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.
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Image: Vladimir Putin, Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., James Comey
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January 25, 2018: Reporting is released by The New York Times that states that President Donald Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Muller last June, but ultimately backed down after White House consel, Donald F. McGhan 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.
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 initally 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 commitee for 10 hours behind closed doors.
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.
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 10, 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."
January 9, 2018: Steve Bannon steps down as executive chairman of Breitbart News.
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."
January 4, 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.
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 acuses special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and the Justice Department of overreach and operating outside of the law.
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 Commitee, 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’s 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 Chistopher 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: At a press conference with the Lebanese prime minister, President Trump lashes out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “I told you before, I’m very disappointed with the attorney general. But we will see what happens. Time will tell. Time will tell.”
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.”
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 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.
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 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."
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 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 ⇢