his role as White House special counsel differs from lawyers who defend the Trump administration or the president personally. His client is the presidency itself, making sure that the office is not harmed and is protected from long-lasting consequences.
July 12, 2017: Regarding the June 9, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower, Trump says, “I only heard about it two or three days ago,” and “it was attended by a couple of other people,” Jared and “the other one, [who] was playing with his iPhone.”
July 11, 2017: Ambassador Sergey Kislyak leaves his post at the embassy and is replaced by interim minister-counselor and deputy chief of mission, Denis V. Gonchar, until a full-time replacement arrives from Moscow.
July 11, 2017: The New York Times reports that Donald Trump Jr. received an email from one of his father’s Russian business partners on June 3, 2016, which promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, and Trump Jr. replied, “I love it."
July 11, 2017: WikiLeaks messages Trump Jr. on Twitter: “Hi Don, Sorry to hear about your problems. We have an idea that may help a little. We are VERY interested in confidentially obtaining and publishing a copy of the email(s) cited in the NYTimes today.” The message continues for multiple paragraphs, attempting to convince Trump Jr. that it would be in his best interest. He does not respond.
July 7, 2017: Trump meets with Putin at the G20 Summit, and Putin denies meddling in the 2016 presidential election. It is still unclear whether or not Trump accepted the Kremlin's version of events.More ⇢
June 27, 2017: Manafort’s company DMP International files a retroactive FARA registration related to his work for the Party of Regions between Jan. 2012 and Feb. 2014. In it, Manafort discloses more than $17 million in payments, and characterizes his role as "implementing pro-democratic campaign activities, engaging in party building activities, developing a party platform and political agenda, and implementing election planning, election integrity, and international election monitoring programs."
June 15, 2017: After a report confirms that Robert Mueller is examining whether the president attempted to obstruct justice, Trump dismisses the Russian investigation via Twitter, calling it a “phony story,” and “the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history, led by some very bad and conflicted people!”
June 15, 2017: Mueller requests interviews with senior White House officials about their conversations with Trump, including Dan Coats, director of national intelligence; Mike Rogers, chief of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, who left his post as deputy to Rogers around this time.
June 8, 2017: Comey testifies at the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding the circumstances surrounding his dismissal. Comey says that the Trump administration “Chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader."
June 7, 2017: James Comey releases a memo detailing his one-on-one interactions with the president, spelling out his recollection of the president’s requests with respect to Flynn and also his requests for Comey’s loyalty.
May 29, 2017: Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper tells Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he is "very concerned about the nature" of approaches between the Trump campaign and Russian agents during the 2016 elections.More ⇢
May 17, 2017: Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, announces the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Russian investigation.“My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted," Rosenstein said. "I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”More ⇢
May 14, 2017: During a week when the news cycle is dominated by Trump’s decision to fire Comey, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that “the president needs to back off here and let the investigation go forward.”
May 10, 2017: Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak. Lavrov referred to Trump’s comments on Twitter by calling the Russia story “fake news,” and told reporters, “There is not a single fact, there is no compelling evidence given to anyone regarding Russia’s intervention and that is it." Trump told Russian officials at the meeting that “firing ‘nut job’ Comey eased pressure from the Russian investigation.” More ⇢
May 10, 2017: President Trump tells Lester Holt on NBC's "Nightly News" about his thinking when he fired Comey. "When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won'."
May 9, 2017: President Trump fires Comey after senior Justice Department officials concluded that he'd mishandled the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
April 26, 2017: WikiLeaks messages Donald Trump Jr. with a video attached titled, “Fake News.”
March 20, 2017: In a public hearing before the House Intelligence Committee, Comey confirms that the FBI is investigating the possibility of collusion during the 2016 presidential election between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
March 2, 2017: Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses himself from the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He insists that while he had no improper contacts with the Russians, he will withdraw due to his involvement in the Trump campaign.
February 14, 2017: A spokesman for Pence says the vice president “became aware of incomplete information that he had received Feb. 9, last Thursday night, based on media accounts” – a reference to the Washington Post story that revealed Flynn had discussed sanctions with Kislyak.
February 14, 2017: Trump calls Comey aside after a meeting of national security officials in the Oval Office. Comey testified that during the one-on-one meeting, Trump told him: “I hope you can let this go, you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." Comey said he “replied only that ‘he is a good guy.’ … I did not say I would ‘let this go.’” Trump has denied pressuring Comey to drop the Flynn investigation.
February 13, 2017: Spicer announces Flynn’s firing, “The president must have complete and unwavering trust for the person in that position.” He goes on, “The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation in a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for Gen. Flynn's resignation." Spicer does not enumerate the “other questionable instances.”
February 13, 2017: The Washington Post publishes a story on Yates’ Jan. 26 meeting with McGahn and her warning about Flynn.More ⇢
February 13, 2017: Flynn resigns as National Security Adviser after it is revealed that he misled Pence and other senior White House officials about his contact with Kislyak.
February 9, 2017: The Washington Post publishes an article saying Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak. The article says Flynn now can't be sure he didn't discuss sanctions. Flynn’s spokesman says Flynn “indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.” NBC News reports this is the day Pence first learns about Yates’ warnings to McGahn that Flynn had lied to White House officials, including Pence.
February, 2017: Manafort and Gates submit another letter to the Justice Department, denying that their work for the government of Ukraine required they register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
January 30, 2017: Yates announces she will not defend President Trump’s executive order temporarily barring citizens of some Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and suspending the admission of refugees. The decision sets up a confrontation between Yates and the president, and between the Justice Department and the White House.That night, Yates hears a knock on her door and a Trump appointee presents her with a letter informing her that the president has fired her.
January 27, 2017: McGahn asks Yates to return to the White House. One of the questions discussed is whether Flynn could be prosecuted. According to Yates’ later testimony, McGahn asks her, “Why does it matter to DOJ if one White House official lies to another?” She explains to McGahn that it “was a whole lot more than that” and reiterates her concerns. McGahn asks Yates if he could look at the evidence of Flynn’s conduct. She says that she would work with the FBI and “get back with him on Monday morning.”
January 27, 2017: At a dinner with FBI Director James Comey, the president says, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.” According to Comey, an "awkward silence" followed. Comey testified that "we simply looked at each other in silence.” The president returned to the subject at the end of the dinner. “He said, ‘I need loyalty.’ I replied, ‘You will always get honesty from me.’ He paused and then said, ‘That’s what I want, honest loyalty.’" Comey replied, "You will get that from me."
January 27, 2017: Papadopoulos is interviewed by the FBI for the first time and falsely claims that his contacts with a foreign professor with Russian ties and another Russian individual were made before working on Trump's campaign. According to information later released in his criminal plea agreement, Papadopoulos tells federal investigators he communicated with a professor with "ties to Russian government officials,” who told him the Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails.”
January 26, 2017: Yates tells White House counsel Don McGahn that there are “press accounts of statements made by the vice president and other high-ranking White House individuals about General Flynn’s conduct that we know to be untrue.” She tells McGahn that Flynn lied about his discussions with Kislyak and the “national security adviser essentially could be blackmailed by the Russians.” McGahn immediately briefs Trump and a small group of senior advisers.
January 24, 2017: Two FBI agents interview Flynn about his contact with Kislyak; Flynn denies discussing sanctions with Kislyak. His claims contradict transcripts of secretly recorded calls, part of the NSA’s routine coverage of Russian diplomats.
January 24, 2017: Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates receives a summary of the Flynn interview from FBI agents. She later testifies that she felt “it was important to get this information to the White House as quickly as possible.”
January 23, 2017: Flynn and other senior staff, including Jared Kushner, are sworn in during an East Room ceremony. Spicer holds a press briefing and repeats Flynn’s claim that he did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak, saying he had asked Flynn about it the night before.
January 22, 2017: The Wall Street Journal publishes an article saying Flynn’s contacts with Russian officials are under investigation as part of the Justice Department’s Russia probe. Spicer talks to Flynn, who denies discussing sanctions with Kislyak.
January 20, 2017: Donald Trump and Mike Pence inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States.
January 15, 2017: Vice President-Elect Mike Pence says on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he spoke with Flynn and he “did not discuss anything having to do with the United States’ decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia.”
January 13, 2017: Trump spokesman Sean Spicer tells reporters on a conference call that Flynn and Kislyak’s Dec. 29 phone call was about arranging a meeting between Trump and Putin. He says, “That was it, plain and simple.”
January 12, 2017: The Washington Post breaks the news that Flynn spoke with Kislyak on Dec. 29.
January 10, 2017: A 35-page memorandum, which later came to be known as the “Steele Dossier,” is published by BuzzFeed. The Dossier details claims that the Russian government had been cultivating, supporting and assisting Trump for five years, as well as obtaining information in an effort to blackmail him.More ⇢
January 6, 2017: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence releases a report detailing a “Russian campaign to influence the election."
January 6, 2017: WikiLeaks messages Trump Jr. on Twitter. The account forwards a tweet by John. J Hardwood of CNBC that says, “Who do you believe, America?” with a corresponding poll attached. The poll asks if the American public believes the information coming from WikiLeaks or U.S. intelligence officials. Of those who responded, 83% say WikiLeaks and 17% say U.S. officials.
December 30, 2016: Putin announces he won’t retaliate for U.S. sanctions on Russia. Trump tweets that Putin’s decision was a “great move.”
December 29, 2016: The Obama administration announces new sanctions and diplomatic censures on Russia in response to election interference. NBC News reported that Michael Flynn spoke with his incoming deputy, K.T. McFarland, who was with the president-elect and other incoming officials at Mar-A-Lago. The two discuss what Flynn should say to Kislyak about the new U.S. sanctions in order to keep Russia from retaliating. Flynn calls Kislyak, who returns his call.
December 22, 2016: Michael Flynn speaks to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about Israeli settlements.
December 9, 2016: President Obama orders a full review of Russian hacking and influence efforts during the 2016 election.
December 9, 2016: WikiLeaks messages Trump Jr. on Twitter in regards to Obama’s decision. “Wow," the first message reads. In a second message, WikiLeaks continues: “Obama people will surely try to delete records on the way out. Just a heads up.” Trump Jr. does not respond.
December 8, 2016: WikiLeaks contacts Trump Jr. on Twitter with a message reading in part: “Hi Don; if your father ‘loses’ we think it is much more interesting if he DOES NOT conceed [sic] and spends time CHALLENGING the media and other types of rigging that occurred-- as he has implied that he might do. He is also much more likely to keep his base alive and energised [sic] this way and if he is going to start a new network, showing how corrupt the old ones are is helpful."
November, 2016: Manafort and Gates submit a letter to the Department of Justice denying they were in violation of FARA, arguing they simply introduced the lobbying firms to the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine and were never directly involved in lobbying.
October 21, 2016: WikiLeaks contacts Trump Jr. on Twitter, encouraging him to release “one or more” of his father’s tax returns. The account says: “If we publish them it will dramatically improve the perception of our impartiality. This is the real kicker. This means that the vast amount of stuff that we are publishing about Clinton will have much higher impact, because it won’t be perceived as coming from a 'pro-Trump,' 'pro-Russian' source, which the Clinton campaign is constantly slandering us with.”
October 12, 2016: WikiLeaks messages Trump Jr. on Twitter. “Hey Donald, great to see you and your dad talking about our publications.” WikiLeaks continued, directing Trump Jr. to a link for his father to use to encourage his followers to start ‘digging through the content.’ “There’s many great stories there the press are missing, and we’re sure some of your followers will find it. Btw we just released the Podesta emails Part 4.” Trump Jr. did not respond.
October 10, 2016: At a campaign rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Trump praises WikiLeaks for publishing Clinton’s hacked emails. “I love WikiLeaks,” Trump says, prompting a long chant of “lock her up” from his audience. “It’s amazing how nothing is secret today when you talk about the Internet.” Trump then begins to read some of the leaked information.
October 7, 2016: The U.S. intelligence community says the Russian government conspired to interfere with the election, marking the first time the Obama administration overtly blames Vladimir Putin and his regime for the leaks.
October 7, 2016: The Access Hollywood tape is released, in which Trump brags to host Billy Bush, “When you’re a star … you can do anything to women.”
October 7, 2016: WikiLeaks begins releasing the emails of John Podesta, chairman of the Clinton campaign.
October 4, 2016: WikiLeaks' Julian Assange says his organization will publish emails related to the 2016 campaign
October 3, 2016: WikiLeaks messages Trump Jr. on Twitter, reading in part: “Hiya, it’d be great if you guys could comment on/push this story,” says the WikiLeaks account at 1:25 p.m. At 3:01 p.m., Trump Jr. messages back: “Already did that earlier today. It’s amazing what she can get away with.” At 3:03 p.m., Trump Jr. writes, “What’s behind this Wednesday leak I keep reading about?” WikiLeaks does not respond.
October, 2016: Law enforcement and intelligence sources confirm to NBC News that the FBI has also begun conducting a preliminary inquiry into Manafort’s foreign business connections.More ⇢
September 21, 2016: Trump Jr. responds to WikiLeak’s direct message on Twitter: “Off the record I don’t know who that is but I’ll ask around. Thanks.”
September 20, 2016: Donald Trump Jr. is contacted by WikiLeaks via direct message on Twitter. The message reads: "A PAC run anti-Trump site ‘putintrump.org’ is about to launch. The PAC is a recycled pro-Iraq war PAC. We have guessed the password. It is ‘putintrump’. See ‘About’ for who is behind it. Any comments?"
September, 2016: In light of news reports about Manafort’s work in Ukraine, the Department of Justice lets Manafort and Gates know that it’s investigating whether they violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) through their work for Yanukovych and the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine.
August 19, 2016: Manafort resigns from the Trump campaign amid mounting news reports of his multimillion-dollar payments for work in Ukraine.
August 17, 2016: Steve Bannon is appointed chief executive of the Trump campaign.
August 3, 2016: Donald Trump, Jr. meets with ‘Gulf emissary,’ George Nadar in Trump Tower. Nadar represents the princes who lead Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates who were eager to help Donald Trump become president.More ⇢
July 27, 2016: Trump denounces the claim that Russia was behind the Democratic National Committee hack, calling it “a total deflection,” despite expert reports that claim otherwise.
July 27, 2016: At a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump urges Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s missing emails. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.” At that same press conference, Trump says that he has never met Putin, and doesn’t know who he is.
July 25, 2016: Democratic convention begins
July 21, 2016: GOP convention concludes with Trump giving his speech accepting the Republican nomination
July 18, 2016: At the Republican National Convention, the party platform is changed to weaken language in reference to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. Specific calls to provide arms to Ukrainian forces are eliminated, “after Trump surrogates intervened,” according to The L.A. Times.
July 18, 2016: During the RNC in Cleveland, there are meetings between Trump campaign officials and Russians. Jeff Sessions attends a Heritage Foundation event that is attended by roughly 50 ambassadors, including Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. According to a Justice Department official, Sessions was approached by Kislyak. At least two members of the Trump’s campaign national security team, J.D. Gordon and Carter Page, also spoke with Kislyak, although it is unknown what was discussed.
July 7, 2016: Manafort offers private briefings on the status of the 2016 U.S. presidential election to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch who is in Putin’s inner circle. In an email sent that day, Manafort wrote to one of his employees: "If he [Deripaska] needs private briefings we can accommodate." Manafort's business ties to Deripaska date to 2007.More ⇢
June 20, 2016: Trump fires campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and Manafort moves into the role unofficially.
June 9, 2016: Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort meet with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and Russian lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin at Trump Tower along with several others. The gathering is orchestrated by publicist Rob Goldstone, who told Trump Jr. that Veselnitskaya had "information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father." Trump Jr. replied, "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."
June 7, 2016: The 2016 primary season essentially concludes, with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the presumptive party nominees
May 19, 2016: Manafort is promoted to chairman and chief strategist of the Trump campaign.
May 1, 2016: According to reporting from McClatchy, at an NRA gathering in Kentucky, Alexander Torshin, a lifetime member of the organization, meets with Donald Trump Jr. during a gala event. More ⇢
April 27, 2016: As detailed by court filings that were released at a later date, George Papadopoulos emails an unnamed "senior policy advisor" (later thought to be Sam Clovis) “to discuss Russia’s interest in hosting Mr. Trump.” He added, “Have been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host him and the team when the time is right."
April 27, 2016: Trump delivers a foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington attended by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a campaign adviser who later becomes Trump’s attorney general. At the event, Sessions meets with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, a meeting that he neglects to mention during his confirmation process.
March 28, 2016: Manafort joins the Trump campaign as liaison to the Republican National Convention to handle the delegate effort.
March 21, 2016: Papadopoulos attends a “foreign policy meeting,” with Trump and members of his campaign, and tells those in attendance that he has connections that could lead to a meeting with Putin, according to the indictment against Papadoplous.
March 19, 2016: Russian hackers gain access to John Podesta's emails.
March 14, 2016: On a trip to Italy, George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser, meets with an anonymous professor based in London who claims to have significant connections to Russian officials.
March 4, 2016: Manafort takes out a loan against the Manhattan property he bought with funds from an offshore account, effectively giving him over $3 million in tax-free liquid income. According to the indictment, Manafort also defrauded the bank by representing the home as “owner-occupied,” earning a higher loan amount, when in reality he was renting the apartment out.
February 15, 2016: Trump says that he’d be a better negotiator with Putin than his Republican primary rivals. “You want to make a good deal for the country, you want to deal with Russia – and there’s nothing wrong with not fighting everybody, having Russia where we have a good relationship as opposed to all the stupidity that’s taken place.”
February 9, 2016: Manafort obtains a $5.3 million loan borrowed against the Brooklyn brownstone. By promising the bank that more than a quarter of the loan will be used for construction, Manafort was able to borrow against the expected value of the property after construction — $8 million. Manafort bought the property for less than $3 million in cash.
December 10, 2015: Michael Flynn travels to Moscow to attend a gala for Russia’s state-backed TV network, RT. At the dinner, Flynn is seated at a table with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jill Stein, and several Kremlin officials. More ⇢
November 13, 2015: Trump walks back his stablemate comments about Putin, clarifying on Twitter that they did not interact in the green room, and had separate interviews.
October 11, 2015: Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin were "stablemates" when they appeared on the same episode of "60 Minutes."
June 16, 2015: Donald Trump announces his candidacy for president.
April 12, 2015: Hillary Clinton announces her candidacy for president.
September, 2014: Manafort returns to Ukraine to consult for the remnants of Yanukovych’s ousted party, which rebrands itself as the Opposition Bloc ahead of October parliamentary elections. Manafort told NBC News that the 2014 election was his last in Ukraine.More ⇢
February 22, 2014: Manafort buys a brownstone in Brooklyn for nearly $3 million in cash. According to the indictment, the money came from one of Manafort’s offshore accounts in Cyprus.
August 31, 2012: According to the indictment, Manafort has $1.9 million wired from an account in Cyprus to pay for an Arlington, Va., home. Property records confirm Manafort’s daughter Andrea bought the Arlington property in early September 2012.
February 14, 2012: Manafort buys a condo in Manhattan for $2.85 million in cash. The indictment alleges that all of the money came from Manafort’s bank accounts in Cyprus.
February, 2012: Paul Manafort and business associate Rick Gates hire two Washington firms to lobby in the U.S. on behalf of Yanukovych and the government of Ukraine. The firms — the Podesta Group and Mercury Public Affairs — were to be paid by the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. More ⇢
January 19, 2012: The European Centre for a Modern Ukraine is formed as a nonprofit in Belgium to promote the interests of Yanukovych and the Party of Regions.
October 4, 2011: According to the October 2017 indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, Manafort’s tax preparer asks Manafort, in writing, if he has any foreign bank accounts. Manafort allegedly responds, “NO.” Manafort continues to file his taxes without acknowledging any foreign bank accounts through 2014.
June 29, 2011: Manafort creates DMP International, the company he’ll use for his political consulting work for the Party of Regions and the government of Ukraine.
February 7, 2010: Yanukovych is elected president of Ukraine.
December 1, 2004: Manafort reportedly begins working for the Party of Regions, a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine backed by Russia-linked oligarchs. The party had been blamed for irregularities in past elections. Manafort was hired by Rinat Akhmetov, a billionaire Party of Regions donor, to help the party’s presidential candidate, Viktor Yanukovych, in a do-over election. Yanukovych lost but Manafort won a job preparing the Party of Regions for the parliamentary elections of 2006.More ⇢

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