Categories
  Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
  supported by EncyclosphereKSF

Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 106 min

Trump–Russia relations
Business interactions
Russian election interference
Investigations and reports
People
Deception and conspiracy theories
Literature
Categories
This article is part of
a series about
Donald Trump
Business and personal
45th & 47th President of the
United States
Tenure
Policies
Appointments
Presidential campaigns
Impeachments
Civil and criminal prosecutions
COVID-19 pandemic
Donald Trump's signature
Seal of the President of the United States

This is a timeline of events related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

It includes events described in investigations into the myriad links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies until July 2016, with July 2016 through election day November 8, 2016, following.[1] Events and investigations also occurred during the presidential transition from November 9, 2016, to January 20, 2017, and continued through the first and second halves of 2017; the first and second halves of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, largely as parts of the Crossfire Hurricane FBI investigation, the Special Counsel investigation, multiple ongoing criminal investigations by several State Attorneys General, and the investigation resulting in the Inspector General report on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election.

Before Donald Trump's 2016 candidacy

[edit]

1977

[edit]
  • According to former KGB major Yuri Shvets, Trump became the target of a joint Czech intelligence services and KGB spying operation after he married Czech model Ivana Zelnickova[2] and was cultivated as an "asset" by Russian intelligence since 1977: "Russian intelligence gained an interest in Trump as far back as 1977, viewing Trump as an exploitable target."[3]

1986

[edit]

1987

[edit]

1991

[edit]

1996

[edit]
  • Trump returns to Russia, visits Moscow with Howard Lorber and Bennett S. LeBow[12] to scout potential properties for "skyscrapers and hotels",[13] registers his trademark, and makes connections with the development company Bayrock Group (which would result in Trump Soho) and Felix Sater, who became crucial to later Trump Moscow talks.[14][10] Trump subsequently announces a plan to invest $250 million in Russia and brand two luxury residential buildings in Moscow, which doesn't come to fruition.[15]: 14  Other people on the trip include Leon Black of Apollo Global Management, Ron Bernstein, Theodore Liebman, and Matthew Calamari.[16]: 649  During the trip, Trump brings two women he met the night before to a business meeting, and begins a long-term relationship with a former "Miss Moscow".[16]: 650–655  In 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee reports that it is unable to determine whether Russia has compromising material involving Trump and the three women.[17]

2000

[edit]

2001–2004

[edit]

2004

[edit]

2005

[edit]
  • Trump gives Bayrock Group an exclusive deal to build a Trump-branded property in Moscow.[22]
  • Kilimnik leaves the IRI to work for Manafort in Ukraine.[21]
  • June 23: Paul Manafort and a business partner, Rick Davis, propose a plan to Oleg Deripaska under which they would influence news coverage, business dealings, and politics in the former Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States "to benefit President Vladimir Putin's government".[23][24]: 131  They eventually sign a $10 million contract that starts in 2006 using LOAV Ltd. instead of Davis-Manafort; they maintain a business relationship until at least 2009.[23]

2006

[edit]

2007

[edit]
  • Manafort and Richard Davis found Pericles Emerging Markets, an investment fund solely backed by Deripaska.[27][28][24]: 131 
  • October 15: Trump praises Putin in an interview on CNN.[29]
  • 2007–2012: Manafort receives $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments from Viktor Yanukovych's pro-Russian Ukrainian Party of Regions.[28]
  • November: Trump attends the Millionaire's Fair in Moscow, where he announces that Trump Vodka will expand its distribution into Russia, his first foray into the Russian market.[30][31][32]
  • November 20 Manafort receives his first payment from the Ukrainian Party of Regions.[33]
  • December 19: Trump sends Putin a congratulatory letter for being named Time magazine's "Man of the Year". He writes, "As you probably have heard, I am a big fan of yours!"[16]: 417–418 [34][35]

2008

[edit]
  • 2008:
    • Around 2008, Trump Jr. travels to Russia a half-dozen times in 18 months, looking for deals.[36]
    • Deripaska transfers $18.9 million to Pericles Emerging Markets to purchase Black Sea Cable. It is unclear what happened to the money: Deripaska demands an accounting of the funds in 2013, sues Pericles in 2014, and sues Manafort in 2018.[27][28][37]
    • A spokesperson for Deripaska denies he ever hired Manafort's consulting company.[23]
  • 2008–2013: Carter Page is an "operational contact" for the CIA, which means the agency can ask him for information he already knows but not task him with gathering information.[38]
  • July: Trump sells the Palm Beach estate Maison de L'Amitie to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev for a record $95 million. Trump bought the property for $41.35 million three years earlier and made only minor improvements.[39] According to Cohen, Trump later tells his associates that he believes Putin was behind Rybolovlev's purchase.[40]
  • September: Trump Jr., then an executive vice president of The Trump Organization, says, "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, say, in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."[41][42][43]
  • November: Davis-Manafort is disbanded shortly after the presidential election.[44]

2009

[edit]
  • May: Kislyak attempts to arrange a meeting between Torshin and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during Torshin's planned visit to Alaska on June 6.[45] Palin's office declines and suggests Torshin meet with Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell.[45] It is unclear whether the meeting took place.[16]: 577 

2010

[edit]

2011

[edit]

  • October 12–27: Mueller resigns his family membership from the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, and asks for a refund of the unused portion of the annual fees. Two weeks later, the club confirms the membership will end on October 31 and says he will be put on a waitlist for fee refunds, but Mueller never receives the refund. Beginning in May 2017, Trump claims this incident forms a conflict of interest that should prevent Mueller from serving as the special counsel investigating him.[55]: 80–81 [56]
  • December 8: Putin states that Clinton "set the tone for some opposition activists", and "gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started active work".[57]

2012

[edit]
  • The FBI warns Representative Dana Rohrabacher that he is being targeted by Russian agents to recruit him as an "agent of influence"; that is, someone who can affect US policy.[58]
  • Italian MEP Gianni Pittella introduces Simona Mangiante, the future wife of George Papadopoulos, to Mifsud in Brussels. Mangiante worked for the European Parliament as an attorney specializing in child abduction cases.[59][60]
  • February 10: Torshin registers as a life member of the NRA using Russian diplomat Igor Matveev's address and Preston's phone number.[16]: 578 
  • April 12–15: Torshin attends the NRA annual convention in St. Louis, Missouri, with an "all access" pass.[61][62]
  • October 11: Preston applies for Torshin to receive election observer status in Tennessee.[45]
  • October 25: Manafort receives the last of $12.7 million in payments from the Ukrainian Party of Regions.[33]
  • November 6: Torshin and Matveev visit Davidson and Williamson counties in Tennessee as election observers.[45]
  • November 8: Torshin visits the NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.[61]
  • December 14: President Barack Obama signs the Magnitsky Act into law to punish Russian officials responsible for human rights violations.[63]

2013

[edit]
  • Apparent security hackers gain access to the Trump Organization's domain registrar account at GoDaddy and register hundreds of "shadow" subdomains with IP addresses located at a company in St. Petersburg Russia known for hosting websites containing malware. Most of the subdomains are created in August. By November 1, 2017, the subdomains disappeared after the Trump Organization was notified of the issue, although the organization denied that any breach occurred.[64]
  • January: Carter Page, a petroleum industry consultant, passes documents about the oil market to Victor Podobnyy, a Russian intelligence agent. He later claims the documents were public information. Podobnyy is charged with being an unregistered foreign agent in 2015.[65]
  • March 13: The FBI interviews Manafort about his offshore business dealings.[66]
  • March 19: Manafort has dinner with Rohrabacher as part of his lobbying efforts for the government of Ukraine. Vin Weber, a partner at Mercury Affairs, is also in attendance.[67] Three days later, Manafort gives Rohrabacher a $1,000 campaign contribution.[68] Richard Gates, Manafort's deputy, pleads guilty in 2018 to lying about the meeting to the FBI.[67]
  • April 13: Two agents of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) discuss recruiting Page.[69][70]
  • May 3–5: Butina and Torshin attend the NRA convention in Houston, Texas.[71][72]
  • June: Flynn travels to Moscow at Major General Igor Sergun's invitation. Kislyak helps arrange and coordinate the trip. Flynn visits the GRU headquarters, where he meets with GRU officials, briefs GRU staff, and presents a professional development class on leadership.[16]: 753 
  • June 15–18: Attending the Miss USA 2013 pageant, Trump dines with Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, and Rob Goldstone in Las Vegas.[73] The next day he announces that Miss Universe 2013 will be held in Moscow.[73] He sends Putin a letter inviting him to the pageant[74] and asks on Twitter whether the Russian president will be his "new best friend".[75]
  • July 3: Carter Page schedules a dinner with potential investor Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg to pitch his fledgling natural gas business. It is unclear whether the meeting took place.[76]
  • August: Eric Trump tells author James Dodson, "We don't rely on American banks [...] We have all the funding we need out of Russia", and says, "We go there all the time". In May 2017, Eric Trump calls this "fabricated" and an example of why people distrust the media.[77][41][78][79][80]
  • August 25: Page sends a letter to an academic press in which he claims to be an adviser to the Kremlin.[81]
  • Early October:
    • Butina makes a presentation on "Right to Bear Arms" to the Association for the Promotion of Weapons Culture in Israel. Her presentation includes a slide claiming her organization has cooperation agreements with similar organizations in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Estonia, and she informs the group that it also has a cooperation agreement with the NRA. Another slide states it has a cooperation agreement with the International Defensive Pistol Association, which the Texas-based organization denies when asked in 2018.[82]
    • Torshin or Butina invites Keene to the November "Right to Bear Arms" conference in Moscow.[16]: 580 
  • October 17:
    • In an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Donald Trump says he has conducted "a lot of business with the Russians" and that he has met President Vladimir Putin.[83][84]
    • Erickson begins an email conversation with Butina to make arrangements for his and Keene's trip to Moscow.[16]: 580  Erickson informs Butina that Keen may have a "formal diplomatic meeting" after they arrive on October 30.[16]: 580–581 
  • October 30: After Keene and Erickson arrive in Moscow, Keene dines with Torshin and his wife.[16]: 581 
  • October 31 – November 1: Keene, Alan Gottlieb, and Paul Erickson attend the "Right to Bear Arms" conference in Moscow where they meet with Butina and Torshin.[52] Gottlieb and Keene are invited speakers at the event.[85][61][86] Keene is scheduled to speak on the second day.[16]: 581  Gottlieb and his wife dine with Torshin and Butina, and receive "gifts that [display] research into their interests". In 2017, Gottlieb tells The Washington Post, "They wanted to keep communications open and form friendships."[52]
  • November 1: Keene is scheduled to meet with Peskov, though he later tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that he does not recall meeting with any government officials while in Moscow.[16]: 581 
  • Early November: Butina and Erickson discuss holding an NRA-hosted event in Moscow in 2014, an idea raised by Torshin and Keene during the "Right to Bear Arms" conference. The proposed event would honor "Right to Bear Arms," Torshin, and General Mikhail Kalashnikov. Putin would be an invitee. Erickson describes the idea as having "HIGH importance to the NRA". Later, Keene tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that the plans were dropped partly because Kalishnikov died in December 2013.[16]: 584 
  • November 3: Butina emails Erickson asking him to not publish photographs of Keene and Torshin dining together because she needs "time to think how to position this".[16]: 581 
  • November 6: Erickson begins assisting Butina with a visa application so that she can visit the NRA.[16]: 581  This is the first occurrence of Butina using the NRA as a reason for visiting the U.S., but there is no evidence she made the trip.[16]: 581 
  • November 7: Butina again emails Erickson to dissuade him from publishing the photographs because she is concerned about attracting attention.[16]: 581 
  • November 9–11: The Trump-owned Miss Universe pageant is held in Moscow, sponsored by Sberbank.[77] According to various reports, the event's $20 million licensing fee is paid by a Moscow real estate development firm called the Crocus Group, whose president is Aras Agalarov and vice president is his son, pop singer Emin Agalarov.[30][87] One VIP guest is Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, an alleged Russian mobster and fugitive who was recently indicted for running a high-stakes illegal gambling ring out of a Trump Tower apartment in New York City.[88] While Putin does not attend, the event is attended by Vladimir Kozhin,[88] the head of the Kremlin's property department,[89] which is responsible for development projects.[90] After the event, Trump tells Real Estate Weekly, "the Russian market is attracted to me. I have a great relationship with many Russians".[41][91] During the trip, Trump meets Herman Gref, the CEO of state-controlled Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, and other oligarchs close to Putin.[92] Agalarov and Gref co-host a dinner for Trump at the Moscow branch of Nobu, which is owned by Agalarov.[93] Afterwards, Trump tweets to Agalarov, "I had a great weekend with you and your family. You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next."[93][94]
  • November 12: The Moscow Times reports that Trump is in talks with Russian companies to build a new Trump tower in Moscow.[95]
  • November 21: The Euromaidan starts when President Yanukovych suspends preparations for the implementation of an association agreement with the European Union.[11]: 150, 157 [96]
  • December 10: John Bolton promotes gun rights in Russia in a video made for Butina's "Right to Bear Arms" organization that is shown to members of the Duma.[97][71][16]: 582  Bolton made the video at the request of Keene, who was himself asked to find someone by Butina and Torshin, though Keene didn't mention Torshin by name.[16]: 582 
  • December 13: Keene emails Butina to follow up on the Bolton video and ask Butina and Torshin for advice on inviting Rogozin to the NRA's Las Vegas event in 2014. Butina responds that she and Torshin think it is a good idea.[16]: 583–584 
  • December 23: Trump, Trump Jr., Emin Agalarov, and Kaveladze reach an agreement for the Trump Tower Moscow project under which the Trump Organization would receive a 3.5% commission on all sales.[24]: 67–68 

2014

[edit]
  • The Russians "gained computer access to multiple state and local election boards in the United States since 2014".[98]
  • Butina tells an American Facebook friend who complained about California's gun restrictions that he should "hold demonstrations" for gun rights.[99]
  • Patten provides lobbying and consulting services to the Ukrainian Opposition Bloc political party and Lyovochkin, a party leader, without registering as a foreign agent. He travels many times to Ukraine to meet with Lyovochkin and Kilimnik.[100]
  • Patten works for Cambridge Analytica to hone their microtargeting operations during the 2014 midterm elections.[101]
  • Early 2014: Erickson meets Butina in Israel, where they become romantically involved.[16]: 582 
  • January 2: Keene, who is also the opinion editor for The Washington Times, publishes in the newspaper a piece on Kalashnikov written by Torshin and partly translated by Erickson and Butina.[16]: 584 [102]
  • January 22: An early, if not the first, public expression of support from Russia for Trump's as-yet-unannounced 2016 candidacy, came in a tweet from his hostess at the November 2013 Miss Universe pageant, Yulya Alferova (Yulya Klyushina).[103] Her then-husband, Artem Klyushin, was later involved in the election interference. In the Senate Intelligence Committee report's "Footnote 2510", her tweets were mentioned, one shortly after the Miss Universe pageant,[104] showing she had foreknowledge, long before the American public, of Trump's planned presidential run. She promised Russian support for his candidacy.[a] This Russian support was later manifested in the "sweeping and systematic" Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The Committee had "significant concerns regarding [Artem] Klyushin"[105]: 396  and devoted a whole section to him and his associates: "Artem Klyushin, Konstantin Rykov, and Associates".[105]: 395  They were involved in election interference efforts in Ukraine and the United States.[105]: 397 
  • Before January 24: The Crocus Group sends The Trump Organization a proposal to build a 194-meter tall building with 800 units at the Crocus City site in Moscow where the Miss Universe pageant was held. Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov sign the proposal.[24]: 68 
  • February 1–4: Kushner and Ivanka Trump travel to Russia on a four-day trip at the invitation of Dasha Zhukova, a longtime friend of Ivanka and the wife of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.[106] They attend a gala fundraiser for the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow along with Vekselberg, other oligarchs, Russian government officials, and their families.[106] Ivanka and Emin Agalarov tour the proposed Trump Tower Moscow site at Crocus City.[24]: 68  In 2016–17, Kushner omits the trip from his security clearance applications.[106]
  • February 10: In a Fox and Friends phone interview, Trump says Putin contacted him while he was in Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant.[107]
  • March 6:
  • March 21: Trump posts two tweets praising Putin regarding "Russian Empire"[110][111] on the day the Russian Federal Assembly ratifies the Treaty on Accession of the "Republic of Crimea", formalizing the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.
  • April:
    • The Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) creates a department called the "translator project". The department's focus is on interfering in the U.S. election.[112][113]
    • The Obama administration receives a report from a well-connected Russian source that Russia is building disinformation infrastructure to disrupt the political systems in the United States and Europe.[114]
  • Early April: Erickson and Keene help Butina secure a visa for her visit to the U.S., including Keene making a "standard call" to the office of Congressman Edward Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.[16]: 584–585 
  • April 12: Asked about Putin by Eric Bolling on the Fox News show Cashin' In, Trump says Putin has taken the mantle from Obama. He continues, "Interestingly, I own the Miss Universe pageant, and we just left Moscow. He could not have been nicer. He was so nice and so everything. But you have to give him credit that what he's doing for that country in terms of their world prestige is very strong."[115]
  • April 24: Butina presents NRA president Jim Porter with an honorary membership in "Right to Bear Arms".[116][117]
  • April 25–27: Butina and Torshin attend the NRA annual conference in Indianapolis. Butina attends several meetings as a guest of Keene.[118][119]
  • May: The IRA begins its election interference campaign of "spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general".[112][113]
  • May 27: Speaking at a National Press Club luncheon, Trump again claims to have spoken to Putin. "I own the Miss Universe [pageant]. I was in Russia. I was in Moscow recently. And I spoke indirectly and directly with President Putin who could not have been nicer. And we had a tremendous success."[120]
  • June 2: BuzzFeed News reports on a cache of Internet Archive emails leaked by Russian hackers. The emails reveal a well-funded effort to recruit and train online trolls to post comments on top American websites.[121][122]: 24–28 
  • June 3: Kaveladze emails Trump Jr. and others about design elements and architectural details for Trump Tower Moscow.[24]: 68 
  • June 4–26: Aleksandra Krylova and Anna Bogacheva, two IRA employees, travel to the U.S. to collect intelligence. Maria Bovda, a third employee, is denied a visa.[112] All three are indicted in February 2018 for their work on election interference.[113]
  • June 10: Trump Jr. emails Kaveladze and others about design elements and architectural details for Trump Tower Moscow.[24]: 68 
  • June 16: Trump Jr. emails Kaveladze and others again about design elements and architectural details for Trump Tower Moscow.[24]: 68 
  • Mid 2014: Dutch intelligence gains access to Russian hacking group Cozy Bear, which later, together with Fancy Bear, hacked the DNC servers. They were able to photograph each hacker, get their names, and compile dossiers on each, as they were watching the Russians perform their hacking operations in real time.[123]
  • July 2: The FBI interviews Richard Gates about his international business dealings.[66]
  • July 7: The Trump Organization sends Crocus Group a set of questions about the "demographics of these prospective buyers" in the area around the proposed Trump Tower Moscow site, the development of neighboring parcels, and concepts for redesigning portions of the building.[24]: 68 
  • July 22: Laurence Levy, a lawyer with the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, advises Rebekah Mercer, Steve Bannon, and Alexander Nix on the legality of their company, Cambridge Analytica, being involved in U.S. elections. He advises that Nix and any foreign nationals without a green card working for the company not be involved in any decisions about work the company performs for any clients related to U.S. elections. He further advises Nix to recuse himself from any involvement with the company's U.S. election work because he is not a U.S. citizen.[124][125]
  • July 30: The FBI interviews Manafort about his international business dealings.[66][24]: 132 
  • August 4: The Trump Organization requests from Crocus Group the specifications for a Marriott-branded tower under construction near Crocus City.[24]: 68 
  • August 7: Lieutenant General Flynn retires from the U.S. Army.[126]
  • August 26: Butina invites Keene to the September "Right to Bear Arms" conference in Moscow. Keene declines citing travel conflicts and the upcoming midterm elections, but promises to attend the 2015 conference.[16]: 585 
  • Late 2014: Butina resigns from her position as the head of "Right to Bear Arms".[127]
  • September–November: The Trump Organization becomes less and less responsive to emails from the Crocus Group about the Trump Tower Moscow project, with the last response sent on November 24. Discussions end in the planning stage with no construction occurring.[24]: 68  The death of Tamir Sapir, a potential funding source for the project, may be a contributing factor in the project's collapse.[128]
  • September 3: Paul Erickson attends a "Right to Bear Arms" forum in Moscow where he is a featured speaker.[118][129][130]
  • September 11: The IRA spreads a hoax they created about a fictitious chemical plant fire in Centerville, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, purportedly started by ISIS. The hoax includes tweets and YouTube videos showing a chemical plant fire. Centerville is home to many chemical plants, but the plant named in the tweets does not exist. Initial tweets are sent directly to politicians, journalists, and Centerville residents.[131]
  • September 21 – October 11: The Material Evidence art exhibition is displayed at the Art Beam gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. It portrays the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine in a pro-Russian light. It is promoted by Twitter accounts that also spread the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax.[131] The exhibition is partly funded by the IRA.[132]
  • October 8: A Defense Department lawyer informs Flynn in writing that as a retired officer he is bound by the emoluments clause of the U.S. constitution because he can be recalled to service at any time.[133] On April 27, 2017, Flynn comes under investigation for possibly receiving emoluments from Turkey and Russia.[133]
  • November 21: Bruce Ohr and Christopher Steele discuss cultivating Deripaska as a U.S. intelligence asset.[134]
  • November 26–30: An unnamed IRA employee travels to Atlanta.[112][113]
  • November 27: A tweet allegedly from a woman in New York City claims that she had food poisoning from a turkey she bought at Walmart. Within hours, there are numerous similar postings on Tumblr and Twitter making similar claims, Wikipedia articles about the incident, and a story on an alleged news site. All are created by the IRA in what is later believed to be a test to gauge how easily they can manipulate Americans.[135][122]: 53 
  • December 1: Butina emails Erickson asking him to help two Russian firearms companies, the Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry and the Vyatsko-Polyansky Engineering Plant, attend the April 2015 NRA conference.[16]: 585–586 
  • December 13:
    • The IRA uses Twitter to spread a hoax about an Ebola outbreak in Atlanta. Many of the Twitter accounts used in the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax also spread this hoax. The hoax includes a YouTube video of medical workers wearing hazmat suits.[131]
    • Using a different set of Twitter accounts, the IRA spreads a hoax about a purported police shooting of an unarmed black woman in Atlanta. The hoax includes a blurry video of the purported event.[131]

January–June 2015

[edit]
  • Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin's investment fund AltPoint Capital Partners purchases ByteGrid LLC, which operates some of Maryland's election systems. Potanin is described as "very close" to Putin.[136] State officials are not informed of the purchase, and remain unaware until the FBI briefs them in July 2018.[137]
  • Patten and Kilimnik start a consulting firm together in Washington, D.C., called Begemot Ventures International Ltd. The firm provides consulting services in Ukraine and lobbying services in the U.S. for Ukrainian political parties without registering as a foreign agent.[100][138] Begemot shares office space with Cambridge Analytica.[101]
  • January 19–21: Patten and Kilimnik coordinate to arrange meetings for Serhiy Lyovochkin with members of the Senate Foreign Relations and the House Foreign Affairs committees, with officials from the State Department, and with numerous members of the U.S. media. In August 2018, Patten pleads guilty to failing to register as a foreign agent for this work.[21][138]
  • January 20: Butina emails Keene to notify him of Torshin's recent appointment as vice chairman of the Russian Central Bank, and to express concerns about the implications for Torshin's continuing relationship with the NRA.[16]: 586 
  • January 22: Butina asks Keene for assistance securing invitations for two Russian firearms companies to attend the April NRA convention. It is unknown whether the companies attended.[16]: 586 
  • January 23: A court filing by the U.S. government contains a transcript of a recorded conversation between two members of a Russian SVR spy ring, Victor Podobnyy and Igor Sporyshev. Their conversation concerns efforts to recruit "Male-1", later confirmed as Carter Page. Podobnyy calls Page an "idiot" and tells Sporyshev, "You get the documents from him and tell him to go fuck himself".[69][65][139]
  • February: Dimitri Simes meets with Putin and other Russian officials in Moscow. Simes is the publisher of The National Interest and CEO of the think tank Center for the National Interest (CNI). The Center arranges meetings between Torshin, Butina, and U.S. government officials in April, and also arranges Trump's April 27, 2016, speech at the Mayflower Hotel.[140] In August 2024, FBI agents raided and searched Simes' house in Virginia. The United States charged Simes for working since June 2022 with Channel One Russia, a business sanctioned in 2022. He and his wife allegedly received over $1 million, plus a car and driver.[141]
  • February 5: The NRA sends invitation letters to Butina and Torshin to help them obtain U.S. visas to attend the NRA convention in April.[16]: 589 
  • February 10: Butina emails Keene and his wife with an update on Torshin's appointment. She tells them about Torshin's "recommendation" that she expand her "participation in conferences and meetings in the political circles of the Republican Party" to lay the foundation for a "trusted dialogue" between the U.S. and Russia.[16]: 586–587 
  • February 26–28: Butina attends CPAC at Keene's invitation.[116][142][16]: 587 
  • March 16: Keene sends Butina a list of "Key Conservative Meeting Dates" from the Conservative Action Project to help her make her U.S. travel plans.[16]: 589 
  • March 18: Trump announces he is forming a presidential exploratory committee.[143]
  • March 20: Butina asks Perrine for a list of U.S. governors and members of Congress that will be attending the NRA convention. Perrine responds with a publicly available list of politicians.[16]: 592 
  • March 24: Butina sends Erickson a Google-translated copy of her and Torshin's plan to use their existing NRA connections to develop an "informal channel of communication" with the new U.S. presidential administration, which they expect to be Republican. She requests $125,000 to attend a series of Republican-focused conferences and other outreach purposes.[16]: 587–588 
  • Spring:
    • U.S. Intelligence intercepts conversations of Russian government officials discussing associates of Donald Trump.[144]
    • The IRA performs its first experiment in organizing a live event. They lure Facebook users in New York City to a purported event offering free hot dogs. There are no hot dogs, but enough people show up for the IRA to consider the experiment a success.[145][122]: 46–47 
  • April
    • Flynn begins advising ACU Strategic Partners, a company seeking to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East involving a sanctioned Russian company.[146]
    • Butina and Torshin meet with Treasury undersecretary for international affairs Nathan Sheets to discuss U.S. Russian economic relations during the Obama administration. The meeting was arranged by the CNI.[140]
  • April 5: The CNI sends Butina an itinerary of events it arranged for Butina and Torshin to attend, including meetings with U.S. government officials.[16]: 589–590 
  • April 7:
    • Torshin and Butina meet with Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer to discuss U.S. Russian economic relations during the Obama administration. The meeting was arranged by the CNI.[140]
    • Torshin and Butina participate in discussions about the "Russian financial situation and its impact on Russian politics" at a private event moderated by Hank Greenberg and organized by the CNI.[140] Keene, Grover Norquist, and CNI officials including Simes, Burt, and Paul Saunders.[16]: 590 
  • April 8: At Keene's invitation, Torshin, with Butina translating, gives remarks at the NRA's Charlton Heston Recognition Dinner.[16]: 590–591 
  • April 10: Butina, Torshin, and David Keene attend a fundraiser in Tennessee for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.[147][118]
  • April 11–12: Torshin and Butina attend the NRA convention in Nashville, Tennessee.[118] Erickson arranged the trip, and the NRA president's assistant Nick Perrine handled the itinerary.[16]: 589  Torshin briefly converses with Trump. Torshin and the Trump family dispute how much was said.[148] At a reception, Keene introduces Butina and Torshin to Governor Walker, and they give Walker a gift from Russia.[16]: 592 
  • May: Kislyak and Butina discuss Governor Walker, Keene and the NRA.[16]: 594 
  • Mid-June: Kislyak hosts Keene for lunch at the Russian embassy.[16]: 593  Afterward, Butina reaches out to Keene about the lunch, and he gives her a readout of the discussion.[16]: 594 
  • June 10: Flynn testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on nuclear power in the Middle East. He omits his work for ACU Strategic Partners from both a committee disclosure form and his testimony.[149]
  • June 12: Maria Butina argues in an article she wrote for The National Interest that only a Republican president can improve relations between the U.S. and Russia.[150][151]

Presidential campaign starts: June 2015

[edit]
Further information: Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign

June–December 2015

[edit]
  • June 16: Donald Trump announces his candidacy for president.[152]
  • June 17: In an interview on the Fox News show Hannity, Sean Hannity asks Trump if he has talked to Putin. Trump replies, "I don't want to say. But I got to meet all of the leaders. I got to meet all—I mean, everybody was there. It was a massive event. And let me tell you, it was tremendous."[153]
  • Late June: Flynn travels to Egypt and Israel.[149] In September 2017, members of Congress present evidence to Mueller that Flynn's purpose was to promote a Russian-backed plan for the building of 40 nuclear reactors, with "total regional security" to be provided by U.S.-sanctioned Russian weapons exporter Rosoboronexport.[154][155][156][157]
  • July: Trump receives an invitation to Moscow for the 60th birthday of Aras Agalarov, who co-hosted the Miss Universe pageant with him in 2013.[158]
  • July onward: Thousands of fake Twitter accounts run by the IRA begin to praise Trump over his political opponents by a wide margin, according to a later analysis by The Wall Street Journal.[159][160]
  • July 8–12: Butina and Erickson attend Freedomfest 2015 in Las Vegas.[16]: 594–596 [161] They are registered to attend private events with Norquist, Dinesh D'Souza. and Peter Thiel.[16]: 594 
    • July 9: Butina and Erickson attend a bitcoin panel with former Overstock.com CEO Patrick M. Byrne. They greet Byrne and discuss Overstock.com's work with women in Afghanistan. Afterward, Butina sends Byrne an email drafted by Erickson thanking him for their discussion and inviting him to meet on July 12 to discuss the types of reforms Russia should embrace.[16]: 595  In 2020, a Senate Intelligence Committee report finds that Butina and Erickson were interested in Byrne as a possible conduit to Senator and presidential candidate Rand Paul.[16]: 595–596 
    • July 11: Butina attends FreedomFest in Las Vegas, where Trump is speaking and taking questions. She asks Trump his stance on continuing sanctions; he replies he knows Putin and doesn't think sanctions are needed.[49] Reviewing a video of the encounter, Bannon says, "Trump had a fully developed answer."[162]
  • July 13: Butina is present at Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's presidential candidacy announcement.[49] At Torshin's request, she writes an analytical assessment of Walker's candidacy.[16]: 592–593 
  • July 15: George Papadopoulos contacts Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski about joining the campaign as a policy advisor.[163][24]: 81 
  • July 17: Keene sends Torshin a letter introducing Rohrabacher and suggesting they meet during the congressman's August trip to Moscow.[16]: 596 
  • July 24: Rob Goldstone emails Trump's assistant Rhona Graff, suggesting that Emin Agalarov could arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump.[164][165]
  • Summer: Hackers linked to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) gain access to the Democratic National Committee's computer network.[166] Dutch intelligence services had gained access to Russian hacking group Cozy Bear in mid-2014 and later alerted their U.S. counterparts that Cozy Bear, together with Fancy Bear, had penetrated the Democratic National Committee (DNC) servers.[123]
  • July 31: Flynn gives a speech to Kaspersky Government Security Solutions, a subsidiary of Kaspersky Lab, for which he is later paid $11,250.[16]: 755 [167]
  • August:
    • Papadopoulos emails Michael Glassner, the executive director of Trump's campaign committee, expressing further interest in joining the campaign as a policy advisor. He continues corresponding with Glassner and Lewandowski for months, but is repeatedly told no position is available for him.[163]
    • Flynn travels to New York City to meet Trump for the first time.[168]
  • August 3: Torshin and Butina discuss Rohrabacher over Twitter direct messages. He tells Butina that he believes Rohrabacher is "under the watch" of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[16]: 597 
  • August 4–6: Rohrabacher and Behrends travel to Russia.[169] While there, Rohrabacher meets Butina and Torshin for breakfast.[170] In July 2018, Rohrabacher tells Politico he dined with Butina and another congressman accompanying him on the trip.[171]
  • August 6:
    • Butina tells Keene about her breakfast discussion with Rorhabacher, including that Butina could meet with Rohrabacher in the U.S. in October.[16]: 597–598 
    • Keene sends Butina a list of proposed NRA attendees for the December "Right to Bear Arms" event in Moscow.[16]: 599 
  • August 8: Roger Stone leaves the Trump campaign. The campaign says it fired Stone, but Stone insists he quit. He subsequently gives the press a resignation letter that the campaign says it never received.[172]
  • August 12: Butina and Torshin discuss plans for the NRA trip to Moscow, including possibly hosting "high level meetings" if the delegation is sufficiently "respectable".[16]: 599 
  • August 15 The FBI Washington field office contacts technical staff at the DNC headquarters to alert them that their computer systems have been penetrated and data compromised by the Russians.[173]
  • August 17: Konstantin Rykov, the founder of the Russian online newspaper Vzglyad, registers two domain names: Trump2016.ru and DonaldTrump2016.ru.[24]: 66 
  • August 18: Georgi Asatryan of Vzglyad emails Hope Hicks to arrange an in-person or phone interview with Trump. According to the Mueller Report, the proposed interview never occurs.[24]: 66 
  • August 20: Kislyak meets with Keene and Allan Cors at the NRA headquarters.[16]: 593 
  • August 21: Sessions makes his first appearance at a Trump campaign rally.[174]
  • September:
    • An FBI special agent reports to the DNC that at least one of its computer systems has been hacked by an espionage team linked to the Russian government. The agent is transferred to a tech-support contractor at the help desk, who makes a cursory check of DNC server logs and does not reply to the agent's follow-up calls, allegedly because of a belief that the call might have been a prank.[175]
    • Jill Stein speaks briefly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a Russia Today gala in New York City.[176] She is an invited guest at the event.[16]: 805 
    • The FBI and Ohr try to recruit Deripaska as an informant on the Kremlin and Russian organized crime in exchange for a U.S. visa. Steele helped set up the meeting.[134]
    • A New York architect completes plans for a bold glass obelisk 100 stories high in Moscow, with the Trump logo on multiple sides.[177]
    • Cohen attempts to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin during the United Nations General Assembly session, with Trump asking for status updates several times. After phone calls and emails, a Russian official finally tells Cohen that such a meeting would not follow protocol.[55]: 141–142 
    • The IRA begins posting videos on YouTube primarily aimed at African-Americans, eventually posting over 1,100 videos with 43 hours of content on 17 YouTube channels. The politically oriented videos are anti-Clinton, and some videos discourage African Americans from voting or encourage voting for Jill Stein.[122]: 58 
  • September–October: The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website primarily funded by billionaire Paul Singer, hires Fusion GPS to perform opposition research on Trump. Initially a Marco Rubio supporter, Singer continues to fund the research after Rubio withdraws from the race.[178][179]
  • September 11: Trump speaks at the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv via satellite. The organizer of the event, Victor Pinchuk, donates $150,000 to Trump's charity, the Trump Foundation.[180][181]
  • Late September: Felix Sater meets with Michael Cohen on behalf of I.C. Expert Investment Company to discuss building a Trump Tower in Moscow. I.C. Expert is a Russian real estate development corporation controlled by Andrei Vladimirovich Rozov. Sater agrees to find a developer and arrange for financing. Sater later contacts Rozov to propose that I.C. Expert work with the Trump Organization on the project.[182][183][24]: 69 
  • September 21: On Hugh Hewitt's radio program, Trump says, "The oligarchs are under [Putin's] control, to a large extent. I mean, he can destroy them, and he has destroyed some of them... Two years ago, I was in Moscow... I was with the top-level people, both oligarchs and generals, and top-of-the-government people. I can't go further than that, but I will tell you that I met the top people, and the relationship was extraordinary."[184]
  • September 22: Cohen forwards a Trump Tower Moscow preliminary design study to Giorgi Rtskhiladze, who then emails it to his associate Simon Nizharadze, writing, ""[i]f we could organize the meeting in New York at the highest level of the Russian Government and Mr. Trump this project would definitely receive the worldwide attention."[24]: 70 
  • September 24: Rtskhiladze emails Cohen a draft letter for the Trump Organization to send to the mayor of Moscow, explaining, ""[w]e need to send this letter to the Mayor of Moscow (second guy in Russia) he is aware of the potential project and will pledge his support." Later that day he sends Cohen a translation of the letter that describes Trump Tower Moscow as a "symbol of stronger economic, business and cultural relationships between New York and Moscow and therefore United States and the Russian Federation."[24]: 70 
  • September 27: Rtskhiladze emails Cohen a proposal for the Trump Organization to partner with Global Development Group LLC on the Trump Tower Moscow project. He describes Global Development as controlled by Nizharadze and the architect Michail Posikhin. In September 2018 Cohen tells Mueller's team that he declined the proposal and decided to continue with Sater's proposed partner, I.C. Expert Investment Company.[24]: 69–70 
  • October: For his July 31 remarks during a cybersecurity forum in Washington, D.C., Flynn receives $11,250 from Kaspersky Government Security Solutions Inc., the American subsidiary of Kaspersky Lab, owned by Eugene Kaspersky.[167][185]
  • October 5: Flynn gives an interview to Russia Today in which he criticizes the U.S. approach to ISIS and suggests the U.S. work with Russia to confront the group.[16]: 755 [186] After the interview, his son, Flynn Jr., receives an invitation from Russia Today for Flynn to be a guest of honor at their December gala in Moscow.[16]: 755 
  • October 6: Butina sends Torshin a list of seven potential members for the NRA Moscow delegation, including Cors and his wife, Goldschlanger and his daughter, and Keene and his wife.[16]: 600–601 
  • October 9: Sater emails Cohen about his plans to meet with and persuade Andrey Molchanov to provide the land for a Trump Tower in Moscow.[182][183]
  • October 12: Cohen has a series of email exchanges with Felix Sater about developing a Trump property in Moscow.[158] Sater tells Cohen that VTB Bank will fund the project, and that his associates will be meeting with Putin and a deputy on October 14.[182][183]
  • October 13: Sater sends Cohen a letter of intent signed by Andrey Rozov for Trump to sign to move the Moscow project forward.[187][183]
  • October 14: Russia Today invites Stein to its anniversary gala in Moscow.[16]: 805 
  • October 19: Butina emails Erickson asking how influential Cors, Keene, Goldschlager, and Liberatore are in U.S. politics, stressing that they need politically important people to attend the December conference in Moscow.[16]: 599 
  • October 20: Flynn gives a speech to Volga-Dnepr Airlines for $11,250.[16]: 755 
  • October 25: Butina invites incoming NRA President Pete Brownell to join the NRA Moscow delegation in December so that he can meet Russian gun manufacturers and retailers.[16]: 599 
  • October 28:
    • Trump signs a letter of intent (LOI) to construct a Trump-branded building in Moscow hours before the third Republican presidential debate, a fact made public in August 2017.[188][189][182][183][190] The LOI proposes that the tower have "[a]pproximately 250 first class, luxury residential condominiums" and "[o]ne first class, luxury hotel consisting of approximately 15 floors and containing not fewer than 150 hotel rooms." The Trump Organization would receive 1%–5% of all condominium sales and 3% of all rental and other revenues, and 20% of the operating profit.[24]: 71 
    • Stein and Nadia Ivanova of Russia Today discuss arranging meetings for Stein with Russian government officials during Stein's upcoming trip to Moscow, including with Putin and Lavrov. According to Stein, she makes her request through Russia Today because she has contacts there and doesn't know anyone at the Russian embassy.[16]: 805–806 
    • Erickson and Butina dine with Keene at the University Club of Washington, DC. According to the Senate Intelligence Committee, they may have discussed Keene's desire to interview Putin for The Washington Times while in Moscow.[16]: 602 
  • November: Trump associate Felix Sater emails Trump lawyer Michael Cohen: "Michael, I arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putin's private chair at his desk and office in the Kremlin [...] Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putin's team to buy in on this".[191][30] Sater also tells Cohen that the Kremlin's VTB Bank is ready to finance a Trump Tower project in Moscow.[77]
  • November 2:
    • Cohen emails the Trump Tower Moscow letter of intent to Rozov.[24]: 69 
    • Butina asks Torshin how to arrange an interview for Keene with Putin. He responds that an interview is unlikely, but says he will pass on the request to Peskov.[16]: 602 
  • November 3:
    • In an email to Cohen, Sater predicts that building a Trump Tower in Moscow will help Trump's presidential campaign. "I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected."[158][183]
    • The IRA Instagram account "Stand For Freedom" attempts to organize a confederate rally in Houston, Texas, on November 14. It is unclear whether anyone showed up. The Mueller Report identifies this as the IRA's first attempt to organize a U.S. rally.[192][24]: 29 
  • November 9: Stein again emails Ivanova asking for help arranging meetings with Lavrov and Putin.[16]: 806 
  • November 9–19: Russia Today arranges Stein's trip to Moscow and offers to pay for it. Stein declines and refuses to be paid for participating on panels at the event. Her campaign pays for the trip.[16]: 807 
  • November 10: At the Republican debate in Milwaukee, Trump claims that he met Putin in a green room and "got to know him very well" while waiting to record their 60 minutes interviews that aired on September 27. Fact checkers quickly point out that Trump and Putin could not have met in the green room because Trump was interviewed in New York City and Putin was interviewed in Moscow.[193]
  • November 11: Flynn signs a contract with Russia Today to speak at its December gala in Moscow.[16]: 756 
  • November 12–16: Torshin and Butina discuss how to arrange a meeting with Rogozin requested by the NRA delegation since Rogozin is under U.S. sanctions. Butina says the delegation still wants the meeting despite the sanctions.[16]: 602–603 
  • November 13:
    • Butina tells Torshin that Simes banned CNI personnel from talking to her because he thinks she is an SVR agent.[16]: 590 
    • Ivanova tells Stein that a meeting with Lavrov and Putin is unlikely, but Stein will be seated at Putin's table at the gala. She offers meetings with Duma Foreign Affairs Committee chair Aleksey Pushkov and Federation Council Committee on International Affairs chair Konstantin Kosachev.[16]: 806–807 
    • Concerned that Cors may not be able to attend the NRA Moscow trip, Butina emails David and Donna Keene to persuade Cors to attend. She highlights "high level special events" Torshin arranged, writing that the Russian figures involved wanted to meet the "head of the most powerful political organization in America. She mentions private meetings with Russian Security Council First Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Rogozin, Public Council of the Russian Ministry of Defense chairman Pavel Gusev, head of Putin's presidential campaigns Igor Pisarsky, and oligarch and patron of "The Right to Bear Arms" Konstantin Nikolaev.[16]: 599–600 
  • November 16: Lana Erchova (a.k.a. Lana E. Alexander) sends an email to Ivanka Trump in which she offers the services of her husband, Dmitry Klokov, to the Trump campaign.[194][24]: 72  According to the Mueller Report, Klokov is the "Director of External Communications for PJSC Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System, a large Russian electricity transmission company, and had been previously employed as an aide and press secretary to Russia's energy minister."[24]: 72–73  Ivanka forwards the email to Cohen.[24]: 73  In July 2018, Erchova tells Mueller's team that Russian officials wanted to offer Trump "land in Crimea among other things" and an "unofficial meeting with Putin".[24]: 73  At least until August 2018, Cohen mistakenly thinks Klokov is the Olympic weightlifter of the same name.[194][24]: 73 
  • November 18:
    • IC Expert, the developer for the Trump Tower Moscow project and a signatory to Trump's letter of intent,[195] receives a non-revolving line of credit from Sberbank for 10.6 billion rubles.[citation needed] IC Expert provides 100% of its equity to secure the line of credit.[citation needed] Sberbank agrees to finance 70% of the Trump Tower Moscow project, its largest commercial real estate loan to date.[76]
    • Klokov writes in an email to Cohen that he is a "trusted person" offering "political synergy" and "synergy on a government level" to the Trump campaign. He suggests that Cohen travel to Moscow and meet with him and an intermediary. He says the conversations could facilitate an informal meeting between Trump and Putin, and that any such meeting must be separate from any business negotiations, though it would lead to high-level support for projects.[24]: 73 [194]
  • November 19:
    • The IRA creates the @TEN_GOP Twitter account. Purporting to be the "Unofficial Twitter account of Tennessee Republicans," it peaks at over 100,000 followers.[196]
    • Julian Assange privately tells a group of core WikiLeaks supporters that he prefers the GOP win the election because Clinton "is a bright, well connected, sadistic sociopath" who will have "greater freedom to start wars than the GOP and has the will to do so".[197]
    • Kolokov writes in an email to Cohen that a properly publicized meeting between Trump and Putin could have a "phenomenal" impact "in a business dimension" and boost the "level" of projects if he receives Putin's endorsement.[24]: 73–74  Cohen rejects Kolokov's offers, writing, ""[c]urrently our LOI developer is in talks with VP's Chief of Staff and arranging a formal invite for the two to meet."[24]: 74 [194] In September 2018, Cohen tells Mueller's team that he rejected the offers because he was already pursuing business with Sater and understood Sater had Russian government connections of his own.[24]: 74 
    • Erickson emails Brownell about a meeting with "Russia's highest leader". Brownell responds with interest and forwards the email to his Director of Compliance. Erickson also informs Brownell that he (Brownell) will not be able to meet with Rogozin because of U.S. sanctions.[16]: 603 
  • November 24: Perrine informs Butina that Brownell will join the NRA delegation in December.[16]: 599 
  • November 25:
    • In an email to Brownell, Erickson writes, "most of the FSB agents 'assigned' to her [Butina] want to marry her", saying that is why she was able to arrange a tour of a Russian arms factory for the NRA delegation.[198]
    • Perrine sends Keene an itinerary for the NRA's Russia trip that includes meetings with Lavrov and Rogozin.[16]: 604 
    • Unable to attend the NRA Moscow trip, Cors writes a letter to Torshin designating Keene and Joe Gregory as official representatives in Moscow for the NRA.[199]: 18–19 
  • December: Unable to find a position in the Trump campaign, Papadopoulos joins the Ben Carson campaign.[163]
  • December 1:
    • Sater emails Cohen, asking, "Please scan and send me a copy of your passport for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs."[24]: 76 
    • Russia Today announces that Flynn will be speaking at its gala.[16]: 756 [168]
  • December 2:
    • Trump tells the Associated Press that he is "not that familiar with" Felix Sater and refers questions to his staff.[200][183]
    • Flynn and his son, Michael G. Flynn (called "Jr."), visit Kislyak at his home.[201]
  • December 3: Barbara Ledeen, a longtime staffer for Senator Chuck Grassley on the Senate Judiciary Committee and wife of close Flynn associate and Iran–Contra affair figure Michael Ledeen, sends Peter W. Smith a 25-page proposal for finding Clinton's missing emails.[202][24]: 62  The proposal posits that Clinton's private email server was hacked, something that never happened, and proposes, among other things, contacting foreign intelligence services to determine if they have any copies of Clinton's emails.[24]: 62  At the time, her investigation is not connected to the Trump campaign, though she gives Flynn regular updates throughout the summer of 2016.[24]: 62  Smith forwards the email to Jonathan Safron and John Szobocsan.[203][24]: 62–63 
  • December 8: Flynn and his son travel to Moscow to attend the Russia Today gala.[16]: 757 
  • December 8–13: Outspoken Trump supporter Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke and his wife,[16]: 598  former NRA President David Keene, future NRA President Pete Brownell, NRA Golden Ring of Freedom Chair Joe Gregory, major NRA donors Hilary[204] and Arnold Goldschlager, Outdoor Channel CEO Jim Liberatore[205] and his wife,[16]: 598  and NRA member Paul Erickson travel to Moscow for the "Right to Bear Arms" convention. They meet Russian government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin[206] and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Rogozin is under U.S. sanctions. Butina accompanies the delegation on a tour of the gun manufacturer ORSIS, where they meet with the company's executives, including Svetlana Nikolaev, president of ORSIS's parent company and wife of billionaire Konstantin Nikolaev. They also meet with Torshin and Sergei Rudov, head of Saint Basil the Great Charitable Foundation. They attend a party at a Moscow hunting club hosted by Torshin and Gusev. Clarke later files an ethics report showing that Butina's organization, "Right to Bear Arms", covered $6,000 of his expenses.[49][147][207][208][209] Butina covers some of the cost of Liberatore's attendance, and is subsequently reimbursed $6,000 by the NRA from its president's budget.[210][211] After the Lavrov meeting, Butina emails Torshin, writing, "We should let them express their gratitude now, and put pressure on them quietly later."[212] In May 2018, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch denies there was an NRA trip to Moscow, then clarifies in July 2018 that it wasn't an official trip.[129][213][214] A 2019 report by the Democratic Minority of the Senate Finance Committee concludes that despite the public denials, internal NRA documents show the trip was an officially sanctioned event that may have imperiled the NRA's tax-free status.[215][211]
  • December 9: Stein flies to Moscow with her communications director.[16]: 807 
  • December 10:
    • Stein and Flynn spend the day attending the Russia Today gala. Stein participates on a panel called "Frenemies: defining foes and allies in proxy politics" with Cyril Svoboda, Willy Wimmer, and Ken Livingstone.[16]: 807–808 
    • Stein attends a cocktail reception before the gala dinner where she socializes with former governor Jesse Ventura and his wife, and networks with "the peace community".[16]: 808 
    • Flynn gives a paid speech on world affairs in Moscow, at a gala dinner organized by RT.[216] Flynn had appeared on RT as an analyst after retiring from the U.S. Army. Putin is the dinner's guest of honor.[217] Flynn is seated next to Putin; among the 10 people seated at the head table are Stein, Wimmer, RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, and members of Putin's inner circle, including Sergei Ivanov, Dmitry Peskov, Vekselberg, and Alexey Gromov.[218][219][16]: 757–758, 808  Other dinner attendees include Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, former U.S.S.R. president Mikhail Gorbachev, other RT officials, and U.S. embassy spokesman William Stevens in his official capacity.[16]: 758,802  For his speech, Flynn nets $33,500 of the $45,000 paid to his speakers bureau.[220] For all of 2015, Flynn receives more than $65,000 from companies linked to Russia.[221] On April 25, 2017, Flynn's lawyer claims that Flynn briefed the Defense Intelligence Agency on the trip both before and after.[222]
    • ABC News reports that Trump denied knowing Sater under oath in a 2013 video deposition even though Sater was involved in several of his high-profile projects. Trump testified, "If he were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn't know what he looked like."
  • December 11:
    • Stein has lunch with Pushkov and is told Kosachev cannot attend.[16]: 809 
    • RT leads a tour of the Kremlin with Stein and other guests of the gala.[16]: 809 
    • Flynn and his son leave Moscow.[16]: 757 
  • December 13: Stein returns home from Moscow.[16]: 809 
  • December 16: Smith declines to help Ledeen's endeavor to find Clinton's emails because he feels the search isn't viable at the time.[24]: 63 
  • December 19: In an email to Cohen, Sater talks about securing financing from VTB, a Russian bank under American sanctions.[158][24]: 76  Sater also asks for Cohen's and Trump's passport information so that VTB can facilitate obtaining visas.[24]: 76  VTB would be issuing the invitation, he writes, because "[p]olitically neither Putins office nor Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot issue invite, so they are inviting commercially/ business."[24]: 76  He writes that they will be invited to the Russian consulate that week to receive an invitation and visas for traveling to Russia.[24]: 76  Cohen sends images of his own passport but not Trump's.[183][223][24]: 76 
  • December 21:
    • Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta receives an email, which is later leaked by WikiLeaks, advising the campaign on how to handle Trump, recommending that the "best approach is to slaughter Donald for his bromance with Putin".[224]
    • Sater texts Cohen asking again for a copy of Trump's passport.[24]: 77  Cohen replies, "After I return from Moscow with you with a date for him."[24]: 77  In September 2018 Cohen tells Mueller's team that Rhona Graff provided Trump's passport to Cohen's office, but the Mueller Report says the team could not find any evidence of a copy being sent to Sater.[24]: 76-77 
    • On Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko's behalf, Mira Duma emails Ivanka Trump an invitation for Donald Trump to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Duma is acquainted with Ivanka from the fashion industry.[24]: 78 
  • December 30: Cohen emails Sater complaining about the lack of progress on the Trump Tower Moscow project. Sater responds that he helped bury the ABC News story in which Trump denied knowing him.[183][225] Cohen tells Sater in a text message that he will set up a meeting with Russian government officials himself.[24]: 74 
  • December 31: Sater tells Cohen that Genbank (Генбанк [ru]), recently put under U.S. sanctions, will be the new funder for the Trump Tower Moscow project.[183]
  • Late 2015 – early 2016: Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump are included on emails about the Trump Tower Moscow project. Ivanka Trump recommends an architect.[183][226]

January–March 2016

[edit]
  • January:
    • Flynn applies to renew his security clearance for five years. In an interview with security investigators he claims U.S. companies paid for his trip to the RT dinner in Moscow. Documents subsequently obtained by the House Oversight Committee show that RT paid for the trip.[227]
    • FBI initiates tax evasion and money laundering investigation regarding payments from the Ukrainian government to Paul Manafort.[228]
  • January 3: GRU chief Sergun dies from a reported heart attack. Flynn reaches out to Kislyak to express his condolences.[16]: 758 
  • January 7: Ivanka Trump forwards to Rhona Graff the December 21 invitation for her father she received from Duma on Prikhodko's behalf.[24]: 78 
  • January 11: Cohen tries to send an email to Dmitry Peskov asking to be connected to Putin's chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov, but it bounces because of a typo in the email address.[24]: 74 
  • January 14:
    • Cohen emails Peskov atinfo@prpress.gov.ru seeking help to jump-start the Trump Tower Moscow project because "the communication between our two sides has stalled", but does not receive a response.[158][183][229][230][24]: 74  In August 2017 Peskov tells CNN that Cohen's email "went unanswered [because it] was solely regarding a real estate deal and nothing more."[229]
    • Graff responds to Duma's December 21 email that Trump is "honored to be asked to participate in the highly prestigious" St. Petersburg Forum, but must decline the invitation because of his "very grueling and full travel schedule." Graff asks Duma if she should "send a formal note to the Deputy Prime Minister," and Duma replies that that would be "great."[24]: 78–79 
  • January 16: Cohen emails at Peskov at Pr_peskov@prpress.gov.ru, the correct address he mistyped on January 11, and repeats his request to speak with Ivanov.[183][24]: 74  Later Cohen tells Congress and Mueller's team that he received no response to this email and abandoned the Trump Moscow Project. He later admits to federal prosecutors that he did receive a response and continued working on the project and keeping Trump updated on progress into June 2016.[231][24]: 74–75 
  • January 19: Konstantin Sidorkov, executive at VKontakte (commonly called VK, Russia's equivalent of Facebook), emails Trump Jr. and social media director Dan Scavino offering to help promote Trump's campaign to its nearly 100 million users. Goldstone brokered the overture.[158] Sidorkov emails again on November 5, 2016.[232]
  • January 20:
    • A Russian social media company emails Trump Jr., Trump's personal assistant, and Scavino about setting up a page for Trump's campaign.[158]
    • Peskov's personal assistant Elena Polikova sends an email to Cohen from her personal account asking him to call her on her personal phone number, which she provides.[24]: 75  Cohen calls her and explains the nature and status of the project, and asks for assistance with securing land and financing.[24]: 75 [183][233] The conversation includes a discussion of giving Putin a $50 million penthouse in the tower as a gift.[183][233] Later Cohen tells prosecutors that Polikova took notes, asked detailed questions, and said she needed to follow up with people in Russia.[24]: 75 
  • January 21: Sater texts Cohen asking for a call. He writes, "It's about Putin they called today."[24]: 75 [55]: 136 [183] Sater emails Cohen a draft invitation from Genbank for Cohen to visit Russia, which Sater says is being offered at the behest of VTB, and asks Cohen if any changes need to be made.[24]: 75  Sater and Cohen work on edits for the next few days.[24]: 75 
  • January 22: In a January 22 meeting, the Russian government decided to use "all possible force" to ensure a "mentally unstable" Donald Trump will win the presidential election. They believe that Trump will help secure Russia's strategic objectives, among them "social turmoil" in the U.S. and a weakening of the American president's negotiating position. This information from The Guardian is first reported on July 15, 2021, and is based on a tranche of leaked papers from the Kremlin.[234]
  • January 25: Sater sends Cohen a signed invitation from Andrey Ryabinskiy of the company MHJ to travel to "Moscow for a working visit" about the "prospects of development and the construction business in Russia," "the various land plots available suited for construction of this enormous Tower," and "the opportunity to co-ordinate a follow-up visit to Moscow by Mr. Donald Trump."[24]: 75 [55]: 136 [183] In September 2018 Cohen tells Mueller's team that he didn't use the invitation to travel to Moscow because he didn't receive any concrete proposals for suitable land plots.[24]: 75-76 
  • January 26: Sater asks Cohen to take a call from Evgeny Shmykov, who is coordinating their project in Moscow. Cohen agrees.[183]
  • January 30: Carter Page emails senior Trump Campaign officials, including Glassner, informing them that his discussions with "high level contacts" with "close ties to the Kremlin" led him to believe "a direct meeting in Moscow between Mr[.] Trump and Putin could be arranged."[24]: 98 
  • February–April: Papadopoulos works for the same company as Mifsud, the London Centre of International Law Practice.[60][235]
  • February 2: Trump comes in second in the Iowa caucuses. In 2017 Cohen asserts that all efforts on the Trump Tower Moscow project ended before this date.[183]
  • February 4: Papadopoulos contacts Lewandowski via LinkedIn and emails Michael Glassner about joining the Trump campaign.[24]: 82 
  • February 4–5: Kremlin information security adviser Andrey Krutskikh tells the Infoforum 2016 conference in Moscow that Russia's new "information arena" strategies are equivalent to the 1940s nuclear bomb tests that put the Soviet Union on equal footing when talking to the United States.[236]
  • February 4–6: Papadopoulos reaches out to the London Centre of International Law Practice (LCILP) looking for a job because his role at the Carson campaign is over. He takes a position at the ICILP's London office.[24]: 81–82 
  • February 10: IRA instructs workers to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them)."[158]
  • February 28: Sessions formally endorses Trump.[174]
  • February 29:
    • Manafort submits a five-page proposal to Trump outlining his qualifications to help Trump secure enough convention delegates and win the Republican presidential nomination. Manafort describes how he assisted several business and political leaders, notably in Russia and Ukraine.[237]
    • Trump receives a letter from Aras Agalarov expressing "great interest" in Trump's "bright electoral campaign."[158]
  • Early March: Clovis recommends Carter Page and he begins working for the Trump campaign as an unpaid foreign policy adviser.[238][239][240][241]
  • March 2:
    • Assange consoles a core WikiLeaks supporter who is upset about Clinton's success in the primary elections the day before, writing, "Perhaps Hillary will have a stroke."[197]
    • Papadopoulos again emails Glassner about joining the Trump campaign. Joy Lutes responds to Papaoapoulos that Glassner instructed her to introduce him to national co-chair and chief policy advisor Sam Clovis.[24]: 82 
  • March 3:
    • Sessions is appointed to the Trump campaign's national security advisory committee.[174]
    • Clovis researches Papadopoulos on Google. Clovis is impressed with his past work at the Hudson Institute and arranges a phone call for March 6.[24]: 82 
  • March 6: Clovis asks Papadopoulos to join the Trump campaign as a foreign policy advisor after discussing the position in a phone call.[24]: 82 [242][243][244] The campaign hires Papadopoulos on Ben Carson's recommendation.[245] Papadopoulos is told that a priority of the campaign is a better relationship with Russia.[158][24]: 82 
  • March 12: Russian-American Simon Kukes donates $2,700 to the Trump campaign. It is his first-ever political donation and later becomes a subject of the Mueller investigation.[246]

  • March 14:
    • Papadopoulos first meets Mifsud while in Rome on a trip to visit officials affiliated with Link Campus University as part of his LCILP job.[242][247][24]: 82–83  After Papadopoulos mentions his position with the Trump campaign, Mifsud shows more interest and offers to introduce him to European leaders and others with contacts to the Russian government.[24]: 83 
    • Kushner attends a CNI lunch for Henry Kissinger at the invitation of CNI board member Richard Plepler. Kushner uses it as an opportunity to seek Simes's assistance in securing foreign policy professionals' support for the Trump campaign.[248][24]: 104 
  • March 15:
    • Trump closes in on the Republican nomination, having won five primaries.[249]
    • In Moscow, Russian military intelligence hacker Ivan Yermakov, working for Fancy Bear, begins probing the DNC computer network.[249]
    • In St. Petersburg, shift workers posing as Americans follow instructions to attack Clinton on Facebook and Twitter.[249]
  • March 16:
    • The FBI releases its Report of Investigation on Flynn's security clearance renewal application.[227]
    • WikiLeaks publishes a searchable archive of 30,000 Clinton emails that had been released by the State Department in response to a FOIA request.[250][24]: 44–45  Internal WikiLeaks messages indicate the purpose of the archive is to annoy Clinton and establish WikiLeaks as a "resource/player" in the election.[24]: 44–45 
  • March 17:
    • According to Trump's written answers to Mueller's team, Prikhodko sends another invitation for Trump to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum to Rhona Graff.[24]: 79 
    • Papadopoulos returns to London from his Rome trip.[24]: 84 
  • March 19: Podesta is asked to change his email password in an apparent phishing attempt, believed to be spearheaded by Russian hackers. They gain access to his account,[166] and proceed to steal the entire contents of his account, about 50,000 emails.[158]
  • March 21:
    • In a Washington Post interview,[251][252] Trump names members of his foreign policy team, including Papadopoulos and Page.[158][24]: 84, 98  Page had helped open the Moscow office of investment banking firm Merrill Lynch and advised Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, in which Page is an investor. He had blamed 2014 US sanctions relating to Russia's annexation of Crimea for driving down Gazprom's stock price.[253]
    • Russian hackers steal over 50,000 emails from Podesta's account.[254]
  • March 24:
    • Reuters article: "From Russia with love: why the Kremlin backs Trump". The article details how Russia praises Trump and how Trump defends Russia: "Trump is the first member of the American elite in 20 years who compliments Russia. Trump will smash America as we know it, we've got nothing to lose," Konstantin Rykov told his followers on social media." Konstantin Rykov is one of those deeply involved in the Russian interference in America's elections.[255]
    • In London, Papadopoulos meets Mifsud and Olga Polonskaya, who falsely claims to be Putin's niece.[256] Polonskaya tells Papadopoulos that she is a friend of the Russian ambassador in London and offers to help establish contacts with Russia.[24]: 84  Papadopoulos leaves the meeting with the expectation that he will be introduced to the Russian ambassador, but it never occurs.[24]: 84  Polonskaya is in regular email contact with Papadopoulos, in one message writing, "We are all very excited by the possibility of a good relationship with Mr. Trump".[247]
    • Papadopoulos emails Trump campaign officials about his new Russian contacts.[158] He emails Trump's foreign policy team that he met with Putin's niece and the Russian ambassador in London, and claims the ambassador also acts as the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia.[24]: 84  He writes that the Russian leadership wants to meet with campaign officials in a "neutral" city or Moscow "to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump", and that Putin and the Russian leadership are ready to meet with Trump.[24]: 84  Clovis replies that he thinks any meetings with Russians should be delayed until after the campaign has a chance to talk with NATO allies and "we have everyone on the same page."[24]: 85  In 2018, Papadopoulos tells the House Judiciary Committee that he lied about meeting the Russian ambassador.[16]: 476 
    • Papadopoulos searches Google for information on Polonskaya and discovers that she is not Putin's niece.[24]: 84 
  • March 25: Lawyer Alexandra Chalupa, who worked in the White House Office of Public Liaison during the Clinton administration and has strong ties to the Ukrainian-American community, shares with the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. her concerns that Manafort may get involved with the Trump campaign. Chalupa had become familiar with Manafort's activities in Ukraine while researching the turmoil in the country over the previous two years for a pro bono client.[257]
  • March 26: Papadopolous searches the Internet for Andrei Klimov and Ivan Timofeev. Mifsud introduces Papadopolous to Timofeev on April 18.[16]: 477 
  • March 28:
    • Manafort is brought on to the campaign to lead the delegate-wrangling effort.[158] According to Gates, Manafort travels to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to ask for the job, without pay, and is hired on the spot.[24]: 135  In 2018, Gates tells Mueller's team that Manafort's intention was to monetize his relationship with the new administration should Trump win.[24]: 135 
    • Clovis emails Lewandowski and other campaign officials praising Page's work for the campaign.[24]: 98 
  • March 29:
    • On Stone's recommendation,[258] Manafort joins the Trump campaign as convention manager, tasked with lining up delegates.[259]
    • Polonskaya attempts to send Papadopoulos a text message that was drafted by Mifsud. The message addresses Papadopoulos's "wish to engage with the Russian Federation."[24]: 87 
    • The Trump campaign announces that Manafort will be the campaign's Convention Manager.[24]: 134 [260]

  • March 30:
    • Chalupa briefs the DNC's communications staff on Manafort's and Trump's ties to Russia.[257]
    • Gates sends four memoranda written by Manafort to Kilimnik for translation and distribution. The memoranda, addressed separately to Deripaska and Ukrainian oligarchs Lyovochkin, Akhmetov, and Boris Kolesnikov, describe Manafort's new role with the Trump campaign and express his willingness to continue consulting on Ukrainian politics. Manafort follows up with Kilimnik on April 11 to ensure the messages were sent and seen by the recipients.[24]: 135 

  • March 31:
    • At the first meeting of Trump's foreign policy team, which includes Trump and Sessions, Papadopoulos speaks of his connections with Russia, and offers to negotiate a meeting between Trump and Putin.[158][261][24]: 86  The meeting is held at the yet-to-open Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.[163] Sessions later states he opposed the idea,[247][262][263][264] and two people who were present support his assertions, but differ in what he objected to and how strongly.[24]: 86  In late summer 2017 Papadopoulos and Gordon tell Mueller's team that Trump was "supportive and receptive to the idea of a meeting with Putin," and that Sessions supported Papadopoulos's efforts to arrange a meeting.[24]: 86  Papadopoulos's lawyers assert in a September 2018 court filing that Trump nodded in agreement to the offer, and that Sessions said the campaign should look into it.[265]
    • Graff prepares a letter for Trump's signature that declines Prikhodko's March 17 invitation to St. Petersburg because of Trump's busy schedule, but says he otherwise "would have gladly given every consideration to attending such an important event."[24]: 79 
    • New York investment banker Robert Foresman emails Graff seeking an in-person meeting with Trump. The email is sent after Trump business associate Mark Burnett brokers an introductory phone call. Foresman writes that he has long-standing personal and professional expertise in Russia and Ukraine, and mentions that he was involved with setting up an early private back channel between Putin and former president George W. Bush. He also writes about an "approach" he received from "senior Kremlin officials" about Trump. He asks Graff for a meeting with Trump, Lewandowski, or "another relevant person" to discuss the approach and other "concrete things" that he doesn't want to discuss over "unsecure email."[24]: 79 
  • Spring:
    • U.S. intelligence officials' suspicions of Russian meddling in the presidential election grow after their counterparts in Europe warn that Russian money might be flowing into the election.[144]
    • Stone tells associates he is in contact with Assange.[266]

April 2016

[edit]
  • April:
    • Between April and November 2016, there are at least 18 further exchanges by telephone and email between Russian officials and the Trump team.[267]
    • Hackers linked to the GRU gain access to the DNC computer network.[166]
    • Russian social media company SocialPuncher releases an analysis showing that Trump has quoted or retweeted Twitter bots 150 times since the beginning of 2016.[268][269]
    • The IRA starts buying online ads on social media and other sites. The ads support Trump and attack Clinton.[112][113]
    • Marc Elias, a lawyer at Perkins Coie and general counsel for the Clinton campaign, takes over funding of the Fusion GPS Trump investigation. He uses discretionary funds at his disposal and does not inform the campaign about the research.[270][271][179]
    • The intelligence agency of a Baltic state shares a piece of intelligence with the director of the CIA regarding the Trump campaign. The intelligence is allegedly a recording of a conversation about Russian government money going to the Trump campaign.[272]
    • Stone first told one of Trump's top aides WikiLeaks had plans to leak information during the presidential race, kickstarting the campaign to take advantage of the expected releases.[273][274][275]
  • April 1: Carter Page is invited to deliver a commencement address at the New Economic School in Moscow in July.[158][24]: 98–99 

  • April 1–3:
    • Rohrabacher meets with Natalia Veselnitskaya in Moscow to discuss the Magnitsky Act. Vladimir Yakunin, under U.S. sanctions, is also present.[276][277] Rohrabacher later says he met Yakunin at the request of Kislyak.[278] He also meets with officials at the Russian Prosecutor General's office, where he receives a document full of accusations against Magnitsky. U.S. Embassy officials are worried Rohrabacher may be meeting with FSB agents. The meeting at the prosecutor's office is not on his itinerary.[276] The document is given to Rohrabacher by Deputy Prosecutor Viktor Grin, who is under U.S. sanctions authorized by the Magnitsky Act. Rohrabacher subsequently uses the document in efforts to undermine the Magnitsky Act.[278] His accepting the document from Grin, a sanctioned individual, and using it to influence U.S. government policy leads to a July 21, 2017, complaint being filed against Rohrabacher and his staff director, Paul Behrends, for violating Magnitsky Act sanctions.[279]
    • While in Moscow with Rohrabacher, Rohrabacher's aide Paul Behrends introduces Congressman French Hill to Veselnitskaya and Rinat Akhmetshin.[280][277] Veselnitskaya gives Hill a document nearly identical to the one Grin gave to Rohrabacher.[281]
  • April 3: The IRA Twitter account @TEN_GOP announces that the Tennessee Republican Party endorses Trump.[24]: 22 
  • April 4:
    • A rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Cummings was a black woman who had recently died in police custody. The IRA's "Blacktivist" account on Facebook actively promotes the event, reaching out directly to local activists on Facebook Messenger asking them to circulate petitions and print posters for the event. Blacktivist supplies the petitions and poster artwork.[282]
    • Graff emails her March 31 letter for Prikhodko to Jessica Macchia, another executive assistant to Trump, to print on letterhead for Trump to sign.[24]: 79 
    • Graff forwards Foresman's March 31 email to Macchia.[24]: 79 
  • April 6:
  • April 10: Carter Page and Papadopoulos arrange a Skype call in which they discuss outreach to Russia and the Caucasus.[16]: 479 
  • April 10–11: Papadopoulos learns of Polonskaya's attempt to send him a text message on March 29 and sends her an email to arrange another meeting. She responds that she is "back in St. Petersburg" but "would be very pleased to support [Papadopoulos's] initiatives between our two countries" and "to meet [him] again." Papadopoulos replies that she should introduce him to "the Russian Ambassador in London" to talk to him or "anyone else you recommend, about a potential foreign policy trip to Russia." Mifsud is copied on the email exchange. Mifsud writes, "This is already been agreed. I am flying to Moscow on the 18th for a Valdai meeting, plus other meetings at the Duma. We will talk tomorrow." Polonskaya responds that she has "already alerted my personal links to our conversation and your request," that "we are all very excited the possibility of a good relationship with Mr. Trump," and that "[t]he Russian Federation would love to welcome him once his candidature would be officially announced."[24]: 87 
  • April 11: Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik exchange emails about whether recent press coverage of Manafort joining the Trump campaign can be used to make them "whole" with Deripaska. Manafort is in debt to Deripaska for millions of dollars at the time.[27] Kilimnik confirms to Manafort that Deripaska is aware Manafort is on Trump's campaign team.[158]
  • April 12:
    • Russian hackers use stolen credentials to infiltrate the DCCC's computer network and install malware.[158]
    • Papadopoulos and Mifsud meet at the Andaz Hotel in London.[24]: 88 
  • April 16: A rally protesting the death of Freddie Gray attracts large crowds in Baltimore. The IRA's Blacktivist Facebook group promotes and organizes the event, including reaching out to local activists.[283]
  • April 17: Veselnitskaya's lawyer Mark Cymrot emails her that Ahkmetshin boasted that he recruited Sessions to launch an investigation into U.S. sanctions against Russia.[284]
  • April 18:
    • While in Moscow, Mifsud introduces Papadopoulos to Ivan Timofeev via email. Timofeev is the program director of the Kremlin-sponsored Valdai Discussion Club and a member of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). Papadopoulos and Timofeev communicate for months over email and Skype about potential meetings between Russian government officials and members of the Trump campaign. Later records indicate that Timofeev discussed Papadopoulos with former Russian Foreign Minister Igor S. Ivanov.[256][247][244][24]: 88  In August 2017, Papadopoulos tells Mueller's team that he believed at the time his conversations with Timofeev were monitored.[24]: 88 
    • Russian hackers break into the DNC's computers.[158]
  • April 19:
    • Russian hackers create a fictitious online persona, "Carrie Feehan", to register the domain DCLeaks.com, paid for in bitcoin, to release stolen documents.[254][158]
    • The IRA purchases its first pro-Trump ad through its "Tea Party News" Instagram account. The Instagram ad asks users to upload photos with the hashtag #KIDS4TRU to "make a patriotic team of young Trump supporters."[285]
    • Papadopoulos meets with Oleg Lebedev, a Russian Trump supporter, at the Byzantium Café in London. Papadopoulos thinks Lebedev is in the oil business in Moscow and has contacts in the Russian government. They met through Lebedev's wife, Maria Alxopoulou.[16]: 485 
  • April 19–21: Israeli embassy in London political counselor Christian Cantor introduces Papadopoulos to Australian High Commission to London political counselor Erika Thompson by email. Papadopolous and Thompson arrange to meet on April 26.[16]: 487 
  • April 20:
    • Sater texts Cohen asking when he is going to travel to Moscow.[24]: 77 
    • Chalupa receives from the administrators of her email account the first in a series of messages warning that "state-sponsored actors" were trying to hack in to her emails.[257]
  • April 21: A staffer at the CNI photographs a detailed outline of the foreign policy speech Trump was scheduled to deliver on April 27, which was sitting on the desk of Simes, the center's president. The House Intelligence Committee would later investigate Simes' involvement in drafting the speech.[286]
  • April 22: After talking on Skype, Ivan Timofeev thanks Papadopoulos via email "for an extensive talk" and proposes meeting in London or Moscow.[158][16]: 483 
  • April 23: A small group of white-power demonstrators hold a rally they call "Rock Stone Mountain" at Stone Mountain Park near Stone Mountain, Georgia. They are confronted by a large group of protesters, and some violent clashes ensue. The counterprotest was heavily promoted by IRA accounts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, and the IRA website blackmatters.com. The IRA uses its Blacktivist account on Facebook to contact activist and academic Barbara Williams Emerson, the daughter of Hosea Williams, to help promote the protests. Afterward, RT blames anti-racist protesters for violence and promotes two videos shot at the event.[282]
  • April 25:
    • Timofeev emails Papadopoulos that he spoke "to Igor Ivanov[,] the President of RIAC and former Foreign Minister of Russia," and relays Ivanov's advice that a "Moscow visit" should be arranged through the Russian Embassy in Washington because it is a political matter.[24]: 88 [16]: 483–484 
    • Before the second Mifsud meeting, Papadopoulos emails Stephen Miller, informing him that "[t]he Russian government has an open invitation by Putin for Mr. Trump to meet him when he is ready" and that "[t]he advantage of being in London is that these governments tend to speak a bit more openly in 'neutral' cities."[256][158][24]: 89 
    • Foresman emails Graff to remind her of his March 31 email seeking a meeting with Trump, Lewandowski, or another appropriate person.[24]: 79–80 
  • April 26:
    • Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News is the first to report on Manafort's legal dispute with Deripaska in the Cayman Islands.[287]
    • Papadopoulos meets Mifsud in London again at the Andaz Hotel. Mifsud claims that he has learned that Russians are in possession of thousands of stolen emails that may be politically damaging to Clinton. These emails were stolen in hackings of the DNC.[288][247][256][24]: 88–89 [16]: 486  This is the first of at least two times the Trump campaign is told Russia has "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The next time was on June 3.[289] The public first learns of the hackings of both presidential campaigns on May 18.[290]
    • Papadopoulos meets with Erika Thompson.[16]: 487 
  • April 27:
    • Trump, Sessions and Jared Kushner greet Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. This contact is repeatedly omitted from testimony or denied.[252][291][292] Kushner and Sessions knew in advance that the CNI invited Kislyak to the event.[24]: 106  Mueller's team did not find any evidence that Trump or Sessions conversed with Kislyak after Trump's speech.[24]: 107  Afterward, Kislyak reports the conversation with Sessions to Moscow.[293] Kushner is the first to publicly admit the Kislyak meeting took place in his prepared statement for Senate investigators on July 24, 2017.[294] Also in attendance are the ambassadors from Italy and Singapore, who are major players in the upcoming sale of stakes in Rosneft.[15]: 124 
    • Trump speaks[295] at the Mayflower Hotel at the invitation of The National Interest, the magazine of the CNI.[140] He delivers a speech that calls for improved relations between the U.S. and Russia. The speech was edited by Papadopoulos,[247][24]: 98  though his edits were largely rejected by Stephen Miller,[16]: 491  and crafted with the assistance of Simes[15]: 126  and Richard Burt.[296] Burt is a board member of the CNI and a lobbyist for Gazprom.[297] Papadopoulos brings the speech to the attention of Mifsud and Polonskaya, and tells Timofeev that it should be considered "the signal to meet".[247] Simes later moves to Moscow.[298][unreliable source?]
    • Papadopolous and Timofeev speak over Skype. Papadopoulos finds Timofeev's formal tone to be "strange" and hears static noises suggesting the call is being recorded.[16]: 485 
    • Papadopoulos emails Stephen Miller that he has "some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right."[256]
    • Papadopoulos tells Lewandowski via email that he has "been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host [Trump] and the team when the time is right."[244][24]: 89 
    • Graff sends Foresman an apology and forwards his March 31 and April 26 emails to Lewandowski.[24]: 80 
    • Chalupa discusses her Manafort research with Ukrainian investigative journalists at an event organized by the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress.[257][299]
  • Late April: The DNC's IT department notices suspicious computer activity. Within 24 hours, the DNC contacts the FBI, and hires a private cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, to investigate.[300]
  • April 29: DNC staffer Rachel Palermo notifies her colleagues by email that their Factivists blog has been "compromised" and includes the new password.[301][302]
  • April 30: Foresman sends Graff another email reminding her of his meeting requests on March 31 and April 26. He suggests an alternative meeting with Trump Jr. or Eric Trump so that he can tell them information that "should be conveyed to [the candidate] personally or [to] someone [the candidate] absolutely trusts".[24]: 80 

May 2016

[edit]
  • May:
    • CrowdStrike determines that sophisticated adversaries—denominated Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear—are responsible for the DNC hack. Fancy Bear, in particular, is suspected of affiliation with Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).[303]
    • Erickson contacts Trump campaign advisor Rick Dearborn. In an email headed "Kremlin Connection", Erickson seeks the advice of Dearborn and Sessions about how to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin. Erickson suggests making contact at the NRA's annual convention in Kentucky. The communication refers to Torshin, who is under instructions to contact the Trump campaign.[304][305]
    • At Butina's urging, Christian activist Rick Clay emails Dearborn with the subject "Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite"[306] offering a meeting between Trump and Torshin.[307] Dearborn, then Sessions's Chief of Staff, sends an email mentioning a person from West Virginia seeking to connect Trump campaign members with Putin. Dearborn appears "skeptical" of the meeting request.[308] Jared Kushner rejects the request. Torshin and Trump Jr. later meet and speak at the NRA convention.[307]
    • Papadopoulos travels to Greece and meets with Greece's president Prokopios Pavlopoulos, defense minister Panos Kammenos, foreign minister Nikos Kotzias, and a former prime minister. Putin makes an official visit to Athens during Papadopoulos's trip.[309]
    • Michael Caputo arranges a meeting in Miami with Stone, Florida-based Russian Henry Oknyansky (a.k.a. "Henry Greenberg"), and Ukrainian Alexei Rasin.[24]: 61 [310] Rasin claims to have evidence showing Clinton was involved in laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars through Rasin's companies.[24]: 61  Stone turns down the offer, telling them that Trump won't pay for opposition research.[24]: 61 [310] In June 2018, after many repeated denials, Stone finally admits to knowingly meeting with a Russian national in 2016 when asked about this meeting by The Washington Post.[310] In May 2018, Caputo tells Mueller's team that he did not attend the meeting, did not know what Oknyansky was offering, and did not know payment was asked for until Stone told him later.[24]: 61  In July 2018, Oknyansky tells Mueller's team that Rasin was motivated by money, and that Caputo attended the meeting.[24]: 61  According to the Mueller Report, Mueller's team is unable to find any evidence that Clinton ever did any business with Rasin.[24]: 61 
    • A new American shell company, "Silver Valley Consulting", is set up by Russian-born accountant Ilya Bykov for Aras Agalarov.[311]
    • Patten and Kilimnik write a letter for Lyovochkin to use in lobbying a "high-ranking member" of the State Department. In August 2018, Patten pleads guilty to failing to register as a foreign agent for this work.[138]
    • The IRA releases a Google Chrome plugin called FaceMusic that ostensibly allows users to listen to free music while browsing Facebook, but also participates in a botnet.[312]
  • May 2:
    • A second rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Like the April 4 rally, the event is heavily promoted by the IRA's Blacktivist Facebook account, including attempted outreach to local activists.[282]
    • Graff forwards Foresman's April 30 email to Stephen Miller.[24]: 80 
  • May 4:
    • Timofeev emails Papadopoulos that his colleagues from the ministry "are open for cooperation."[158] Papadopoulos forwards the email to Lewandowski and asks whether this is "something we want to move forward with."[24]: 89 
    • Manafort meets with Kilimnik.[158]
    • From May 4[313] through September, a pair of servers owned by Alfa-Bank look up the Trump Organization's mail1.trump-email.com domain on a server housed by Listrak and administered by Cendyn more than 2,000 times. Alfa-Bank performs the most lookups during this period, followed by Spectrum Health, and then Heartland Payment Systems, with 76 lookups; beyond that no other visible entity makes more than two.[314] The FBI investigated the activity in the context of links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies and concluded that there were no such links[315] and that there might be "an innocuous explanation, like marketing email or spam".[316] This was undercut in 2021. Through September 2021, U.S. government investigators had been unable to explain the activity, which a 2018 analysis showed "reasons to doubt that marketing emails were the cause". A Senate report called it "unusual activity".[317] Also in September 2021, The New York Times reported that researchers had found that a Russian-made YotaPhone smartphone, rarely used in the U.S., had accessed networks serving the White House, Trump Tower and Spectrum, which researchers reported to CIA counterintelligence in February 2017.[318][317]
    • Trump becomes the only remaining candidate for the Republican presidential nomination when John Kasich withdraws.[319]
    • Sater texts Cohen asking when he will be traveling to Moscow. He writes that he set expectations in Russia that it would probably be after the convention. Cohen responds that he expects to travel before the convention, and that Trump will travel after he becomes the nominee.[24]: 77 [233][183]
  • May 5:
    • Papadopoulos forwards Timofeev's email to Clovis,[158][24]: 89  who replies, "[t]here are legal issues we need to mitigate, meeting with foreign officials as a private citizen."[244]
    • Sater texts Cohen that Peskov would like to invite him to the St. Petersburg Forum June 16–19 and possibly meet Putin or Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. He continues, "He said anything you want to discuss including dates and subjects are on the table to discuss."[24]: 77 [233][183]
  • May 6:
    • Sater texts Cohen to confirm his travel to Moscow around June 16–19. Cohen replies, "[w]orks for me."[24]: 77 
    • Papadopoulos meets with Thompson.[16]: 487 
  • May 7: Kilimnik and Manafort meet for breakfast in New York City. According to Manafort, they discuss events in Ukraine, and Manafort gives Kilimnik a briefing on the Trump campaign with the expectation that Kilimnik will repeat the information to people in Ukraine and elsewhere. After the meeting, Manafort instructs Gates to begin passing internal campaign polling data and other updates to Kilimnik to share with Ukrainian oligarchs. Gates periodically sends the data using WhatsApp.[24]: 136–137 
  • May 8: Timofeev proposes connecting Papadopoulos with another Russian official.[158]
  • May 9: Thompson thanks Papadopoulos for meeting her the previous Friday, and they arrange for Papadopoulos to meet with her boss, Australian High Commissioner to London Alexander Downer, at the Kensington Wine Rooms in London.[16]: 487–488 
  • May 10:

    • Dearborn receives an email about arranging a back-channel meeting between Trump and Putin with the subject line "Kremlin Connection." It is sent from a conservative operative who says Russia wants to use the NRA's convention to make "first contact."[158]
    • During their scheduled meeting at the Kensington Wine Rooms followed by the Waterway Pub, Papadopoulos drinks a lot and tells Downer and Thompson that the Russians have politically damaging material on Clinton. Later, Papadopoulos gives investigators conflicting accounts of how much alcohol Downer consumed. After WikiLeaks releases the DNC emails two months later, Australian officials pass this information to American officials, causing the FBI to open a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign.[158][16]: 487–490  See Crossfire Hurricane (FBI investigation).
  • May 11: Downer informs Canberra of his interactions with Papadopoulos.[16]: 487–488 
  • May 14: Papadopoulos tells Lewandowski the Russians are interested in hosting Trump.[158]
  • May 15: David Klein, a distant relative of Trump Organization lawyer Jason Greenblatt, emails Clovis about a possible campaign meeting with Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar. Klein writes that he contacted Lazar in February about a possible meeting between Trump and Putin and that Lazar was "a very close confidante of Putin." Later Klein and Greenblatt meet with Lazar at Trump Tower.[24]: 90 
  • May 16:
    • Page floats with Clovis, Gordon, and Phares the idea of Trump going to Russia in his place to give the commencement speech at the New Economic School "to raise the temperature a little bit."[158][24]: 99 
    • Dearborn receives a similar second proposal, which he forwards to Kushner, Manafort and Rick Gates. Both efforts (to arrange a back-channel meeting between Trump and Putin) appear to involve Alexander Torshin, who was instructed to make contact with the Trump campaign. Kushner rebuffs the proposal.[158]
  • May 18: The public are informed that both presidential campaigns are targeted by hackers: "'We're aware that campaigns and related organizations and individuals are targeted by actors with a variety of motivations — from philosophical differences to espionage — and capabilities — from defacements to intrusions,' said Brian P. Hale, director of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence."[290]
  • May 19:
    • Manafort becomes Trump's campaign chairman and chief strategist.[320] Gates is appointed deputy campaign chairman.[24]: 134 
    • Mother Jones reports that before Trump launched his campaign in 2015, Lewandowski and other political advisors suggested to Trump that they follow standard practice and hire someone to perform opposition research on him. Trump refused.[321]
  • May 19–22: The NRA annual conference is held in Louisville, Kentucky. Trump and Trump Jr. attend.[322][323][324][325] Brownell introduces Trump Jr. to Torshin and Butina during a brief encounter at an NRA fundraiser dinner on May 21.[158][199]: 69–71  The next day, an attendee of the dinner warns Trump Jr. to stay away from Butina.[199]: 71 
  • May 21:
    • Papadopoulos forwards Timofeev's May 4 email to Manafort stressing the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)'s desire to meet with Trump, writing, "Russia has been eager to meet Mr. Trump for quite sometime and have been reaching out to me to discuss."[24]: 89–90  Manafort shoots down the idea in an email to Rick Gates,[163][244] with a note: "Let[']s discuss. We need someone to communicate that DT is not doing these trips. It should be someone low level in the Campaign so as not to send any signal."[158][24]: 90 
    • Two competing rallies are held in Houston to alternately protest against and defend the recently opened Library of Islamic Knowledge at the Islamic Da'wah Center. The "Stop Islamization of Texas" rally is organized by the Facebook group "Heart of Texas". The Facebook posting for the event encourages participants to bring guns. A spokesman for the group converses with the Houston Press via email but declines to give a name. The other rally, "Save Islamic Knowledge", is organized by the Facebook group "United Muslims of America" for the same time and location. Both Facebook groups are later revealed to be IRA accounts.[326][327] The entire operation cost $200 and was entirely organized from St. Petersburg.[122]: 47 
  • May 22: Politico reports on Trump's past associations and dealings with the American Mafia and other criminal figures, including Sater.[328][183]
  • May 23: Sessions attends the CNI's Distinguished Service Award dinner at the Washington, D.C., Four Seasons Hotel. Kislyak is a confirmed guest with a reserved seat next to Sessions. In 2018, Sessions tells Mueller's team that he doesn't remember Kislyak being there, and other participants interviewed by Mueller's team disagree with each other about whether Kislyak was present.[24]: 107 
  • May 25:
    • The Westboro Baptist Church holds its annual protest of Lawrence High School graduation ceremonies in Lawrence, Kansas. The "LGBT United" Facebook group organizes counterprotesters to confront the Westboro protest, including by placing an ad on Facebook and contacting local people. About a dozen people show up. Lawrence High School students do not participate because they are "skeptical" of the counterprotest organizers. LGBT United is a Russian operatives account that appears to have been created specifically for this event.[329]
    • Thousands of DNC emails are stolen.[158]
  • May 26: The Associated Press reports that Trump has secured enough delegates to become the presumptive Republican nominee.[166]
  • May 27: At a rally, Trump calls Putin "a strong leader."[158]
  • May 27–28: Putin makes an official visit to Greece and meets with government leaders. His visit overlaps with a trip to Greece by Papadopoulos.[309][330]
  • May 29: The IRA hires an American to pose in front of the White House holding a sign that says, "Happy 55th Birthday, Dear Boss." "Boss" is a reference to Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.[112][113]
  • May 30: The IRA creates the @march_for_trump Twitter account to promote IRA-organized rallies in support of the Trump campaign.[24]: 27 

June 2016

[edit]
  • June:
    • Around this time, the conspirators charged in the July 2018 indictment stage and release tens of thousands of stolen emails and documents using fictitious online personas, including "DCLeaks" and "Guccifer 2.0".[331]
    • The FBI sends a warning to states about "bad actors" probing state voter-registration databases and systems to seek vulnerabilities; investigators believe Russia is responsible.[332]
    • Fusion GPS hires Steele to research Trump's activities in Russia. A resultant 35-page document, later known as the Trump–Russia dossier or Steele dossier, is published on January 10, 2017, by BuzzFeed News.[333]
    • A former GRU officer arranges for Felix Sater and Michael Cohen to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which Putin regularly attends. Sater wants to use the trip to push forward the Moscow Trump Tower deal. Cohen cancels at the last minute. Sater does not attend the forum.[334]
  • Early June:
    • At a closed-door gathering of foreign policy experts visiting with the Prime Minister of India, Page hails Putin as stronger and more reliable than Obama and touts the positive effect a Trump presidency would have on U.S.–Russia relations.[335]
    • Before traveling to New York to translate at the June 9 Trump Tower meeting, Kaveladze contacts Roman Beniaminov, a close friend and aide[16]: 273  of Emin Agalarov, to find out why Kushner, Manafort, and Trump Jr. were invited to a meeting ostensibly about the Magnitsky Act. Beniaminov tells Kaveladze that he heard Goldstone and Agalarov discuss "dirt" on Clinton. In November 2017, Kaveladze's lawyer tells The Daily Beast that Beniaminov was Kaveladze's only source of information about the meeting.[336]
  • June 1:
    • Papadopoulos emails Lewandowski asking whether he wants to have a call about a Russia visit and whether "we were following up with it."[24]: 90  Lewandowski refers him to Clovis.[158][24]: 90  Papadopoulos emails Clovis about more interest from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to set up a Trump meeting in Russia.[158][24]: 90  He writes, "I have the Russian MFA asking me if Mr. Trump is interested in visiting Russia at some point."[337][338] He continues that he "[w]anted to pass this info along to you for you to decide what's best to do with it and what message I should send (or to ignore)."[24]: 90 
    • The IRA plans a Manhattan rally called "March for Trump" and buys Facebook ads promoting the event.[112][113]
  • June 3:
    • Aras Agalarov is told that the Russian government wants to give the Trump campaign damaging information about Clinton.[158]
    • Goldstone emails Trump Jr. offering, on behalf of Emin Agalarov, to meet an alleged Russian government official who "would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father", as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." Trump Jr. responded 17 minutes later:[339][340] "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," and schedules the meeting. Goldstone also offers to relay the information to Trump through his assistant.[289] This is the second time a Trump campaign official was told of "dirt" on Clinton.[158] The first time was April 26.
    • $3.3 million began moving between Aras Agalarov and Kaveladze, a longtime Agalarov employee once investigated for money laundering.[339]
  • June 4: The IRA email account allforusa@yahoo.com sends news releases about the "March for Trump" rally to New York City media outlets.[112][113]
  • June 5: The IRA contacts a Trump campaign volunteer to provide signs for the "March for Trump" rally.[112][113]
  • June 6:
    • Hillary Clinton becomes the presumptive Democratic nominee.
    • Trump Jr. calls two blocked numbers at Trump Tower.[341] According to CNN, the two people Trump Jr. called were NASCAR CEO Brian France and businessman Howard Lorber.[342]
    • At a primary night rally in New York, Trump promises a speech discussing information about Clinton. Trump says "I am going to give a major speech on probably Monday of next week [June 13], and we are going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons".[343]
    • Goldstone follows up with Trump Jr. about when Jr. can "talk with Emin by phone about this Hillary info." Trump Jr. calls Emin. Phone records show Trump Jr. called a blocked number before and after calls to Emin.[158]
    • According to Gates, Trump Jr. informs the participants in a regular senior campaign staff meeting that he has a lead on damaging information about the Clinton Foundation. Gates is under the impression that the information is coming from a group in Kyrgyzstan. The other meeting participants include Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Kushner, Manafort, and Hicks. Manafort, according to Gates, warns the group to be careful. In April 2018, Kushner tells Mueller's team that he doesn't remember the information being discussed before the June 9 meeting.[24]: 115 
  • June 6–7: Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov discuss setting up their June 9 meeting in three phone calls.[344]
  • June 8: The DCLeaks website comes online.[254] The Russian-controlled fake American personas "Melvin Redick", "Alice Donovan", and "Katherine Fulton" begin promoting the site on Facebook.[345]
  • June 9:
    • Veselnitskaya, Akhmetshin, Kaveladze, and Anatoli Samochornov meet for lunch and discuss what to say at the upcoming Trump Tower meeting.[24]: 116–117 
    • Kushner, Manafort and Trump Jr. meet at Trump Tower with Goldstone, Veselnitskaya,[346] Akhmetshin,[347] Kaveladze,[348] and translator Samochornov.[349][350] Veselnitskaya is best known for lobbying against the Magnitsky Act, an American law that blacklists suspected Russian human rights abusers.[351] Trump Jr. later says that he asked Veselnitskaya for damaging information about the Clinton Foundation and that she had none.[352] Samochornov, Kaveladze, and Akhmetshin later tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that Trump Jr. told Veselnitskaya to come back after they won the election.[353][350] The meeting lasts approximately 20 minutes, and Manafort takes notes on his phone.[24]: 117–118  Trump Jr. calls a blocked number before (June 6) and after the meeting. Trump spends the day at Trump Tower, where the private residence has a blocked number, and holds no public events.[341]
    • That night, Veselnitskaya, Simpson, Akhmetshin, and others attend a dinner in New York City organized by a lawyer at BakerHostetler. BakerHostetler hired Simpson in 2015 to work on the Prevezon case with Veselnitskaya. Later, Simpson tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that he was unaware of the Trump Tower meeting until it became public in 2017.[16]: 889 
  • June 9–14: Sater repeatedly tries to get Cohen to confirm his trip to Russia.[183]
  • June 11–12: The DNC expels Russian hackers from its servers. Some of the hackers had been accessing the DNC network for over a year.[354]
  • June 12: On ITV, Assange tells Robert Peston on his television show Peston on Sunday that emails related to Clinton are "pending publication" and says, "WikiLeaks has a very good year ahead."[355][356][24]: 52 
  • June 12 – July 22: According to Gates, prior to Assange's announcement, Stone tells him that something "big" related to leaked information is coming soon, and repeats the claim multiple times to Gates and Manafort through July 22.[24]: 52 
  • June 14:
    • The DNC publicly alleges that they have been hacked by Russian state-backed hackers.[354][355] Following this news, a small group of politically diverse prominent computer scientists scattered across the U.S., including a member Dexter Filkins calls "Max" in his October 2018 New Yorker article, begin combing the Domain Name System (DNS).[314]
    • Sater meets Cohen in the Trump Tower lobby. Cohen tells him he will not be traveling to Russia (two days before planned departure).[183][357] Cohen decided not to go because he didn't receive a formal invitation from Peskov.[55]: 137 
    • The GRU uses its @dcleaks_ persona to reach out to WikiLeaks and offer to coordinate the release of sensitive information about Clinton, including financial documents.[358][24]: 45 
    • GRU Unit 74455 (Fancy Bear) creates the Guccifer 2.0 persona and a WordPress blog for disseminating stolen DNC material.[359]
    • Fancy Bear registers the domain name ActBlues.com for a website that is nearly identical to the DCCC's donation page on ActBlue.com.[360]
  • Mid June:
    • Shortly after the DNC announced that it had been hacked, the RNC informs the FBI that some Republican campaign email accounts hosted by Smartech have been hacked. Compromised accounts include the campaign committees of "Senator John McCain, Senator Lindsey Graham, [...] Representative Robert Hurt[,] [s]everal state GOP organizations, Republican PACs, and campaign consultants." Approximately 300 emails from May through October 2015 are eventually posted on DCLeaks.com.[361][24]: 41 
    • Someone breaks into and ransacks two of Chalupa's cars, but valuables and cash are left in the vehicles. A few days later, a woman "wearing white flowers in her hair" tries to break into Chalupa's home. Aide to the Ukrainian ambassador Oksana Shulyar tells her the incidents are similar to Russian intimidation campaigns against foreigners.[257]
  • June 15:
    • "Guccifer 2.0" (GRU) claims credit for the DNC hacking and posts some of the stolen material to a website. CrowdStrike stands by its "findings identifying two separate Russian intelligence-affiliated adversaries present in the DNC network in May 2016."[362]
    • Gawker publishes an opposition research document on Trump that was stolen from the DNC. "Guccifer 2.0" sent the file to Gawker.[254][363]
    • House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker Paul Ryan meet separately with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman at the Capitol. Groysman describes to them how the Kremlin is financing populist politicians in Eastern Europe to damage democratic institutions. McCarthy and Ryan have a private meeting afterwards with GOP leaders that is secretly recorded. Toward the end of their conversation, after laughing at the DNC hacking, McCarthy says, "there's two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump...[laughter]...swear to God." Ryan then tells everyone to keep this conversation secret. A transcript of the recording becomes public a year later.[364][365]
  • June 16: Cassandra Ford of Defiance, Ohio, renames her Twitter account "@Guccifer2" after hearing about Guccifer 2.0 from her Twitter friends. A few days later, the GRU registers "@Guccifer_2" for the Guccifer 2.0 persona because @Guccifer2 was taken.[359]
  • June 17: ThreatConnect publishes its analysis of the CrowdStrike report on the DNC hack. The new report[366] provides additional data implicating Fancy Bear.[301]
  • Late June: According to Gates, Trump and Stone discuss by phone the recent release of stolen DNC material while Trump and Gates are being driven from Trump Tower to La Guardia airport. After the call, Trump tells Gates that there will be more releases of damaging information.[367][24]: 54 
  • June 19:
    • After communicating with the MFA via email and Skype, Papadopoulos tells Lewandowski by email that the MFA is interested in meeting with a "campaign rep" if Trump can't meet with them. Papadopoulos offers to go in an unofficial capacity.[337][338][24]: 90 
    • Page again requests permission from the campaign to speak at the New Economic School commencement in Moscow, and reiterates that the school "would love to have Mr. Trump speak at this annual celebration." Lewandowski responds that Page can attend in his personal capacity but "Mr. Trump will not be able to attend."[24]: 99 
    • Assange asks the London Ecuadorian Embassy for a faster Internet connection. Embassy staff help Assange install new equipment.[368]
  • June 20:
  • June 22: WikiLeaks reaches out to "Guccifer 2.0" via Twitter. They ask "Guccifer 2.0" to send them material because it will have a bigger impact if they publish it. They also specifically ask for material on Clinton they can publish before the convention.[254]
  • June 23:
  • June 24: The IRA group "United Muslims of America" buys Facebook ads for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally.[112][113]
  • June 25:
    • The IRA's "March for Trump" rally occurs.[112][113]
    • The IRA Facebook group LGBT United organizes a candlelight vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting victims in Orlando, Florida.[381][382]
  • June 29: Goldstone emails Trump campaign social media director Dan Scavino about promoting Trump on VKontakte. He says the email is a follow-up to his recent conversation with Trump Jr. and Manafort.[232]
  • Summer:
    • IRA employees use the stolen identities of four Americans to open PayPal and bank accounts to act as conduits for funding their activities in the United States.[112][113]
    • The FBI applies for a FISA warrant to monitor communications of four Trump campaign officials. The FISA Court rejects the application, asking the FBI to narrow its scope.[383] A warrant on Carter Page alone is granted in October 2016.[70]
    • Lawyer and Trump campaign foreign policy advisor Joseph E. Schmitz receives a cache of emails from a client that is purported to be Clinton's deleted 30,000 emails, acquired from a dark web forum. Schmitz meets with officials at the FBI, the State Department, and the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) in an effort to get the emails reviewed. The State Department and ICIG decline to review the emails. Schmitz's efforts are independent of the investigation by Peter Smith's team.[384]

July 2016 and after

[edit]
Main article: Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections (July 2016–election day)

Post-election transition

[edit]
Main article: Timeline of post-election transition following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

Investigations' continuing timelines

[edit]
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Alferova promises support from Russia: "On January 22, 2014, Klyushina wrote on social media that, 'I'm sure @realDonaldTrump will be great president! We'll support you from Russia! America needs an ambitious leader!'; On January 28, 2015, Klyushina announced on Twitter that Trump would be running for President of the United States. Tweet, @AlferovaYulyaE, January 28, 2015. The Committee has no insight into the nature of Klyushina's knowledge of these matters or what prompted these statements."[105]: 396 

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ford, Matt (March 9, 2017). "The Contacts Between Trump Associates and Russia: A Timeline". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Smith, David (January 29, 2021). "'The perfect target': Russia cultivated Trump as asset for 40 years – ex-KGB spy". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Palma, Bethania (February 2, 2021). "Did Ex-KGB Spy Say Russia Cultivated Trump as an 'Asset' for 40 Years?". Snopes. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  4. ^ Stott, Michael; Belton, Catherine (December 13, 2016). "Trump's Russian connections; Donald Trump's ties to Russia are back under the spotlight after the CIA concluded that Moscow had interfered in November's presidential election to help the Republican candidate win". FT.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via Internet Archive. ...the tycoon recalled in his book Trump: The Art of the Deal. Trump flew to Moscow at Dubinin's invitation to discuss the hotel project with the Soviet tourism agency.
  5. ^ Mueller, Robert S. (March 2019). "Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election" (PDF). Justice.gov. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  6. ^ Bonfiglio, Chontelle (November 9, 2016). "President Donald Trump and his Multilingual Family". bilingualkidspot.com. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Harding, Luke (November 19, 2017). "The Hidden History of Trump's First Trip to Moscow; In 1987, a young real estate developer traveled to the Soviet Union. The KGB almost certainly made the trip happen". Politico. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Span, Paula (December 3, 1988). "From the archives: When Trump hoped to meet Gorbachev in Manhattan". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Kutner, Max (August 28, 2017). "Trump Considered Business With the Russian Government in 1987, and Newsweek Met Him in Moscow". Newsweek.com. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Twohey, Megan; Eder, Steve (January 16, 2017). "For Trump, Three Decades of Chasing Deals in Russia". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d e Hettena, Seth (2018). Trump/Russia : a definitive history. Brooklyn. ISBN 978-1-61219-739-5. OCLC 1032641888.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link): 147 
  12. ^ dos Santos, Nina (February 21, 2019). "Senate investigators pursue Moscow-based former Trump associate". CNN.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Singer, Mark (May 19, 1997). "Trump Solo". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  14. ^ Stieb, Matt (November 29, 2018). "What Does Trump Tower Moscow Mean to the Mueller Investigation?". NYmag.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  15. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Collusion was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db Select Committee on Intelligence (2020). "Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the U.S. Election Volume 5: Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities" (PDF). United States Senate. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  17. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (August 18, 2020). "Trump and Miss Moscow: Report Examines Possible Compromises in Russia Trips". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Trump, Donald J. (February 19, 2000). "What I Saw at the Revolution". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  19. ^ Geraghty, Jim (August 10, 2015). "Donald Trump's Departed Top Adviser Speaks Out". NationalReview.com. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  20. ^ Desjardins, Lisa (March 25, 2019) [June 7, 2018]. "The giant timeline of everything Russia, Trump and the investigations". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Hsu, Spencer S. (April 12, 2019). "W. Samuel Patten sentenced to probation after steering Ukrainian money to Trump inaugural". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  22. ^ Behar, Richard (October 25, 2016). "Donald Trump And The Felon: Inside His Business Dealings With A Mob-Connected Hustler". Forbes.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  23. ^ a b c Horwitz, Jeff; Day, Chad; Gillum, Jack; Tucker, Eric; Pace, Julie; Bridis, Ted; Braun, Stephen; Bykowicz, Julie; Mathur, Monika; Vasilyeva, Nataliya; Pearson, Jake (March 22, 2017). "AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid Putin". Associated Press. Retrieved April 6, 2018. We are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq Muller III, Robert S. (March 2019). "Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election Volume I" (PDF). Court Listener. Court-ordered release. Retrieved October 1, 2020. Further unredacted text restored by the Department of Justice and released on June 19, 2020, in response to a court order.
  25. ^ Markay, Lachlan; Jones, Dean Sterling (July 5, 2018). "Inside the Online Campaign to Whitewash the History of Donald Trump's Russian Business Associates". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  26. ^ Birnbaum, Jeffrey H.; Solomon, John; Washington Post Staff Writers; Baker, Peter (January 25, 2008). "Aide Helped Controversial Russian Meet McCain". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  27. ^ a b c Ioffe, Julia; Foer, Franklin (October 2017). "Did Manafort Use Trump to Curry Favor With a Putin Ally?". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  28. ^ a b c Kramer, Andrew E.; McIntire, Mike; Meir, Barry (August 14, 2016). "Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump's Campaign Chief". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  29. ^ "Interview With Donald Trump". Larry King Live. CNN. October 15, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  30. ^ a b c Toobin, Jeffrey (February 19, 2018). "Trump's Miss Universe Gambit". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  31. ^ "Drinks Americas Makes Second Trump Super Premium Vodka Shipment to Russia" (Press release). Wilton, Connecticut: Drinks Americas. February 11, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  32. ^ Corn, David (January 19, 2017). "Investigators on the Trump-Russia Beat Should Talk to This Man". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  33. ^ a b "NABU says Trump's campaign chief could get $12.7 million from Regions Party's 'black ledger'". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. August 15, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  34. ^ Alexander, Dan (August 18, 2020). "Trump Wrote Putin To Congratulate Him On Being Named TIME Person Of The Year". Forbes. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  35. ^ Blake, Aaron. "Five provocative nuggets from the Senate intel report on Trump and Russia". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 17, 2020 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  36. ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim (November 30, 2018). "Trump's business ties to Russia stretch back more than 30 years, from big building projects to beauty pageants". USAToday.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  37. ^ Dilanian, Ken; Winter, Tom (January 10, 2018). "Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska sues Manafort and Gates in N.Y." NBC News. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  38. ^ Harris, Shane; Leonnig, Carol D.; Helderman, Rosalind S. (December 9, 2019). "In opening an investigation of the Trump campaign, the FBI felt it had reached a 'tipping point,' IG finds". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  39. ^ Barrionuevo, Alexei (April 5, 2012). "Divorce, Oligarch Style". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  40. ^ "Michael Cohen: Trump Believed Putin Was Behind His $50M Profit In Sale Of Mansion | All In | MSNBC". MSNBC. September 8, 2020. Archived from the original (Video) on October 27, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2020 – via YouTube.
  41. ^ a b c Pengelly, Martin (May 8, 2017). "Eric Trump said family golf courses attracted Russian funding, author claims". The Guardian.
  42. ^ Heyer, Hazel (September 15, 2008). "Executive Talk: Donald Trump Jr. bullish on Russia and few emerging markets". ETurboNews.
  43. ^ Frank, Thomas (January 12, 2018). "Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers". BuzzFeednNews.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019. And he told a New York conference in September 2008, "We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."
  44. ^ Bump, Philip (September 20, 2017). "Timeline: Paul Manafort's long history with oligarch Oleg Deripaska". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  45. ^ a b c d Mak, Tim (May 11, 2018). "Documents Reveal How Russian Official Courted Conservatives In U.S. Since 2009". NPR. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  46. ^ Barry, Rob; Stewart, Christopher S.; Forrest, Brett (May 17, 2017). "Russian State-Run Bank Financed Deal Involving Trump Hotel Partner". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  47. ^ Meyer, Josh (June 27, 2018). "Mueller reveals closer Manafort ties to Russian oligarch". Politico. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  48. ^ Leopold, Jason; Tillman, Zoe; Hall, Ellie; Loop, Emma; Cormier, Anthony (November 3, 2019). "The Mueller Report's Secret Memos". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  49. ^ a b c d Clifton, Denise; Follman, Mark (March 8, 2018). "The Very Strange Case of Two Russian Gun Lovers, the NRA, and Donald Trump". Mother Jones. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  50. ^ Holodny, Elena; Perrette, Amy; Simmons, Keir (January 17, 2019). "Maria Butina 'wanted to influence society,' sister says; The Russian operative spent years building connections in U.S. political circles and with influential conservative groups". nbcnews.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019. In 2011, she founded a Russian pro-gun rights group called the Right to Bear Arms.
  51. ^ Shuster, Simon (July 25, 2016). "Vladimir Putin's Bad Blood With Hillary Clinton". Time. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  52. ^ a b c Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (April 30, 2017). "Guns and religion: How American conservatives grew closer to Putin's Russia". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  53. ^ "NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits 2011". Outdoor Channel. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  54. ^ Beyond the N.R.A.: Maria Butina's Peculiar Bid for Russian Influence August 4, 2018, nytimes.com
  55. ^ a b c d e Mueller III, Robert S. (March 2019). "Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election Volume II" (PDF). Justice.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  56. ^ Levin, Bess (May 30, 2019). "Trump thinks Mueller spent two years, millions of dollars, and countless man-hours to get revenge over a country club deposit". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  57. ^ "Russia PM Vladimir Putin accuses US over poll protests". BBC. December 8, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  58. ^ Apuzzo, Matt; Goldman, Adam; Mazzetti, Mark (May 19, 2017). "F.B.I. Once Warned G.O.P. Congressman That Russian Spies Were Recruiting Him". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  59. ^ Stephanopoulos, George; Mosk, Matthew (March 5, 2018). "Russia Investigation Romance: Key witness George Papadopoulos marries Italian lawyer". ABC News. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  60. ^ a b Harding, Luke; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (January 18, 2018). "The boss, the boyfriend and the FBI: the Italian woman in the eye of the Trump-Russia inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  61. ^ a b c Follman, Mark (July 20, 2018). "NRA President Offered to Work With Accused Russian Spy's Group in Moscow". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  62. ^ "NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits 2012: A Celebration of American Values". NRA-ILA. April 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  63. ^ "Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 6156". National Archives and Records Administration. December 14, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  64. ^ Corn, David; Vicens, AJ (November 1, 2017). "Hackers Compromised the Trump Organization 4 Years Ago—and the Company Never Noticed". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  65. ^ a b Watkins, Ali (April 4, 2017). "A Former Trump Adviser Met With A Russian Spy". BuzzFeed News.
  66. ^ a b c Helderman, Rosalind S. (April 24, 2018). "Manafort interviewed twice by FBI before joining Trump's 2016 campaign, new documents show". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  67. ^ a b Martin, Andrew; Voreacos, David (February 23, 2018). "Meeting That Gates Admits Lying About Matches Rohrabacher Dinner". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  68. ^ Wire, Sarah D. (February 23, 2018). "Gates plea in Russia investigation centers on meeting with California congressman". LATimes.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  69. ^ a b United States v. Buryakov, et al (S. Dist. NY January 23, 2015) ("Indictment"), Text.
  70. ^ a b Nakashima, Ellen; Barrett, Devlin; Entous, Adam (April 11, 2017). "FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor former Trump adviser Carter Page". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  71. ^ a b Bergengruen, Vera (July 16, 2018). "Accused Russian Agent Used The NRA And The National Prayer Breakfast To Influence US Policy, Charges Say". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  72. ^ "NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits 2013". Outdoor Channel. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  73. ^ a b Diamond, Jeremy (July 13, 2017). "Exclusive: Video shows Trump with associates tied to email controversy". CNN. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  74. ^ Harris, Shane; Helderman, Rosalind S.; Demirjian, Karoun (March 9, 2018). "In a personal letter, Trump invited Putin to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  75. ^ Trump, Donald [@realDonaldTrump] (June 18, 2013). "Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow – if so, will he become my new best friend?" (Tweet). Retrieved March 6, 2018 – via Twitter.
  76. ^ a b Shuster, Simon (September 28, 2018). "How Putin's Oligarchs Got Inside the Trump Team". TIME. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  77. ^ a b c Harding, Luke (December 21, 2017). "Is Donald Trump's Dark Russian Secret Hiding in Deutsche Bank's Vaults?". Newsweek. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  78. ^ Marusak, Joseph (May 14, 2017). "Author who said Eric Trump told him Russians financed golf courses defends statement". McClatchy DC. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  79. ^ Marusak, Joe (May 15, 2017). "Eric Trump said Russians financed golf courses, author insists". CharlotteObserver.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017. That's when he said Eric Trump told him, "We have pretty much all the money we need from investors in Russia," Dodson said. ... "This story is completely fabricated and just another example of why there is such a deep distrust of the media in our country #FakeNews," Eric Trump said.
  80. ^ Littlefield, Bill (May 11, 2017). "A Day (And A Cheeseburger) With President Trump". WBUR-FM. Retrieved December 12, 2017. He said, 'Well, we don't rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.' I said, 'Really?' And he said, 'Oh, yeah. We've got some guys that really, really love golf, and they're really invested in our programs. We just go there all the time.' Now that was [a little more than] three years ago, so it was pretty interesting."
  81. ^ Calabresi, Massimo; Abramson, Alana (February 4, 2018). "Carter Page Touted Kremlin Contacts in 2013 Letter". Time. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  82. ^ Spies, Mike; Blau, Uri; Follman, Mark (December 14, 2018). "Maria Butina Claimed to Have a "Signed Cooperation Agreement" With the National Rifle Association". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  83. ^ Nussbaum, Matthew (March 3, 2017). "The definitive Trump-Russia timeline of events". Politico.
  84. ^ "Episode dated 17 October 2013" (video). The Late Show With David Letterman. CBS. October 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2018 – via YouTube.
  85. ^ Scannell, Kara; Murray, Sara; Ilyushina, Mary; Herb, Jeremy; Stark, Liz; Murphy, Paul; Kelly, Caroline; Bundy, Austen; Polantz, Katelyn (July 22, 2018). "The Russian accused of using sex, lies and guns to infiltrate US politics". CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  86. ^ "Выступление Дэвида Кина (США) на 2-ом съезде Право на оружие (на английском)" [Speech by David Keene (USA) at the 2nd congress The right to arms (in English)] (video). Oleg Seolander. November 3, 2013. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2018 – via YouTube.
  87. ^ Bump, Philip (December 8, 2017). "Timeline: What we know about Trump's campaign, Russia and the investigation of the two". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  88. ^ a b Corn, David; Levintova, Hannah (September 14, 2016). "How Did an Alleged Russian Mobster End Up on Trump's Red Carpet?". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  89. ^ Reiter, Svetlana (May 19, 2017). "Exclusive: Putin's ex-wife linked to multi-million-dollar property business". Reuters. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  90. ^ Sinelschikova, Yekaterina (June 1, 2016). "'Putin's people': The mysterious agency that guards the president's life". Russia Beyond. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  91. ^ Putzier, Konrad (November 12, 2013). "Hotel trio aims to bring Manhattan to Moscow". Real Estate Weekly. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  92. ^ Lichtman, Allan J. (May 17, 2017). "Here's A Closer Look At Donald Trump's Disturbingly Deep Ties To Russia". Fortune. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  93. ^ a b Ignatius, David (November 2, 2017). "A history of Donald Trump's business dealings in Russia". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  94. ^ Trump, Donald J. [@realDonaldTrump] (November 11, 2013). "@AgalarovAras I had a great weekend with you and your family. You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next. EMIN was WOW!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 9, 2019 – via Twitter.
  95. ^ "Donald Trump Planning Skyscraper in Moscow". The Moscow Times. November 12, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  96. ^ Traynor, Ian; Grytsenko, Oksana (November 21, 2013). "Ukraine suspends talks on EU trade pact as Putin wins tug of war; Ukraine was due to sign accord at summit next week but MPs reject key bills, especially on freeing Yulia Tymoshenko from jail". theguardian.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  97. ^ "Выступление посла Джона Болтона в день празднования дня российской Конституции" [Speech by Ambassador John Bolton on the Day of the Russian Constitution] (video). Право на оружие. December 10, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2018 – via YouTube.
  98. ^ Lichtblau, Eric (April 6, 2017). "C.I.A. Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2024. In the briefings, the C.I.A. said there was intelligence indicating not only that the Russians were trying to get Mr. Trump elected but that they had gained computer access to multiple state and local election boards in the United States since 2014, officials said.
  99. ^ Mak, Tim; Berry, Libby (September 19, 2018). "Maria Butina, Accused Of Being Russian Agent, Has Long History Of Urging Protest". NPR. Retrieved September 19, 2018. I'm not familiar with your laws, but I think you need to hold demonstrations!
  100. ^ a b Harris, Andre M.; Martin, Andrew; Schoenberg, Tom; Farrell, Greg; Baker, Stephanie; Larson, Erik; Wadhams, Nick; Allison, Bill (August 31, 2018). "Manafort Ally to Cooperate With U.S. After Guilty Plea". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  101. ^ a b Markay, Lachlan (April 4, 2018). "Accused Russian Intel Asset Teamed Up With GOP Operative". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  102. ^ Torshin, Alexandr (January 2, 2014). "TORSHIN: Kalashnikov, the man and the weapon". The Washington Times. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  103. ^ Nemtsova, Anna (January 20, 2017). "She Met Donald Trump at the Moscow Ritz (Not That Way!)". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 1, 2019. Prostitutes around the city say the 'golden shower' orgy story is true.
  104. ^ "Alferova supports Trump". Twitter. January 22, 2014. Event occurs at 1:26 PM. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2024. I'm sure @realDonaldTrump will be great president! We'll support you from Russia! America needs ambitious leader!
  105. ^ a b c d Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) (August 18, 2020). "Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election, Volume 5: Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities" (PDF). Senate Intelligence Committee. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  106. ^ a b c Baker, Stephanie; Reznik, Irina; Kazakina, Katya; Rudnitsky, Jake; Silver, Vernon; Perlberg, Heather (August 17, 2017). "Billionaire Ally of Putin Socialized With Kushner, Ivanka Trump". Bloomberg LP. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  107. ^ "Donald Trump's 2014 political predictions" (video). Fox and Friends. Fox News. February 10, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  108. ^ "Executive Order 13660 – Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine" (PDF). Federal Register. Vol. 79, no. 46. United States Treasury. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  109. ^ Schwab, Nikki (March 6, 2014). "Donald Trump Peppers CPAC Speeches With Humblebrags". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  110. ^ Trump, Donald [@realDonaldTrump] (March 21, 2014). "Putin has become a big hero in Russia with an all time high popularity. Obama, on the other hand, has fallen to his lowest ever numbers. SAD" (Tweet). Retrieved July 9, 2018 – via Twitter. 7:00 pm
  111. ^ Trump, Donald [@realDonaldTrump] (March 21, 2014). "I believe Putin will continue to re-build the Russian Empire. He has zero respect for Obama or the U.S.!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 9, 2018 – via Twitter. 7:03 pm
  112. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bump, Philip (February 16, 2018). "Timeline: How Russian trolls allegedly tried to throw the 2016 election to Trump". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  113. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m United States of America vs. Internet Research Agency LLC, et al (United States District Court for the District of Columbia February 16, 2018) ("Indictment"), Text, archived from the original.
  114. ^ Watkins, Ali (August 14, 2017). "Obama team was warned in 2014 about Russian interference". Politico. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  115. ^ "Donald Trump on how to revive the US economy" (video). Cashin' In. Fox News. April 12, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  116. ^ a b Bergengruen, Vera; Lytvynenko, Jane (July 18, 2018). "Guns, God, And Trump: How An Accused Russian Agent Wooed US Conservatives". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  117. ^ Мария Бутина [@Maria_Butina] (April 24, 2014). "Ответственная миссия выполнена – подарок от Право на оружие вручен мистеру Портеру – президенту NRA" [Responsible mission accomplished – a gift from the Right to arms was handed to Mr. Porter – the President of NRA] (Tweet). Retrieved August 7, 2018 – via Twitter.
  118. ^ a b c d "The Godfather Goes to Washington (Updated)". Trump/Russia. April 5, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  119. ^ "NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits 2014". NRA-ILA. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  120. ^ "Donald Trump on Politics and Business" (video). C-SPAN. May 27, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  121. ^ Seddon, Max (June 2, 2014). "Documents Show How Russia's Troll Army Hit America". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  122. ^ a b c d e Select Committee on Intelligence (October 2019). "Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the U.S. Election Volume 2: Russia's Use of Social Media with Additional Views" (PDF). United States Senate. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  123. ^ a b Bosch van Rosenthal, Eelco (January 25, 2018). "Dutch intelligence first to alert U.S. about Russian hack of Democratic Party". Nieuwsuur. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  124. ^ Levy, Laurence (July 22, 2014). "Participation in US Elections" (PDF). Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018 – via MSNBC.
  125. ^ Schecter, Anna R. (March 23, 2018). "Wylie: Foreigners worked for Cambridge Analytica on NC Senate campaign". NBC News. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  126. ^ DIA Public Affairs (August 7, 2014). "Lt. Gen. Flynn retires from DIA, 33-year Army career". Defense Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  127. ^ Bodner, Matthew; Charlton, Angela; Pane, Lisa Marie (September 10, 2018). "Misfire: Maria Butina's strange route from Russia to US jail". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  128. ^ Hall, Kevin G.; Wieder, Ben (May 16, 2018). "Sources, new documents reveal depth of Trump's 2013 Moscow push". McClatchyDC. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  129. ^ a b Follman, Mark (July 19, 2018). "The NRA Has Deep Ties to Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  130. ^ Bergengruen, Vera (August 6, 2018). "Accused Russian Agent's Journey To Washington Began In South Dakota". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  131. ^ a b c d Chen, Adrian (June 2, 2015). "The Agency". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  132. ^ Cush, Andy (August 20, 2015). "Emails Link Kremlin Troll Farm to Bizarre New York Photography Exhibit". Gawker. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  133. ^ a b Lamothe, Dan; O'Keefe, Ed; Sullivan, Sean (April 27, 2017). "Top Pentagon watchdog launches investigation into money that Michael Flynn received from foreign groups". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  134. ^ a b Vogel, Kenneth P.; Rosenberg, Matthew (September 1, 2018). "Agents Tried to Flip Russian Oligarchs. The Fallout Spread to Trump". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  135. ^ Kranz, Michael (February 21, 2018). "Russian bots reportedly pushed a Thanksgiving food poisoning hoax on Twitter as practice for influencing the 2016 election". Business Insider. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  136. ^ Broadwater, Luke. "Data firm says Russian investors had no access to Maryland's voting system". baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  137. ^ Witte, Brian (July 14, 2018). "Officials: Russian firm used in Maryland election systems". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  138. ^ a b c Liu, Jessie K.; DiLorenzo, Michael C.; Claffee, Scott A. (August 31, 2018). "United States of America v. Samuel Patten — Statement of the Offense". Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2019 – via Wikimedia Commons. Alt URL
  139. ^ Goldman, Adam (April 4, 2017). "Russian Spies Tried to Recruit Carter Page Before He Advised Trump". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017.
  140. ^ a b c d e Lynch, Sarah N.; Fabrichnaya, Elena (July 22, 2018). Darlin, Damon; Dunham, Will; McCool, Grant (eds.). "Exclusive: Alleged Russian agent Butina met with U.S. Treasury, Fed officials". Reuters. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  141. ^ Tucker, Eric; Klepper, David (September 5, 2024). "US charges former Trump 2016 campaign adviser Dimitri Simes over work for sanctioned Russian TV". AP News. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  142. ^ Archived: CPAC 2015 Agenda
  143. ^ Diamond, Jeremy (March 18, 2015). "Donald Trump launches presidential exploratory committee". CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  144. ^ a b Harris, Shane (July 13, 2017). "Russian Officials Overheard Discussing Trump Associates Before Campaign Began". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  145. ^ Levintova, Hannah (October 18, 2017). "Russian Journalists Just Published a Bombshell Investigation About a Kremlin-Linked 'Troll Factory'". Mother Jones. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  146. ^ Strobel, Warren P.; Layne, Nathan; Landay, Jonathan (December 2, 2017). "Exclusive: Mideast nuclear plan backers bragged of support of top Trump aide Flynn". Reuters. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  147. ^ a b Altman, Alex; Dias, Elizabeth; Scherer, Michael (March 10, 2017). "Moscow Cozies Up to the Right". Time. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  148. ^ Arkhipov, Ilya; Pismennaya, Evgenia (April 5, 2017). "Putin Loyalists Are Invading Washington". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  149. ^ a b Kranish, Michael; Hamburger, Tom; Leonnig, Carol D. (November 11, 2017). "Michael Flynn's role in Mideast nuclear project could compound legal issues". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  150. ^ Woodruff, Betsy (July 31, 2018). "Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina Told American CEO: Send Cash to Moscow". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  151. ^ Butina, Maria (June 12, 2015). "The Bear and the Elephant". The National Interest. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  152. ^ Trump, Donald (June 16, 2015). Here's Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement Speech (Speech). Time. Trump Tower, New York City.
  153. ^ "Exclusive: Donald Trump on what made him run for president on 'Hannity'" (video). Fox News. June 17, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  154. ^ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (September 13, 2017). "Michael Flynn 'promoted US-Russian nuclear project from White House'". The Guardian.
  155. ^ Landay, Jonathan (September 13, 2017). "Democrats probe whether Flynn pushed nuclear project as Trump aide". Reuters.
  156. ^ Crilly, Rob (September 13, 2017). "Michael Flynn accused of promoting nuclear power project in Middle East while he worked at White House". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022.
  157. ^ "Democrats investigating whether Michael Flynn promoted plan to build nuclear reactors in Middle East while national security adviser". South China Morning Post. Reuters. September 13, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  158. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry; Watkins, Derek (September 20, 2018). "A Timeline Showing the Full Scale of Russia's Unprecedented Interference in the 2016 Election, and Its Aftermath". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  159. ^ Maremont, Mark; Barry, Rob (November 6, 2017). "Russian Twitter Support for Trump Began Right After He Started Campaign". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  160. ^ Kwong, Jessica (November 6, 2017). "Russia Was Helping Trump Just Days After He Entered the 2016 Primary". Newsweek.
  161. ^ "FreedomFest Schedule". sched.com. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  162. ^ Stableford, Dylan (March 12, 2018). "Papadopoulos says that Trump personally encouraged him to arrange meeting with Putin, new book reports". Yahoo! News. Yahoo!. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  163. ^ a b c d e Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (March 23, 2018). "'You should do it': Trump officials encouraged George Papadopoulos's foreign outreach, documents show". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  164. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (December 14, 2017). "Music promoter dangled possible Putin meeting for Trump during campaign". The Washington Post.
  165. ^ "Kaveladze 1 Exhibits redacted" (PDF). U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. May 15, 2018.
  166. ^ a b c d Bump, Philip (July 11, 2017). "What happened and when: The timeline leading up to Donald Trump Jr.'s fateful meeting". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  167. ^ a b Goldman, Adam; Schwirtz, Michael (March 16, 2017). "Michael Flynn Was Paid by Russian-Linked Firms, Letter Shows". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  168. ^ a b Schmidle, Nicholas (February 27, 2017). "Michael Flynn, General Chaos". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  169. ^ "Report of Expenditures for Official Foreign Travel, Committee on Foreign Intelligence, House of Representatives, Expended Between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2015" (PDF). Congressional Record: H8356. November 18, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  170. ^ LaFraniere, Sharon; Rosenberg, Matthew; Goldman, Adam (July 17, 2018). "Maria Butina Loved Guns, Trump and Russia. It Was a Cover, Prosecutors Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  171. ^ Cheney, Kyle (July 17, 2018). "Rep. Rohrabacher: Indictment of NRA-linked Russian is 'stupid'". Politico. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  172. ^ Lee, MJ; Bash, Dana (August 10, 2015). "Trump campaign claims it fired top adviser – who says he quit". CNN. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  173. ^ Miller, Greg (2018). The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy. New York: Custom House. p.20. ISBN 978-0-06-280370-2.
  174. ^ a b c Bump, Phillip (March 2, 2017). "Analysis What Jeff Sessions said about Russia, and when". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  175. ^ Lipton, Eric; Sanger, David E.; Shane, Scott (December 13, 2016). "The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  176. ^ Schreckinger, Ben (June 20, 2017). "Jill Stein Isn't Sorry". Politico.
  177. ^ Ghorayshi, Azeen (January 22, 2019). "Trump's Lawyer Said There Were "No Plans" For Trump Tower Moscow. Here They Are.; Rudy Giuliani claims the Moscow tower was barely more than a notion. "There were no drafts. Nothing in the file." Documents obtained by BuzzFeed News tell a different story". Buzzfeednews.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  178. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P.; Haberman, Maggie (October 27, 2017). "Conservative Website First Funded Anti-Trump Research by Firm That Later Produced Dossier". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  179. ^ a b s:Senate Judiciary Committee Interview of Glenn Simpson
  180. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Haberman, Maggie (April 9, 2018). "Mueller Investigating Ukrainian's $150,000 Payment for a Trump Appearance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  181. ^ "YES-2015_MP3EN_20150911.20–46" (video). YouTube. September 11, 2015. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  182. ^ a b c d Cormier, Anthony; Leopold, Jason (May 17, 2018). "Trump Moscow: The Definitive Story Of How Trump's Team Worked". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  183. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Bump, Phillip (November 29, 2018). "The events that led to Trump's abandoned Moscow deal and Michael Cohen's latest plea agreement". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  184. ^ Hewitt, Hugh (September 21, 2015). "Donald Trump Returns". The Hugh Hewitt Show. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  185. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Rosenberg, Matthew; Hakim, Danny (June 18, 2017). "How Michael Flynn's Disdain for Limits Led to a Legal Quagmire". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  186. ^ "Michael Flynn interview with RT International on battle against ISIL". RTQuestionMore. October 5, 2015. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2020 – via YouTube.
  187. ^ Bertrand, Natasha (September 8, 2017). "'Help world peace and make a lot of money': Here's the letter of intent to build a Trump Tower Moscow". Business Insider. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  188. ^ Lizza, Ryan (August 29, 2017). "Trump's Real Estate-Interests in Russia". The New Yorker.
  189. ^ Leonnig, Carol D.; Hamburger, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S. (August 27, 2017). "Trump's business sought deal on a Trump Tower in Moscow while he ran for president". The Washington Post.
  190. ^ Trump Acquisition, LLC (October 28, 2015). "Letter of intent for Trump Moscow Project" (PDF). CNN. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  191. ^ Apuzzo, Matt; Haberman, Maggie (August 28, 2017). "Felix Sater, Trump Associate, Boasted That Moscow Business Deal 'Will Get Donald Elected'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017.
  192. ^ Jordan, Jay R. (April 19, 2019). "Houston Confederate rally 'earliest evidence' of Russian interference, says Mueller report". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  193. ^ Corn, David (December 23, 2015). "Why Donald Trump Loves Vladimir Putin". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  194. ^ a b c d Cormier, Anthony; Leopold, Jason; Loop, Emma (June 6, 2018). "Ivanka Trump Was In Contact With A Russian Who Offered A Trump-Putin Meeting". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  195. ^ Longman, Martin (January 23, 2019). "A Connection Between the Moscow Tower and the Trump Tower Meeting".
  196. ^ Collins, Ben; Poulsen, Kevin; Ackerman, Spencer; Woodruff, Betsy (October 18, 2017). "Trump Campaign Staffers Pushed Russian Propaganda Days Before the Election". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  197. ^ a b Lee, Micah; Currier, Cora (February 14, 2018). "In Leaked Chats, WikiLeaks Discusses Preference for GOP Over Clinton, Russia, Trolling, and Feminists They Don't Like". The Intercept. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  198. ^ Woodruff, Betsy; Ackerman, Spencer (February 14, 2019). "Boyfriend's Email: Butina 'Manipulated' Russian Spy Agency for NRA Trip; According to her boyfriend, Russian agent Maria Butina had major sway with the FSB officers 'assigned' to her". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  199. ^ a b c United States Senate Committee on Finance Minority Staff (September 2019). "The NRA and Russia: How a Tax-Exempt Organization Became a Foreign Asset" (PDF). United States Senate. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  200. ^ Tribune Wire Reports (December 4, 2015). "Trump picked Mafia-linked stock fraud felon as senior adviser". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  201. ^ Woodruff, Betsy; Rawnsley, Adam (April 27, 2018). "Michael Flynn and Son Met With Russia Ambassador Before RT Gala". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  202. ^ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (October 13, 2017). "Flynn ally sought help from 'dark web' in covert Clinton email investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  203. ^ Sweet, Lynn (April 18, 2019). "Mueller report connects late Lake Forest operative Peter Smith to Michael Flynn". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  204. ^ Mak, Tim; Nemtsova, Anna; Weiss, Michael; Zavadski, Katie (March 7, 2017). "Top Trump Ally Met With Putin's Deputy in Moscow". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  205. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Balingit, Moriah; Harris, Shane; Hamburger, Tom; Crites, Alice; Nakashima, Ellen; Truong, Debbie; Ferris-Rotman, Annie (July 25, 2018). "Before her arrest as an alleged Russian agent, Maria Butina's proud defense of her homeland drew notice at American University". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  206. ^ Дмитрий Рогозин [@Rogozin] (December 12, 2015). National rifle association ознакомилась с планами организации в 2017 г. в РФ Чемпионата мира по стрельбе из карабина [National rifle association got acquainted with the plans of the organization in 2017 in the Russian Federation of the World Championship in shooting from a rifle] (Tweet) (in Russian). Retrieved July 17, 2018 – via Twitter. Photos of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rozhin with NRA members are attached to the tweet.
  207. ^ Stone, Peter; Gordon, Greg (June 11, 2018). "Web of elite Russians met with NRA execs during 2016 campaign". McClatchyDC. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  208. ^ Swaine, Jon (July 26, 2018). "Maria Butina: ties emerge between NRA, alleged spy and Russian billionaire". The Guardian. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  209. ^ Corn, David (May 7, 2018). "The Pentagon Considers This Russian Sniper Rifle a Big Threat to US Soldiers. The NRA Helped Promote It". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  210. ^ Ackerman, Spencer (September 27, 2019). "Russians Used Greed to 'Capture' NRA, Senator Alleges in New Report". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  211. ^ a b "Wyden Unveils Report on NRA Ties to Russia, Findings Show NRA Misled Public About 2015 Moscow Trip". United States Senate Committee on Finance (Press release). September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  212. ^ Hsu, Spencer S.; Jackman, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (December 13, 2018). "Russian Maria Butina pleads guilty in case to forge Kremlin bond with U.S. conservatives". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  213. ^ Loesch, Dana [@DLoesch] (May 8, 2018). "Any armed combatant is a threat. David Clarke isn't a "NRA official" and there was no NRA trip. thanks for allowing me to publicly correct you, David" (Tweet). Retrieved July 26, 2018 – via Twitter.
  214. ^ Loesch, Dana [@DLoesch] (July 16, 2018). "Clearly you struggle with reading comprehension as I said it wasn't an official trip. Be sure to spin hard though, I enjoy watching your efforts" (Tweet). Retrieved July 26, 2018 – via Twitter.
  215. ^ Hamburger, Tom (September 27, 2019). "NRA may have violated tax laws with 2015 trip to Russia, according to report by Senate Democrats". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  216. ^ Dilanian, Ken (March 16, 2017). "Russians Paid Mike Flynn $45K for Moscow Speech, Documents Show". NBC News. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  217. ^ Crowley, Michael (May–June 2016). "The Kremlin's Candidate: In the 2016 election, Putin's propaganda network is picking sides". Politico.
  218. ^ Windrem, Robert (April 18, 2017). "Guess Who Came to Dinner With Flynn and Putin". NBC News.
  219. ^ Goldman, Adam; Protess, Ben; Rashbaum, William K. (May 4, 2018). "Viktor Vekselberg, Russian Billionaire, Was Questioned by Mueller's Investigators". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  220. ^ "Oversight Committee Releases Documents on Flynn's Trip to Russia". The New York Times. March 16, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  221. ^ Goldman, Adam; Schwirtz, Michael (March 16, 2017). "Michael Flynn Was Paid by Russian-Linked Firms, Letter Shows". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  222. ^ LoBianco, Tom; Raju, Manu (April 25, 2017). "House oversight committee: Flynn might have broken the law". CNN. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  223. ^ McIntire, Mike; Twohey, Megan; Mazzetti, Mark (November 29, 2018). "How a Lawyer, a Felon and a Russian General Chased a Moscow Trump Tower Deal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  224. ^ WikiLeaks [@wikileaks] (May 18, 2017). "As early as December 2015 Hillary Clinton campaign head John Podesta discussed Trump's "bromance with Putin"" (Tweet). Retrieved May 24, 2018 – via Twitter.
  225. ^ Mosk, Matthew; Ross, Brian (December 10, 2015). "Memory Lapse? Trump Seeks Distance From 'Advisor' With Past Ties to Mafia". ABC News. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  226. ^ Hong, Nicole; Ballhaus, Rebecca; Rothfeld, Michael (November 29, 2018). "Cohen Says Trump Remained Involved in Moscow Tower Project During Campaign". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  227. ^ a b Cummings, Elijah E. (May 22, 2017). "Cummings Urges Chaffetz to Subpoena Flynn". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  228. ^ Bertrand, Natasha; Samuelsohn, Darren (December 9, 2019). "Inspector general's report on Russia probe: Key takeaways; Here are the major findings from IG Michael Horowitz's review of the FBI's handling of its investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016". Politico. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  229. ^ a b Dougherty, Jill; Mortensen, Antonia; Smith-Spark, Laura (August 30, 2017). "Trump Jr. to testify in private before Senate Judiciary Committee: report". CNN.
  230. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Leonnig, Carol D.; Hamburger, Tom (August 28, 2017). "Top Trump Organization executive asked Putin aide for help on business deal". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  231. ^ Ward, Alex (November 30, 2018). "Why Michael Cohen's Trump Tower Moscow revelation matters, in under 500 words; A small guide to a really big deal". Vox.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  232. ^ a b Helderman, Rosalind S.; Troianovski, Anton; Hamburger, Tom (December 7, 2017). "Russian social media executive sought to help Trump campaign in 2016, emails show". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  233. ^ a b c d Cormier, Anthony; Leopold, Jason (November 29, 2018). "The Trump Organization Planned To Give Vladimir Putin The $50 Million Penthouse In Trump Tower Moscow". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  234. ^ "Kremlin papers appear to show Putin's plot to put Trump in White House". the Guardian. July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  235. ^ Ryan, Missy; Mufson, Steven (March 22, 2016). "One of Trump's foreign policy advisers is a 2009 college grad who lists Model UN as a credential". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  236. ^ Ignatius, David (January 18, 2017). "Russia's radical new strategy for information warfare". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  237. ^ Thrush, Glenn (April 8, 2017). "To Charm Trump, Paul Manafort Sold Himself as an Affordable Outsider". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  238. ^ Harding, Luke; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (December 22, 2017). "Ex-Trump adviser Carter Page accused academics who twice failed his PhD of bias". The Guardian. Page was a little-known oil consultant who lived and worked in Moscow when he joined Trump's campaign in March 2016.
  239. ^ Sheth, Sonam; Kranz, Michael (February 4, 2018). "Carter Page boasted about his Russia contacts 2 months after the FBI warned him the Kremlin was trying to recruit him as an agent". Business Insider. Page joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 as a foreign policy adviser.
  240. ^ Robertson, Lori (February 7, 2018). "Q&A on the Nunes Memo". FactCheck.org.
  241. ^ Mazzetti, Scott Shane, Mark; Goldman, Adam (April 19, 2017). "Trump Adviser's Visit to Moscow Got the F.B.I.'s Attention". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  242. ^ a b Case 1:17-cr-00182-RDM Document 19; United States of America v. George Papadopoulos (October 5, 2017), Text.
  243. ^ Hamburger, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S. (March 25, 2017). "'Anyone ... with a pulse': How a Russia-friendly adviser found his way into the Trump campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  244. ^ a b c d e Bump, Philip (October 30, 2017). "Timeline: How a Trump adviser tried to work with the Russian government". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  245. ^ Meyer, Josh. "Papadopoulos claimed Trump phone call and larger campaign role". Politico. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  246. ^ a b "Russian Influence: Inside a Trump donor's Russia connections". MSNBC. On Assignment with Richard Engel. September 30, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  247. ^ a b c d e f g LaFraniere, Sharon; Mazzetti, Mark; Apuzzo, Matt (December 30, 2017). "How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talk of Political Dirt". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  248. ^ Melby, Caleb; Kocieniewski, David; Smith, Gerry; Pettypiece, Shannon (August 14, 2018). "Kushner Foreign Policy Role Grew After Kissinger Lunch". Bloomberg LP. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  249. ^ a b c Shane, Scott; Mazzetti, Mark (September 20, 2018). "The Plot to Subvert an Election". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  250. ^ Blake, Andrew (March 16, 2016). "Hillary Clinton's email archive made searchable by WikiLeaks". The Washington Times. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  251. ^ Post Opinions Staff (March 21, 2016). "A transcript of Donald Trump's meeting with The Washington Post editorial board". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  252. ^ a b Scarborough, Joe (November 2, 2017). "Why is Trump so obsessed with Russia? We're finally going to find out". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  253. ^ Mider, Zachary (March 30, 2016). "Trump's New Russia Adviser Has Deep Ties to Kremlin's Gazprom". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  254. ^ a b c d e f Bump, Philip (July 13, 2018). "Timeline: How Russian agents allegedly hacked the DNC and Clinton's campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  255. ^ Osborn, Andrew (March 24, 2016). "From Russia with love: why the Kremlin backs Trump". Reuters. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  256. ^ a b c d e LaFraniere, Sharon; Kirkpatrick, David D.; Schwirtz, Michael (November 10, 2017). "A London Meeting of an Unlikely Group: How a Trump Adviser Came to Learn of Clinton 'Dirt'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017.
  257. ^ a b c d e f Vogel, Kenneth P.; Stern, David (January 11, 2017). "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire". Politico. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  258. ^ Ho, Catherine (April 7, 2016). "From Ukraine to Trump Tower, Paul Manafort unafraid to take on controversial jobs". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  259. ^ "Donald J. Trump Announces Campaign Convention Manager Paul J. Manafort". DonaldJTrump.com (Press release). March 29, 2016. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  260. ^ "Press Release – Donald J. Trump Announces Campaign Convention Manager Paul J. Manafort". The American Presidency Project. March 29, 2016. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  261. ^ "Excerpts From the New York Times Interview With George Papadopoulos". The New York Times. September 7, 2018. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  262. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Apuzzo, Matt; Shane, Scott (October 2, 2017). "Trump and Sessions Denied Knowing About Russian Contacts. Records Suggest Otherwise". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017.
  263. ^ "Clip of Attorney General Sessions testimony at oversight hearing" (Video). C-SPAN. November 14, 2017.
  264. ^ Oh, Inae (November 14, 2017). "Jeff Sessions Gets Hammered for Repeatedly Telling Congress "I Don't Recall" Russia Contacts". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  265. ^ Tucker, Eric (September 1, 2018). "Papadopoulos: Trump 'nodded' at suggestion of Putin meeting". AP News. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  266. ^ Hamburger, Tom; Dawsey, Josh; Leonnig, Carol D.; Harris, Shane (March 13, 2018). "Roger Stone claimed contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2016, according to two associates". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  267. ^ Parker, Ned; Landay, Jonathan; Strobel, Warren P. (May 18, 2017). "Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sources". Reuters. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  268. ^ Edwards, Jim (April 11, 2016). "Trump has quoted Twitter bots 150 times, according to this analysis of his tweets". Business Insider.
  269. ^ Edwards, Jim (October 1, 2017). "Twitter's Russia investigation should look at Trump's historic interactions with bots". Business Insider.
  270. ^ Entous, Adam; Barrett, Devlin; Helderman, Rosalind S. (October 25, 2017). "Clinton campaign, DNC paid for research that led to Russia dossier". The Washington Post. p. A1. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  271. ^ Kranish, Michael (October 10, 2017). "Clinton lawyer kept Russian dossier project closely held". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  272. ^ Wood, Paul (January 12, 2017). "Trump 'compromising' claims: How and why did we get here?". BBC News. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  273. ^ Samuelsohn, Darren; Choi, Matthew (November 12, 2019). "Stone previewed WikiLeaks bounty to Trump campaign in April 2016; The revelation means the Trump campaign — and Donald Trump himself — were aware of WikiLeaks' plans earlier than previously understood". Politico. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  274. ^ Holliday, Byron Tau and Shelby (November 12, 2019). "Trump Campaign Official Heard of WikiLeaks Emails Earlier Than Known". The Wall Street Journal.
  275. ^ "Roger Stone trial: Former top Trump official details campaign's dealings on WikiLeaks, and suggests Trump was in the know". The Washington Post.
  276. ^ a b Gray, Rosie (July 19, 2017). "Russian Anti-Sanctions Campaign Turned to California Congressman". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  277. ^ a b "Report of Expenditures for Official Foreign Travel, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Expended between Apr. 1 and June 30, 2016" (PDF). Congressional Record: H5331. September 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  278. ^ a b Hines, Nico (July 19, 2017). "GOP Lawmaker Got Direction From Moscow, Took It Back to D.C." The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  279. ^ Hermitage Capital Management (July 21, 2017). "Notice of Apparent Violations of Magnitsky Act Sanctions by U.S. Persons Providing Services to SDN Viktor Grin" (PDF). Russian Untouchables. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  280. ^ Schreckinger, Ben (July 20, 2017). "The Hill Staffer at the Center of the Russia Intrigue". Politico. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  281. ^ Kramer, Andrew E.; LaFraniere, Sharon (October 27, 2017). "Talking Points Brought to Trump Tower Meeting Were Shared With Kremlin". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  282. ^ a b c Ackerman, Spencer; Resnick, Gideon; Collins, Ben (March 1, 2018). "Leaked: Secret Documents From Russia's Election Trolls". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  283. ^ Levin, Sam (September 30, 2017). "Did Russia fake black activism on Facebook to sow division in the US?". The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  284. ^ Hines, Nico (October 4, 2019). "Email Leak Exposes Trump Tower Russian's Dirty Lobbying Operations". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  285. ^ Broderick, Ryan (April 18, 2019). "Here's Everything The Mueller Report Says About How Russian Trolls Used Social Media". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  286. ^ Woodruff, Betsy (September 16, 2018). "D.C. Wise Man Had Early Access to Trump's Pro-Russia Speech". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  287. ^ Isikoff, Michael (April 26, 2016). "Trump's campaign chief is questioned about ties to Russian billionaire". Yahoo News. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  288. ^ Kelly, Meg (November 13, 2017). "All the known times the Trump campaign met with Russians". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  289. ^ a b Becker, Jo; Goldman, Adam; Apuzzo, Matt (July 11, 2017). "Russian Dirt on Clinton? 'I Love It,' Donald Trump Jr. Said". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  290. ^ a b Nakashima, Ellen (May 18, 2016). "National intelligence director: Hackers have targeted 2016 presidential campaigns". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  291. ^ McGowan, Mary Frances (November 1, 2017). "The Russia Timeline So Far..." NBCNews.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  292. ^ Bump, Philip (November 20, 2017). "Where the Trump campaign and Russian actors overlapped". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  293. ^ Nakashima, Ellen; Miller, Greg (July 21, 2017). "Sessions discussed Trump campaign-related matters with Russian ambassador, U.S. intelligence intercepts show". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  294. ^ Kushner, Jared (July 24, 2017). "Read Jared Kushner's Prepared Remarks". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  295. ^ "Transcript: Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Speech". The New York Times. Federal News Service. April 27, 2016. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  296. ^ Knight, Amy; Dickey, Christopher (April 6, 2018). "Why Mueller Named a Russian Oligarch in Court". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  297. ^ Woodruff, Betsy (July 31, 2018). "Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina Told American CEO: Send Cash to Moscow". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  298. ^ Kirillova, Kseniya (October 5, 2018). "Dimitri Simes in Russia: "Teledefense" of Trump and Moscow's "cadres"". EUToday.net. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  299. ^ Miranda, Luis; Chalupa, Ali (May 4, 2016). "FW: You saw this, right?". WikiLeaks.
  300. ^ Strauss, Daniel (June 14, 2016). "Russian government hackers broke into DNC servers, stole Trump oppo". Politico.
  301. ^ a b Harris, Shane; Youssef, Nancy A. (July 25, 2017). "FBI Suspects Russia Hacked DNC; U.S. Officials Say It Was to Elect Donald Trump". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  302. ^ Palermo, Rachel (April 29, 2016). "Factivists was hacked. Here is our new password". WikiLeaks. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  303. ^ Alperovitch, Dmitri (June 15, 2016). "Bears in the Midst: Intrusion into the Democratic National Committee". CrowdStrike. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  304. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (December 3, 2017). "Operative Offered Trump Campaign 'Kremlin Connection' Using N.R.A. Ties". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  305. ^ Shelbourne, Mallory (December 3, 2017). "NRA member offered 'Kremlin connection' to Trump aide: report". The Hill.
  306. ^ Apuzzo, Matt; Rosenberg, Matthew; Goldman, Adam; LaFraniere, Sharon; Shane, Scott; Delaquérière, Alain (November 17, 2017). "Top Russian Official Tried to Broker 'Backdoor' Meeting Between Trump and Putin". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  307. ^ a b Stone, Peter; Gordon, Greg (January 18, 2018). "FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump". McClatchy DC. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  308. ^ Raju, Manu; Cohen, Marshall (August 23, 2017). "Top Trump aide's email draws new scrutiny in Russia inquiry". CNN.
  309. ^ a b Witte, Griff (December 10, 2017). "The rise and striking fall of Trump adviser George Papadopoulos". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  310. ^ a b c Roig-Franzia, Manuel; Helderman, Rosalind S.; Crites, Alice; Barrett, Devlin; Abbakumova, Natasha (June 17, 2018). "Trump associate Roger Stone reveals new contact with Russian national during 2016 campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  311. ^ Swaine, Jon; Stedman, Scott (October 18, 2018). "Revealed: Russian billionaire set up US company before Trump Tower meeting". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  312. ^ Poulsen, Kevin (May 15, 2018). "Russian Troll Farm Hijacked American Teen Girls' Computers for Likes". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  313. ^ Brown, Pamela; Pagliery, Jose (March 10, 2017). "Sources: FBI investigation continues into 'odd' computer link between Russian bank and Trump Organization". CNN. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  314. ^ a b Filkins, Dexter (October 15, 2018). "Was There a Connection Between a Russian Bank and the Trump Campaign?". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  315. ^ "Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation" (PDF). Office of the Inspector General U.S. Department of Justice. p. 119. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  316. ^ Lichtblau, Eric; Myers, Steven Lee (October 31, 2016). "Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  317. ^ a b Savage, Charlie; Goldman, Adam (September 30, 2021). "Trump Server Mystery Produces Fresh Conflict". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021.
  318. ^ "Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation" (PDF). Office of the Inspector General U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  319. ^ Diamond, Jeremy (May 4, 2016). "First on CNN: Kasich 'doing the right thing' by dropping out, Trump says". CNN. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  320. ^ Johnson, Jenna (May 19, 2018). "Veteran strategist Paul Manafort becomes Trump's campaign chairman". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  321. ^ Corn, David (May 19, 2016). "Trump's Political Advisers Wanted to Vet Him. He Said No". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  322. ^ Rubin, Jennifer (January 19, 2018). "Russians under every rock". The Washington Post.
  323. ^ Beckett, Lois (January 18, 2018). "FBI investigates whether Russia banker used NRA to fund Trump campaign – report". The Guardian.
  324. ^ Goldberg, Michelle (January 19, 2018). "Is This the Collusion We Were Waiting For?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018.
  325. ^ Jackman, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S. (July 16, 2018). "Maria Butina, Russian gun rights advocate, charged in U.S. with acting as Russian Federation agent". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  326. ^ Malisow, Craig (May 11, 2016). "Hate Group Planning Islamic Library Protest Totally Doesn't Think They're a Hate Group". Houston Press. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  327. ^ Timberg, Craig; Dwoskin, Elizabeth (January 25, 2018). "Russians got tens of thousands of Americans to RSVP for their phony political events on Facebook". The Washington Post.
  328. ^ Johnston, David Cay (May 22, 2016). "Just What Were Donald Trump's Ties to the Mob?". Politico. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  329. ^ Hlavacek, Joanna (November 1, 2017). "Facebook ad promoting 2016 Lawrence protest among those paid for by Russian trolls". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  330. ^ Chrysopoulos, Philip (May 27, 2016). "Schedule of Vladimir Putin's Visit to Greece". Greek Reporter. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  331. ^ "Netyksho Et Al Indictment". United States District Court for the District of Columbia – via DocumentCloud.
  332. ^ Kopan, Tal (September 28, 2016). "FBI director: Hackers 'poking around' voter systems". CNN.
  333. ^ Blum, Howard (March 30, 2017). "How Ex-Spy Christopher Steele Compiled His Explosive Trump–Russia Dossier". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  334. ^ Leopold, Jason; Cormier, Anthony; Loop, Emma (April 13, 2018). "A Former Russian Spy Worked On A Trump Moscow Deal During The Presidential Campaign". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  335. ^ Mufson, Steven; Hamburger, Tom (August 5, 2016). "Trump adviser's public comments, ties to Moscow stir unease in both parties". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  336. ^ Woodruff, Betsy (November 20, 2017). "Roman Beniaminov, a Low-Profile Real Estate Exec Turned Pop Star Manager, Knew About Russia's 'Dirt' on Hillary". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  337. ^ a b "USA v Papadopoulos – Statement of the Offense" (PDF). United States District Court for the District of Columbia – via The New York Times Company.
  338. ^ a b Helderman, Rosalind S. (November 2, 2017). "Who's who in the George Papadopoulos court documents". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  339. ^ a b Cormier, Anthony; Leopold, Jason (September 21, 2018). "The Planners Of The Trump Tower Meeting Moved Millions, And Mueller Is Now Investigating". BuzzFeed. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  340. ^ "Read the Emails on Donald Trump Jr.'s Russia Meeting". The New York Times. July 11, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  341. ^ a b Herb, Jeremy (May 18, 2018). "Trump Jr. called a blocked number before and after the Trump Tower meeting. Whom did he call?". CNN. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  342. ^ Brown, Pamela; Raju, Manu; Herb, Jeremy (January 31, 2019). "Trump Jr.'s mysterious calls weren't with his father". CNN.
  343. ^ Kamisar, Ben (June 7, 2016). "Trump to give anti-Clinton speech". The Hill. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  344. ^ Bump, Philip (July 10, 2018). "Donald Trump Jr. said he didn't recall talking to Emin Agalarov. Agalarov remembers it". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  345. ^ Shane, Scott (September 7, 2017). "The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  346. ^ Apuzzo, Jo Becker, Matt; Goldman, Adam (July 9, 2017). "Trump's Son Met With Russian Lawyer After Being Promised Damaging Information on Clinton". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  347. ^ Butler, Desmond (July 14, 2017). "Russian-American lobbyist says he was in Trump son's meeting". Associated Press. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  348. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (July 18, 2017). "Eighth person in Trump Tower meeting is identified". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  349. ^ "Translator in Trump Jr. meeting identified as ex-State Dept. contractor". CBS News. July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  350. ^ a b Senate Judiciary Democrats (May 16, 2018). "Preliminary Findings About Trump Campaign's Effort to Obtain Incriminating Information on Secretary Clinton from Russia at Trump Tower Meeting" (PDF). United States Senate. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  351. ^ Becker, Jo; Apuzzo, Matt (July 8, 2017). "Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017.
  352. ^ "Donald Trump Jr. Asked Russian Lawyer for Info on Clinton Foundation". NBC San Diego. December 5, 2017.
  353. ^ a b Cormier, Anthony; Leopold, Jason (September 12, 2018). "A Series Of Suspicious Money Transfers Followed The Trump Tower Meeting: Investigators are focused on two bursts of banking activity — one shortly after the June 2016 meeting, the other immediately after the presidential election". BuzzFeedNews.com. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  354. ^ a b Nakashima, Ellen (June 14, 2016). "Russian government hackers penetrated DNC, stole opposition research on Trump". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  355. ^ a b Satter, Raphael (November 4, 2017). "Inside story: How Russians hacked the Democrats' emails". AP News. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  356. ^ "Assange on Peston on Sunday: 'More Clinton leaks to come'" (Video). Peston on Sunday. ITV. June 12, 2016. Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2018 – via YouTube. Alt URL
  357. ^ Ward, Alex (November 29, 2018). "Trump Tower Moscow, and Michael Cohen's lies about it, explained; Everything you need to know about Trump's efforts to do business in Russia". Vox Media. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  358. ^ Poulsen, Kevin (April 18, 2019). "Mueller Report: Assange Smeared Seth Rich to Cover for Russians". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  359. ^ a b Collier, Kevin (October 3, 2018). "This Ohio Woman's Run-In With The FBI Gives Us A Window Into Robert Mueller's Trump–Russia Probe". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  360. ^ Uchill, Joe (August 1, 2016). "DCCC hackers' email appears connected to Russian intel". The Hill. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  361. ^ Bastone, William (December 13, 2016). "RNC E-Mail Was, In Fact, Hacked By Russians". The Smoking Gun. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  362. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (June 15, 2016). "'Guccifer 2.0' claims credit for DNC hack". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  363. ^ Biddle, Sam; Bluestone, Gabrielle (June 15, 2016). "This Looks Like the DNC's Hacked Trump Oppo File". Gawker. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  364. ^ Entous, Adam (May 17, 2017). "House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: 'I think Putin pays' Trump". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  365. ^ "Read the transcript of the conversation among GOP leaders obtained by The Post". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  366. ^ ThreatConnect Research Team (June 17, 2016). "Rebooting Watergate: Tapping into the Democratic National Committee". ThreatConnect. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  367. ^ Samuelsohn, Darren; Choi, Matthew (November 12, 2019). "Stone previewed WikiLeaks bounty to Trump campaign in April 2016". Politico. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  368. ^ Cohen, Marshall; Guerrero, Kay; Torres, Arturo (July 15, 2019). "Exclusive: Security reports reveal how Assange turned an embassy into a command post for election meddling". CNN. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  369. ^ Colvin, Jill; Peoples, Steve (June 20, 2016). "Trump fires his campaign manager in dramatic shake-up". Associated Press. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  370. ^ "Timeline of Paul Manafort's role in the Trump campaign". ABC News. October 30, 2017.
  371. ^ Bensinger, Ken; Elder, Miriam; Schoofs, Mark (January 10, 2017). "These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  372. ^ a b c ODNI (January 6, 2017). Background to 'Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections': The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution (PDF) (Report). Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  373. ^ Levine, Mike (January 12, 2018). "FBI vets: What many are missing about the infamous 'dossier' amid Russia probe". ABC News. Retrieved February 26, 2018. some of the dossier's broad implications — particularly that Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an operation to boost Trump and sow discord within the U.S. and abroad — now ring true and were embedded in the memo Steele shared with the FBI before the agency decided to open an investigation.
  374. ^ Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry (January 26, 2019). "Mueller Report Shows Depth of Connections Between Trump Campaign and Russians". The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  375. ^ Leonnig, Carol D.; Helderman, Rosalind S. (May 17, 2019). "Judge orders public release of what Michael Flynn said in call to Russian ambassador". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  376. ^ Rosenberg, Matthew (March 14, 2019). "Tech Firm in Steele Dossier May Have Been Used by Russian Spies". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  377. ^ Sciutto, Jim; Perez, Evan (February 10, 2017). "US investigators corroborate some aspects of the Russia dossier". CNN. Retrieved February 10, 2017. The dossier details about a dozen conversations between senior Russian officials and other Russian individuals.... the intercepts do confirm that some of the conversations described in the dossier took place between the same individuals on the same days and from the same locations as detailed in the dossier.
  378. ^ Roig-Franzia, Manuel; Helderman, Rosalind S.; Booth, William; Hamburger, Tom; Timberg, Craig; Crites, Alice; Dawsey, Josh; Tate, Julie; Adam, Karla (June 28, 2018). "How the 'Bad Boys of Brexit' forged ties with Russia and the Trump campaign – and came under investigators' scrutiny". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  379. ^ Sweet, Lynn (June 7, 2017). "Illinois' chapter in the Russian hacking saga". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  380. ^ Sweet, Lynn (April 18, 2019). "Mueller report confirms Russians 'compromised' Illinois State Board of Elections". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  381. ^ Geraghty, Jim (October 31, 2017). "What Russia Really Wants: A Divided, Paralyzed America". National Review. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  382. ^ Isaac, Mike; Shane, Scott (October 2, 2017). "Facebook's Russia-Linked Ads Came in Many Disguises". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  383. ^ Borger, Julian (January 11, 2017). "John McCain passes dossier alleging secret Trump-Russia contacts to FBI". The Guardian. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  384. ^ McLaughlin, Jenna; Sciutto, Jim; Bernstein, Carl (April 7, 2018). "Exclusive: Trump adviser played key role in pursuit of possible Clinton emails from dark web before election". CNN. Retrieved November 21, 2019.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russian interference in 2016 United States elections.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections
1 |
↧ Download as ZWI file
Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF