Having trouble keeping up with the drip-drip of revelations about ex-president Donald Trump and his cozy ties with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin? Stay up to date with my definitive "Comrade Trump" timeline, compiling the latest Trump-Putin bromance news. I don't necessarily endorse the articles linked below.
Click here to see my Trump impeachment timeline; here for my earlier Trump-Putin bromance timeline for June 2018-Jan. 2019; here to see my timeline for Oct. 2017-May 2018; here to see my Aug.-Sept. 2017 timeline; and here to see my June 2015-July 2017 timeline.
Exclusive: Paul Manafort admits he passed Trump campaign data to a suspected Russian asset
(Business Insider) August 8, 2022, by Mattathias Schwartz—In an interview with Insider, Paul Manafort, who served as Donald Trump's campaign chairman, made his first public admission that in 2016 he shared polling data from the Trump campaign with Konstantin Kilimnik, a longtime business associate with suspected ties to Russian intelligence.... Read the full article here.
Trump sides with Putin as Biden tries to stop a war
(CNN) February 23, 2022, Analysis by Stephen Collinson—It took only 24 hours for Donald Trump to hail Russian President Vladimir Putin's dismembering of independent, democratic, sovereign Ukraine as an act of "genius."... Read the full article here.
Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House
Exclusive: Documents suggest Russia launched secret multi-agency effort to interfere in US democracy
(The Guardian) July 15, 2021, by Luke Harding, Julian Borger and Dan Sabbagh—Vladimir Putin personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a “mentally unstable” Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election during a closed session of Russia’s national security council, according to what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents.
The key meeting took place on 22 January 2016, the papers suggest, with the Russian president, his spy chiefs and senior ministers all present.... Read the full article here.
The New Russia Sanctions Resolve a Mystery That Mueller Left Unanswered
(Lawfare Blog) April 17, 2021—On April 15, the Treasury Department answered one of the biggest questions left unresolved by the Mueller investigation—and left unanswered as well by the 2020 Senate Select Intelligence Committee report about 2016 election interference.... Read the full article here.
Russian Interference in 2020 Included Influencing Trump Associates, Report Says
The assessment was the intelligence community’s most comprehensive look at foreign efforts to interfere in the election.
(The New York Times) March 16, 2021, by Julian E. Barnes—President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia authorized extensive efforts to hurt the candidacy of Joseph R. Biden Jr. during the election last year, including by mounting covert operations to influence people close to President Donald J. Trump, according to a declassified intelligence report released on Tuesday.... Read the full article here and read the intelligence report here.
‘The perfect target’: Russia cultivated Trump as asset for 40 years – ex-KGB spy
The KGB ‘played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality’, Yuri Shvets, a key source for a new book, tells the Guardian
(The Guardian) January 29, 2021, by David Smith—Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years and proved so willing to parrot anti-western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow, a former KGB spy has told the Guardian.... Read the full article here and a Washington Post review of the book here by John Sipher, who worked for the CIA's clandestine service for 28 years.
Rudy Giuliani Helps Kremlin-Backed RT News Network Spread Lies on Election Day
(The Daily Beast) November 3, 2020, by Jamie Ross—The Kremlin-backed news network RT kicked off its Election Day coverage with an interview with Rudy Giuliani, who gleefully helped spread misinformation about the vote.... Read the full article here.
Rudy: Only ‘50/50’ Chance I Worked With a ‘Russian Spy’ to Dig Dirt on Bidens and Ukraine
In a wild interview, Giuliani defended his years-long mission to torpedo the Bidens by exposing their alleged misdeeds in Ukraine. And he doesn’t care who supplied the ammunition.
(The Daily Beast) October 17, 2020, by Asawin Suebsaeng and Erin Banco—Rudy Giuliani thinks it’s hilarious.
He says the questions mounting around him—including those about whether his efforts to dump Hunter Biden’s documents and photos are part of some foreign election-interference operation—are “a bunch of bullshit.” He’s unconcerned about intelligence assessments that one of his former associates was a Russian agent, a proposition that he gave more or less even odds. In fact, Giuliani said, he has been “laughing my head off” about the whole affair.... Read the full article here.
White House was warned Giuliani was target of Russian intelligence operation to feed misinformation to Trump
(The Washington Post) October 15, 2020, by Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller, Josh Dawsey and Shane Harris—U.S. intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was the target of an influence operation by Russian intelligence, according to four former officials familiar with the matter.... Read the full article here.
CIA clamps down on flow of Russia intelligence to White House
Critics of the shift in approach say it seems designed to appease the president.
(Politico) September 23, 2020, by Natasha Bertrand and Daniel Lippman—The CIA has made it harder for intelligence about Russia to reach the White House, stoking fears among current and former officials that information is being suppressed to please a president known to erupt in anger whenever he is confronted with bad news about Moscow.... Read the full article here.
U.S. sanctions Ukrainian lawmaker and Rudy Giuliani ally for involvement in 2020 election meddling
- The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on three Kremlin-linked individuals and a Ukrainian lawmaker Thursday for attempting to meddle in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
- Treasury described Andrii Derkach, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, as an “active Russian agent for over a decade” with close connections to Russian intelligence services.
- Derkach has previously worked with Rudy Giuliani to dig up damaging information on President Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
(CNBC) September 10, 2020, by Amanda Macias—The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on three Kremlin-linked individuals and a Ukrainian lawmaker Thursday for attempting to meddle in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.... Read the full article here.
Trump officials altered intel to downplay threats from Russia, White supremacists, DHS whistleblower says
- A former top official at the Department of Homeland Security accused department leadership of ordering him to stop sharing intelligence assessments that “made the President look bad.”
- Brian Murphy says he was told to stop reporting on the threat of Russian interference in the U.S. election, and instead start reporting on interference activities by China and Iran.
- Murphy also says CIS director Ken Cuccinelli told him to modify an assessment on White supremacy in order make “the threat appear less severe, as well as include information on the prominence of violent ‘left-wing’ groups.”
(CNBC) September 9, 2020, by Christina Wilkie and Kevin Breuninger—A former acting undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security accused top officials there of ordering him to stop sharing intelligence assessments on Russia’s efforts to interfere in the U.S. election because they “made the President look bad.”... Read the full article here.
Justice Department hands over latest batch of Mueller investigation interviews to CNN
(CNN) September 1, 2020, by Katelyn Polantz—CNN received on Tuesday night what appears to be the last several hundred pages of witness interview records that the Justice Department is releasing from the Mueller investigation, part of what's become an illuminating monthly disclosure of what witnesses told investigators about Russian election interference and the 2016 campaign.... Read the full article here.
Revealed: Jared Kushner’s Private Channel With Putin’s Money Man
More than a dozen Trump administration officials, current and former, described a clandestine relationship between Jared Kushner and the CEO of a Kremlin sovereign wealth fund.
(The Daily Beast) August 24, 2020, by Erin Banco—On a late afternoon in March, a large military aircraft bearing the Russian Federation insignia descended into John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Its mission: to deliver personal protective equipment and ventilators to nearby hospitals scrambling to treat patients during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.... Read the full article here.
Senate report describes closer ties between 2016 Trump campaign, Russia
(TheHill.com) August 18, 2020, by Olivia Beavers—A Senate Intelligence Committee report released Tuesday detailed significant ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, particularly with former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.... Read the full article here, a Washington Post article on the report here, New York Times stories on it here and here, and an article from The Hill here on the finding that Manafort shared information with a Russian intelligence officer. See the Lawfare Blog's summary of the report here and the full report here.
Senate panel told Justice Dept. of suspicions over Trump family members’ Russia testimony
(The Washington Post) August 15, 2020, by Karoun Demirjian, Ellen Nakashima and Matt Zapotosky—The Republican and Democratic chairmen of the Senate Intelligence Committee notified federal prosecutors last year of their suspicion that several individuals, including President Trump’s family members and confidants, might have presented misleading testimony in the panel’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, people familiar with the matter said.... Read the full article here.
Unwanted Truths: Inside Trump’s Battles With U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Last year, intelligence officials gathered to write a classified report on Russia’s interest in the 2020 election. An investigation from the magazine uncovered what happened next.
(The New York Times Magazine) August 8, 2020, by Robert Draper—In early July of last year, the first draft of a classified document known as a National Intelligence Estimate circulated among key members of the agencies making up the U.S. intelligence community. N.I.E.s are intended to be that community’s most authoritative class of top-secret document, reflecting its consensus judgment on national-security matters ranging from Iran’s nuclear capabilities to global terrorism. The draft of the July 2019 N.I.E. ran to about 15 pages, with another 10 pages of appendices and source notes.... Read the full article here.
Why the Mueller Investigation Failed
(The New York Times) August 5, 2020, by Katie Benner—Thanks to Robert S. Mueller’s Russia investigation, we know that the Kremlin used underhanded tactics to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election, that the Trump campaign tacitly welcomed those efforts and that Trump ultimately attempted to end the Mueller inquiry itself.... Read the full article here.
Trump’s Bank Was Subpoenaed by N.Y. Prosecutors in Criminal Inquiry
The subpoena, sent to Deutsche Bank, suggests that the inquiry into President Trump’s business practices is more wide-ranging than previously known.
(The New York Times) August 5, 2020, by David Enrich, Ben Protess, William K. Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser—The New York prosecutors who are seeking President Trump’s tax records have also subpoenaed his longtime lender, a sign that their criminal investigation into Mr. Trump’s business practices is more wide-ranging than previously known.... Read the full article here.
(The Associated Press) July 13, 2020, by Hillel Italie—A top prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller has a book coming out this fall about the two-year investigation into the alleged ties between Russia and the 2016 campaign of President Donald Trump.... Read the full article here.
Robert Mueller: Roger Stone remains a convicted felon, and rightly so
(The Washington Post) July 11, 2020, by Robert S. Mueller III, Opinion—Robert S. Mueller III served as special counsel for the Justice Department from 2017 to 2019.
The work of the special counsel’s office — its report, indictments, guilty pleas and convictions — should speak for itself. But I feel compelled to respond both to broad claims that our investigation was illegitimate and our motives were improper, and to specific claims that Roger Stone was a victim of our office. The Russia investigation was of paramount importance. Stone was prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes. He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so.... Read the full article here and a Lawfare Blog background piece here on the commutation.
Trump commutes Roger Stone's sentence
(CNN) July 11, 2020, by Shimon Prokupecz, Sara Murray, Kaitlan Collins and Katelyn Polantz—President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of his longtime friend Roger Stone, who was convicted of crimes that included lying to Congress in part, prosecutors said, to protect the President. The announcement came just days before Stone was set to report to a federal prison in Georgia.... Read the full article here.
AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019
(The Associated Press) June 30, 2020, by James LaPorta—Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.... Read the full article here and another article here on the White House decision not to retaliate against Russia.
From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump's phone calls alarm US officials
(CNN) June 30, 2020, by Carl Bernstein—In hundreds of highly classified phone calls with foreign heads of state, President Donald Trump was so consistently unprepared for discussion of serious issues, so often outplayed in his conversations with powerful leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and so abusive to leaders of America's principal allies, that the calls helped convince some senior US officials -- including his former secretaries of state and defense, two national security advisers and his longest-serving chief of staff -- that the President himself posed a danger to the national security of the United States, according to White House and intelligence officials intimately familiar with the contents of the conversations.... Read the full article here.
Spies and Commandos Warned Months Ago of Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops
(The New York Times) June 28, 2020, by Eric Schmitt, Adam Goldman and Nicholas Fandos—United States intelligence officers and Special Operations forces in Afghanistan alerted their superiors as early as January to a suspected Russian plot to pay bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan, according to officials briefed on the matter.... Read the full article here, a Washington Post story here on reports that the bounties led to U.S. troop deaths and a second Post story here on President Trump's dismissal of reports about the bounties.
New Mueller Report Details: Roger Stone Told Trump In Advance WikiLeaks Would Release Clinton Campaign Emails
Newly unredacted portions of the Mueller report show that Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and Michael Cohen told investigators Stone had promised the campaign damaging revelations by WikiLeaks. The information was released following a lawsuit by BuzzFeed News.
(BuzzFeed News) June 19, 2020, by Jason Leopold, Anthony Cormier and Ken Bensinger—Donald Trump was told in advance that WikiLeaks would be releasing documents embarrassing to the Clinton campaign and subsequently informed advisers that he expected more releases would be coming, according to newly unredacted portions of special counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.... Read the full article here.
Flynn urged Russian ambassador to take 'reciprocal' actions, transcripts show
Flynn’s conversations with the ambassador were a key concern to FBI investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 election.
(Politico) May 25, 2020, by Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney—Incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn told Russia’s ambassador to Washington in late 2016 to take “reciprocal” actions in response to Obama administration sanctions for election interference, rather than escalating the situation into a “tit for tat.”... Read the full article here and the entire Flynn-Kislyak transcript here.
I left the Justice Department after it made a disastrous mistake. It just happened again.
(The Washington Post) May 11, 2020, by Jonathan Kravis—Jonathan Kravis was a federal prosecutor for 10 years.
Three months ago, I resigned from the Justice Department after 10 years as a career prosecutor. I left a job I loved because I believed the department had abandoned its responsibility to do justice in one of my cases, United States v. Roger Stone. At the time, I thought that the handling of the Stone case, with senior officials intervening to recommend a lower sentence for a longtime ally of President Trump, was a disastrous mistake that the department would not make again.... Read the full article here. Also read statements from two justice department attorneys claiming political interference in prosecutorial decisions.
Justice Department drops criminal case against former Trump aide Michael Flynn
- The Justice Department is dropping its prosecution of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, according to a court filing Thursday.
- The move comes more than two years after Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his discussions with Russia’s ambassador to the United States in the weeks before President Donald Trump took office.
- In court documents that are expected to be filed Thursday, the Justice Department said it is abandoning the prosecution of the retired Army general after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information,” the AP reported.
Democrats should get Mueller evidence, judges rule
It's a notable win for House Democrats seeking to obtain more information from the Russia probe.
(Politico) March 10, 2020, by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney—House Democrats scored a significant legal victory Tuesday as a federal appeals court panel granted them permission to access grand jury secrets from Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.... Read the full article here.
Federal judge blasts William Barr for Mueller report rollout, asks if it was meant to help Trump
(CNN) March 6, 2020, by Katelyn Polantz—A federal judge criticized Attorney General William Barr on Thursday for his handling of the Mueller report when it was released last spring, saying Barr's early description of the report didn't match the special counsel's actual conclusions.... Read the full article here.
Lawmakers Are Warned That Russia Is Meddling to Re-elect Trump
A classified briefing to House members is said to have angered the president, who complained that Democrats would “weaponize” the disclosure.
(The New York Times) February 20, 2020, by Adam Goldman, Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos—Intelligence officials warned House lawmakers last week that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to try to get President Trump re-elected, five people familiar with the matter said, a disclosure to Congress that angered Mr. Trump, who complained that Democrats would use it against him.... Read the full article here.
Trump Offered Assange Pardon if He Covered Up Russian Hack, WikiLeaks Founder’s Lawyer Claims
Lawyers acting for the WikiLeaks founder said Dana Rohrabacher, a former Republican congressman, had brought the message to London from Trump.
(The Daily Beast) February 19, 2020, by Nico Hines—A lawyer for for Julian Assange has claimed in court that President Donald Trump offered to pardon Assange if the WikiLeaks founder agreed to help cover up Russia’s involvement in hacking emails from the Democratic National Committee.... Read the full article here, and read an Atlantic story here on the pro-Russia stance of Rohrabacher and a top aide.
Roger Stone sentenced to three years and four months in prison, as Trump predicts ‘exoneration’ for his friend
(The Washington Post) February 20, 2020, by Rachel Weiner, Matt Zapotosky, Tom Jackman and Devlin Barrett—A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Roger Stone, President Trump’s longtime friend and political adviser, to serve three years and four months in prison for impeding a congressional investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.... Read the full article here.
William Barr Moves to Take the Reins of Politically Charged Cases
Amid mounting furor over politicization at the Justice Department, the attorney general ordered reviews of such investigations and prosecutions.
(The New York Times) February 14, 2020, by Charlie Savage and Adam Goldman—While Attorney General William P. Barr asserted his independence from the White House this week, he has also been quietly intervening in a series of politically charged cases, including against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.... Read the full article here and a CNBC story here on a letter signed by over 1,000 justice department alumni calling for Barr's resignation.
Prosecutors quit amid escalating Justice Dept. fight over Roger Stone’s prison term
(The Washington Post) February 11, 2020, by Matt Zapotosky, Devlin Barrett, Ann E. Marimow and Spencer S. Hsu—All four career prosecutors handling the case against Roger Stone withdrew from the legal proceedings Tuesday — and one quit his job entirely — after the Justice Department signaled it planned to undercut their sentencing recommendation for President Trump’s longtime friend and confidant.... Read the full article here, another Washington Post story here on the suggestion that Attorney General William Barr directly intervened in the Stone case and a CNBC story here in which Barr acknowledges his intervention.
The Money Behind Trump’s Money
The inside story of the president and Deutsche Bank, his lender of last resort.
(The New York Times Magazine) February 4, 2020, by David Enrich—One Day in early 2017, Mike Offit went to the Yale Club in Manhattan for a lunch hosted by a group called Business Executives for National Security. Offit, who has a craggy face and shoulder-length hair, had spent much of his career in banking, but that had ended nearly two decades earlier. Since then, he had puttered around the outskirts of finance, dabbled in journalism and even published a novel about a pair of murders at a fictional German-owned Wall Street bank that bore a striking resemblance to the one that he worked for until 1998: Deutsche Bank.... Read the full article here.
How a Putin ally is aiding Giuliani in Ukraine
(The Washington Post) December 22, 2019, by Editorial Board—For more than 15 years, Dmytro Firtash has been a central player in Vladimir Putin’s campaign to gain control over Ukraine’s political system and economy.... Read the full article here.
Trump administration demanded Democrats strip Ukraine aid language from spending package
The language would have required the White House to release Ukraine defense aid quickly.(The Washington Post) December 20, 2019, by
Erica Werner—Senior Trump administration officials in recent days threatened a presidential veto that could have led to a government shutdown if House Democrats refused to drop language requiring prompt release of future military aid for Ukraine, according to five administration and congressional officials.... Read the full article here.
Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced the president’s views on Ukraine and 2016 campaign
(The Washington Post) December 19, 2019, by
Shane Harris, Josh Dawsey and Carol D. Leonnig—Almost from the moment he took office, President Trump seized on a theory that troubled his senior aides: Ukraine, he told them on many occasions, had tried to stop him from winning the White House.... Read the full article here.
Rick Gates Sentenced to Three Years of Probation, 45 Days in Jail
The lobbyist and former Manafort partner pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI and conspiring to hide millions he earned from work he did for Ukraine.
(The Daily Beast) December 17, 2019, by Jamie Ross and Adam Rawnsley—Rick Gates—the former right-hand man of Paul Manafort and key witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe—was sentenced to three years of probation, 45 days in jail, and 300 hours of community service on Tuesday morning in federal court in Washington.... Read the full article here.
Ukrainians: Trump Just Sent Us ‘a Terrible Signal’
Kyiv officials were hoping for a statement of support from Trump in advance of Ukraine’s big summit with Russia. Instead, the president hosted Putin’s main man.
(The Daily Beast) December 11, 2019, by Betsy Swan—Ukrainian officials spent last weekend glued to Trump’s Twitter feed.
People working closely with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been in contact with Trump administration officials over the past several weeks discussing the relationship between the two presidents, according to four people with knowledge of the talks.... Read the full article here.
Inspector general report says FBI had ‘authorized purpose’ to investigate Trump campaign’s Russia ties but finds some wrongdoing
(The Washington Post) December 9, 2019, by
Karoun Demirjian, Matt Zapotosky, Ellen Nakashima and Devlin Barrett—A long-awaited Justice Department inspector general’s report examining the FBI’s investigation into possible coordination between President Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia rebuts some of conservatives’ most sensational allegations about the case — including that top FBI officials were motivated by political bias and illegally spied on Trump advisers — but finds serious faults in other areas.... Read the full article here, the complete report here, the inspector general's statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee here, a Daily Beast analysis of the report here and a take from the site Just Security here.
Barr’s handpicked prosecutor tells inspector general he can’t back right-wing theory that Russia case was U.S. intelligence setup
(The Washington Post) December 4, 2019, by Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett—The prosecutor handpicked by Attorney General William P. Barr to scrutinize how U.S. agencies investigated President Trump’s 2016 campaign said he could not offer evidence to the Justice Department’s inspector general to support the suspicions of some conservatives that the case was a setup by American intelligence, people familiar with the matter said.... Read the full article here.
Don McGahn must testify about time as White House lawyer, judge rules
The decision is expected to put pressure on other reluctant witnesses to testify, but it may not shift the timing of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
(Politico) November 25, 2019, by Darren Samuelsohn, Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio—Don McGahn must testify to Congress about his time as the White House’s top lawyer, a federal judge ruled Monday — a decision that will put pressure on other reluctant Trump administration witnesses to testify about President Donald Trump’s actions.... Read the full article here.
Justice Dept. watchdog finds political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI’s Russia probe but documents errors
(The Washington Post) November 22, 2019, by
Ellen Nakashima, Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett—The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is expected to find in a forthcoming report that political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016, while at the same time criticizing the bureau for systemic failures in its handling of surveillance applications, according to two U.S. officials.... Read the full article here.
Roger Stone found guilty of lying to Congress, witness tampering
The charges against the longtime GOP operative were brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.
(Politico) November 15, 2019, by Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Gerstein—Roger Stone has been found guilty on all charges in a case accusing the longtime Donald Trump adviser of seeking to thwart a House investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.... Read the full article here.
What Roger Stone's trial revealed about Donald Trump and WikiLeaks
Trump and his aides apparently knew more about WikiLeaks’ plans than they have let on, raising questions about the president's claims to Robert Mueller.
(Politico) November 12, 2019, by Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Gerstein—The Roger Stone trial is no longer just about Roger Stone.
Despite the profane Stone texts and caustic friendships that have dominated chatter about the case, the Republican provocateur’s court battle will likely be remembered for something far different: It revealed that Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign aides knew more about WikiLeaks’ plans than they have let on, and the president may have later misled Robert Mueller about it.... Read the full article here.
The Mueller Report’s Secret Memos
BuzzFeed News sued the US government to see all the work that Mueller’s team kept secret. We have published the first installment, with revelations about the Ukraine conspiracy theory, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, and more.
(BuzzFeed News) November 2, 2019, by Jason Leopold, Zoe Tillman, Ellie Hall, Emma Loop and Anthony Cormier—Paul Manafort was pushing the unfounded conspiracy theory — now part of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump — that Ukraine hacked the Democratic National Committee's emails as early as 2016.... Read the full article here and the released documents here.
C.I.A. Informant Extracted From Russia Had Sent Secrets to U.S. for Decades
(The New York Times) September 9, 2019, by Julian E. Barnes, Adam Goldman and David E. Sanger—Decades ago, the C.I.A. recruited and carefully cultivated a midlevel Russian official who began rapidly advancing through the governmental ranks. Eventually, American spies struck gold: The longtime source landed an influential position that came with access to the highest level of the Kremlin.... Read the full article here.
Revealed: Felix Sater Did Extensive Work for U.S. Intelligence
A newly unsealed letter from federal prosecutors shows the businessman supplied information on the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and American mobsters.
(The Daily Beast) August 23, 2019, by Betsy Woodruff—Before appearing in the Trump-Russia probe, Felix Sater traveled throughout Central Asia gathering intelligence on the Taliban for the U.S. government, according to a decade-old court filing unsealed Friday.... Read the full article here.
Mueller’s Testimony: The Baton Passes to Congress
(Lawfare Blog) July 24, 2019, by Scott R. Anderson, Hadley Baker, Mikhaila Fogel, Susan Hennessey, Quinta Jurecic, Vishnu Kannan, Eugenia Lostri, David Priess, Margaret Taylor and Benjamin Wittes—There was something very sad about the atmospherics of today’s testimony by Robert S. Mueller III at the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees—at least at first.... Read the full article here and read the Lawfare Blog's series of podcasts on the Mueller report here.
‘Let me make something 100% clear’: FEC chair lays down the law on foreign help
(Politico) June 13, 2019, by Matthew Choi—The head of the Federal Election Commission released a statement on Thursday evening reiterating, emphatically, that foreign assistance is illegal in U.S. elections.... Read the full article here.
Listen to Trump’s Lawyer Make Appeal After Flynn Agreed to Cooperate With Mueller
(The New York Times) June 6, 2019, by Michael S. Schmidt—Prosecutors released audio on Thursday of a voice mail message that President Trump’s personal lawyer left for a lawyer for Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser, shortly after Mr. Flynn agreed in 2017 to cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation.... Read the full article here.
How Trump Could Be Prosecuted After the White House
Impeachment is a big question mark, but an outline of the case against an ex-President Trump is already taking shape.
(Politico) June 6, 2019, by Renato Mariotti—With Congress enmeshed in a fraught debate over whether to impeach President Donald Trump, Robert Mueller’s brief and dramatic news conference provided a sharp reminder that impeachment is not the only option for addressing the president’s alleged misdeeds.... Read the full article here.
Robert Mueller breaks silence to insist he did not exonerate Trump
Mueller drew up obstruction indictment against Trump, Michael Wolff book claims
Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts
(The New York Times) May 19, 2019, by David Enrich—Anti-money-laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank recommended in 2016 and 2017 that multiple transactions involving legal entities controlled by Donald J. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, be reported to a federal financial-crimes watchdog.... Read the full article here.
Did Donald Trump’s Grip on the Justice Department Sabotage Robert Mueller’s Investigation?
(The Intercept) May 7, 2019, by James Risen—Through his unrelenting efforts to obstruct the Trump-Russia investigation since its inception, President Donald Trump has inflicted a slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre on the American people, a constitutional nightmare that has lasted two years instead of one night.... Read the full article here and The Intercept's annotated read of the Mueller report here.
Ex-DOJ prosecutors: Trump would have been charged with obstruction if he wasn't president
(Politico) May 6, 2019, by Caitlin Oprysko—Nearly 400 federal prosecutors on Monday said they believe President Donald Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice if not for a longstanding Justice Department policy barring the indictment of a sitting president.... Read the full article here and the prosecutors' statement here.
Pelosi says Barr 'lied to Congress' and 'that's a crime'
(CNN) May 2, 2019, by Clare Foran, Ashley Killough and Lauren Fox—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Attorney General William Barr committed a crime when he testified before Congress.... Read the full article here.
Barr takes shots at Mueller during tense Senate hearing
The attorney general went on the offensive after it was revealed Mueller twice pushed Barr to release Russia probe summaries.
(Politico) May 1, 2019, by Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio—Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday offered pointed critiques of Robert Mueller’s investigation after it was revealed that the special counsel had twice pressed Barr to speed the release of his report's summaries and introductions to Congress and the public.... Read the full article here.
Mueller complained to Barr about Russia report memo
‘This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel,’ the letter said.
(Politico) April 30, 2019, by Natasha Bertrand, Darren Samuelsohn, Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney—Special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr last month complaining that a four-page memo Barr wrote characterizing Mueller’s findings “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of the Russia investigation, two senior Justice Department officials confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday.... Read the full article here and read Mueller's letter here.
Stymied by aides, Trump sought out loyalist to curtail special counsel — and drew Mueller’s glare
(The Washington Post) April 25, 2019, by Ashley Parker, Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky—President Trump was furious.
He had just learned that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation went beyond Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign and into the White House — and that Trump himself was now under scrutiny for his actions in office.... Read the full article here.
Obstruction of Justice in the Mueller Report: A Heat Map
(Lawfare Blog) April 21, 2019, by Quinta Jurecic—The Mueller report describes numerous instances in which President Trump may have obstructed justice.... Read the full article here and see a Brookings Institution panel discussion on the Mueller report here.
What Mueller Found on Russia and on Obstruction: A First Analysis
(Lawfare Blog) April 18, 2019, by Scott R. Anderson, Victoria Clark, Mikhaila Fogel, Sarah Grant, Susan Hennessey, Matthew Kahn, Quinta Jurecic, Lev Sugarman, Margaret Taylor, Benjamin Wittes—“Really the best day since he got elected,” said Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counselor, about a day on which 400 pages dropped into the public’s lap describing relentless presidential misconduct and serial engagements between his campaign and a foreign actor. The weeks-long lag between Attorney General William Barr’s announcement of Robert Mueller’s top-line findings and the release of the Mueller report itself created space for an alternate reality in which the document released today might give rise to such a statement. But the cries of vindication do not survive even the most cursory examination of the document itself.... Read the full article here and a Lawfare Blog review here of the Mueller report's evidence on obstruction of justice by Trump.
Document: The Mueller Report
(Lawfare Blog) April 18, 2019, by Matthew Kahn—On Thursday, Attorney General Bill Barr released a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the findings of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and related matters. Read the report at this link. Lawfare will post the document in full as soon as possible.... Read the blog post here.
Barr 'disagreed' with Mueller's obstruction theories
The attorney general also said Mueller examined 10 episodes involving Trump when he probed possible obstruction.
(Politico) April 18, 2019, by Kyle Cheney—Attorney General William Barr on Thursday said he disagreed with some of special counsel Robert Mueller's legal theories underlying his investigation of potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump in the FBI's Russia probe.
Barr said Mueller examined 10 episodes that could have amounted to obstruction, but that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ultimately determined the facts failed to amount to evidence of a crime. Barr had previously said that Mueller reached no determination about whether the president obstructed justice.... Read the full article here.
Patten's Cooperation Wins Him Probation in Mueller Case
Some on Mueller’s Team Say Report Was More Damaging Than Barr Revealed
(The New York Times) April 3, 2019, by Nicholas Fandos, Michael S. Schmidt and Mark Mazzetti—Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.... Read the full article here and a Washington Post piece here on frustrations in Mueller's team with Barr's handling of the report.
Don’t Wait For a Redacted Mueller Report
The law is clear: Congress is entitled to the full 400 pages.
(Politico) April 1, 2019, by Nelson W. Cunningham—Attorney General William Barr is right: For public release of the Mueller report, he has no choice but to redact classified information, and also grand jury information pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e). It’s not optional — it’s the law, designed to protect both the secrecy of grand jury proceedings and our nation’s security.... Read the full article here.
Mueller Report Exceeds 300 Pages, Raising Questions About Four-Page Summary
(The New York Times) March 28, 2019, by Nicholas Fandos and Adam Goldman—The still-secret report on Russian interference in the 2016 election submitted by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, last week was more than 300 pages long, according to the Justice Department, a length that raises new questions about Attorney General William P. Barr’s four-page summary.... Read the full article here and a Lawfare Blog analysis of Barr's summary here.
What to Make of Bill Barr’s Letter
(Lawfare Blog) March 24, 2019, by Mikhaila Fogel, Quinta Jurecic, Susan Hennessey, Matthew Kahn, Benjamin Wittes—Leave it to President Trump to describe as “Total EXONERATION” a document that specifically quotes Special Counsel Robert Mueller as saying that one of his principal findings “does not exonerate” the president.... Read the full article here, Barr's letter here and a report here on a Trump attorney rejecting the public disclosure of Trump's responses to Mueller.
Mueller Delivers Report on Russia Investigation to Attorney General
(The New York Times) March 22, 2019, by Sharon LaFraniere and Katie Benner—The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has delivered a report on his inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election to Attorney General William P. Barr, according to the Justice Department, bringing to an apparent close an investigation that has consumed the nation and cast a shadow over President Trump for nearly two years.... Read the full article here and a BuzzFeed News article on the development here.
Explosive revelations in Russia saga add up to a bad day for Trump
(CNN) March 14, 2019, by Stephen Collinson, Analysis—It would be hard to think of a more damaging day for a President than one on which his former campaign chairman disappeared behind bars for years to come. But Paul Manafort's new sentence was the least of Donald Trump's worries Wednesday as his Russia investigation nightmare took yet another turn for the worse.... Read the full article here.
5 key takeaways from the Michael Cohen hearing
(The Washington Post) February 27, 2019, by Aaron Blake—Michael Cohen’s date with the House Oversight Committee began with a big bang. His opening statement contained most of the day’s major revelations. This was probably inevitable, given that Cohen isn’t your average witness: He was there to get some things off his chest.... Read the full article here, a transcript of Cohen's opening statement here, the Lawfare Blog's analysis of Cohen's testimony here and a Politico story here on implications for Trump's family members and associates.
20 questions that Michael Cohen could answer for lawmakers when he testifies on Capitol Hill this week
(The Washington Post) February 26, 2019, by Matt Zapotosky and Rosalind S. Helderman—Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, is scheduled to testify before three congressional committees this week — two in private and one in a potentially explosive public hearing.... Read the full article here and a New York Times article on Cohen's planned testimony here.
Senate investigators pursue Moscow-based former Trump associate
(CNN) February 21, 2019, by Nina dos Santos—Senate investigators want to question a Moscow-based American businessman with longstanding ties to President Donald Trump after witnesses told them he could shed light on the President's commercial and personal activities in Russia dating back to the 1990s, multiple sources have told CNN.... Read the full article here.
Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him
President Trump’s efforts have exposed him to accusations of obstruction of justice as Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, finishes his work.
(The New York Times) Feb. 19, 2019, by Mark Mazzetti, Maggie Haberman, Nicholas Fandos and Michael S. Schmidt—As federal prosecutors in Manhattan gathered evidence late last year about President Trump’s role in silencing women with hush payments during the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump called Matthew G. Whitaker, his newly installed attorney general, with a question. He asked whether Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and a Trump ally, could be put in charge of the widening investigation, according to several American officials with direct knowledge of the call.... Read the full article here.
'I believe Putin': Trump dismissed US advice on North Korea threat, says McCabe
Former FBI chief says president believed Russian leader over US security agencies and ‘a crime may have been committed’ over Comey firing
(The Guardian) February 18, 2019, by Kate Lyons and agencies—A former FBI acting director has alleged Donald Trump dismissed advice from his own security agencies on the threat posed by North Korea’s missiles, saying “I don’t care. I believe Putin.”... Read the full article here, watch the full CBS 60 Minutes interview with McCabe here, and read a review of McCabe's book here.
Mueller: Guidelines call for Manafort to get up to 24.5 years in prison for Virginia convictions
Prosecutors made a clear reference to Manafort’s time atop Trump’s 2016 campaign, noting his 'repeated misrepresentations to financial institutions were brazen' during that time.
(Politico) February 15, 2019, by Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Gerstein—Robert Mueller’s team told a federal judge Friday that federal guidelines call for Paul Manafort to get as long as 24-and-a-half years in prison for his conviction last summer for financial malfeasance.... Read the full article here.
McCabe Says Justice Officials Discussed Recruiting Cabinet Members to Push Trump Out of Office
(The New York Times) Feb. 14, 2019, by Adam Goldman and Matthew Haag—Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director, said in an interview aired on Thursday that top Justice Department officials were so alarmed by President Trump’s decision in May 2017 to fire James B. Comey, the bureau’s director, that they discussed whether to recruit cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office.... Read the full article here.
Federal judge finds Paul Manafort lied to Mueller probe about contacts with Russian aide
(The Washington Post) February 13, 2019, by Spencer S. Hsu—Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about matters close to the heart of their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.... Read the full article here.
In Closed Hearing, a Clue About ‘the Heart’ of Mueller’s Russia Inquiry
(The New York Times) February 10, 2019, by Sharon LaFraniere, Kenneth P. Vogel and Scott Shane—Of the few hints to emerge from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, about evidence of possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia, one of the most tantalizing surfaced almost in passing in a Washington courtroom last week.... Read the full article here.
Manafort continued Ukraine work in 2018, prosecutors say
(The Washington Post) February 7, 2019, by Spencer S. Hsu, Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky—Prosecutors allege that Paul Manafort was working on Ukrainian political matters in 2018, after his indictment in the special counsel’s investigation, and also revealed that a former business associate of his who was assessed by the FBI to have ties to Russian intelligence attended President Trump’s inaugural, according to new court filings.... Read the full article here.
Trump Wanted $20 Million for 2006 Moscow Deal: Developer
(Bloomberg) February 6, 2019, by Stephanie Baker—Donald Trump’s dream of putting his name on a tower in Moscow came with a hefty price tag: $20 million.... Read the full article here.
The President Said No Site Was Picked For Trump Moscow — But Documents Show His Fixers Were Scoping A Prime Location
Trump told the New York Times the Moscow development was “not important” and he was “not even sure they had a site.” But documents reveal early plans to build the luxury skyscraper on an industrial complex near the Moscow River.
(BuzzFeed News) February 1, 2019, by Emma Loop—President Donald Trump said Thursday that his company had not selected a location to build a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential election.... Read the full article here and BuzzFeed's article here about the news site's release of internal Trump Organization documents on the Moscow tower discussions.
Roger Stone wanted WikiLeaks dump to distract from ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, Mueller witness says
(The Washington Post) January 29, 2019, by Isaac Stanley-Becker—The revelation in The Washington Post of a tape of Donald Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women landed just after 4 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2016.... Read the full article here.
Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration
(The New York Times) January 26, 2019, by Karen Yourish and Larry Buchanan—During the 2016 presidential campaign and transition, Donald J. Trump and at least 17 campaign officials and advisers had contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, a New York Times analysis has found. At least 10 other associates were told about interactions but did not have any themselves.... Read the full article here.
Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone indicted by special counsel in Russia investigation
(The Washington Post) January 25, 2019, by Rosalind S. Helderman, Devlin Barrett, John Wagner and Manuel Roig-Franzia—Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime informal adviser to President Trump, was arrested Friday by the FBI in Florida on charges that he lied and tried to tamper with a witness to hide his efforts to learn about releases of Democrats’ hacked emails during the 2016 presidential campaign.... Read the full article here, a closer look at the indictment here and the indictment here.
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.
(BuzzFeed News) January 22, 2019, Azeen Ghorayshi—The plan was dazzling: a glass skyscraper that would stretch higher than any other building in Europe, offering ultra-luxury residences and hotel rooms and bearing a famous name. Trump Tower Moscow, conceived as a partnership between Donald Trump’s company and a Russian real estate developer, looked likely to yield profits in excess of $300 million.... Read the full article here.
Giuliani says Trump might have talked to Cohen about his testimony: 'So what?'
(The Hill) January 20, 2019, by Alicia Cohn—President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, on Sunday said that it's "possible" the president spoke to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, ahead of his congressional testimony.
"Which would be perfectly normal," Giuliani said on CNN's "State of the Union." "So what?"... Read the full article here.
Moscow Skyscraper Talks Continued Through ‘the Day I Won,’ Trump Is Said to Acknowledge
(The New York Times) January 20, 2019, by Mark Mazzetti, Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt—President Trump was involved in discussions to build a skyscraper in Moscow throughout the entire 2016 presidential campaign, his personal lawyer said on Sunday, a longer and more significant role for Mr. Trump than he had previously acknowledged.... Read the full article here.
Why Is Trump Spouting Russian Propaganda?
The president’s endorsement of the U.S.S.R.’s invasion of Afghanistan echoes a narrative promoted by Vladimir Putin.
(The Atlantic) January 3, 2019, by David Frum—It was only one moment in a 90-minute stream of madness.
President Donald Trump convened a Cabinet meeting, at which he invited all its members to praise him for his stance on the border wall and the government shutdown. There’s always a lively competition to see which member of the Cabinet can grovel most abjectly. The newcomer Matthew Whitaker may be only the acting attorney general, but despite—or perhaps because of—that tentative status, he delivered one of the strongest entries, saluting the president for sacrificing his Christmas and New Year’s holiday for the public good, and contrasting that to members of Congress who had left Washington during the Trump-created crisis.... Read the full article here.
Trump-Deutsche Bank links in sights of U.S. House investigators
(Reuters) January 18, 2019, by Mark Hosenball and Ginger Gibson—Democrats now in control of the U.S. House of Representatives are working out which House panels will take the lead in investigating President Donald Trump’s business ties to Deutsche Bank, lawmakers and aides familiar with the plans told Reuters.... Read the full article here and 2017 stories in The New York Times, The Guardian and The Washington Post on scrutiny of Trump's connection to Deutsche Bank.
President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project
Trump received 10 personal updates from Michael Cohen and encouraged a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin.
(BuzzFeed News) January 17, 2019, by Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier—President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.... Read the full article here, read the reaction from House Democrats here, read the Lawfare Blog's take here and read an article on the special counsel's office denying aspects of the story here.
Law Firm to Pay $4.6 Million in Case Tied to Manafort and Ukraine
(The New York Times) by Kenneth P. Vogel and Matthew Goldstein, January 17, 2019—A global New York-based law firm has agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle a Justice Department investigation into whether its work for a Russia-aligned Ukrainian government violated lobbying laws.... Read the full article here.
Click here to see my earlier Trump-Putin bromance timeline for June 2018-Jan. 2019, here to see my timeline for Oct. 2017-May 2018, here to see my Aug.-Sept. 2017 timeline and here to see my June 2015-July 2017 timeline.
See links to my investigative journalism here, including my book Police Wife: The Secret Epidemic of Police Domestic Violence, a finalist in the 2018 Reader's Favorite International Book Awards and winner or finalist in 12 other book prizes.
A newly unsealed letter from federal prosecutors shows the businessman supplied information on the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and American mobsters.
(The Daily Beast) August 23, 2019, by Betsy Woodruff—Before appearing in the Trump-Russia probe, Felix Sater traveled throughout Central Asia gathering intelligence on the Taliban for the U.S. government, according to a decade-old court filing unsealed Friday.... Read the full article here.
Mueller’s Testimony: The Baton Passes to Congress
(Lawfare Blog) July 24, 2019, by Scott R. Anderson, Hadley Baker, Mikhaila Fogel, Susan Hennessey, Quinta Jurecic, Vishnu Kannan, Eugenia Lostri, David Priess, Margaret Taylor and Benjamin Wittes—There was something very sad about the atmospherics of today’s testimony by Robert S. Mueller III at the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees—at least at first.... Read the full article here and read the Lawfare Blog's series of podcasts on the Mueller report here.
‘Let me make something 100% clear’: FEC chair lays down the law on foreign help
(Politico) June 13, 2019, by Matthew Choi—The head of the Federal Election Commission released a statement on Thursday evening reiterating, emphatically, that foreign assistance is illegal in U.S. elections.... Read the full article here.
Listen to Trump’s Lawyer Make Appeal After Flynn Agreed to Cooperate With Mueller
(The New York Times) June 6, 2019, by Michael S. Schmidt—Prosecutors released audio on Thursday of a voice mail message that President Trump’s personal lawyer left for a lawyer for Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser, shortly after Mr. Flynn agreed in 2017 to cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation.... Read the full article here.
How Trump Could Be Prosecuted After the White House
Impeachment is a big question mark, but an outline of the case against an ex-President Trump is already taking shape.
(Politico) June 6, 2019, by Renato Mariotti—With Congress enmeshed in a fraught debate over whether to impeach President Donald Trump, Robert Mueller’s brief and dramatic news conference provided a sharp reminder that impeachment is not the only option for addressing the president’s alleged misdeeds.... Read the full article here.
Robert Mueller breaks silence to insist he did not exonerate Trump
- Mueller’s statement seen by many as signal to Congress to act
- Special counsel ‘not confident’ Trump did not commit a crime
Mueller drew up obstruction indictment against Trump, Michael Wolff book claims
- Spokesman for special counsel denies existence of document
- Revelation is in Fire and Fury sequel, Siege: Trump Under Fire
Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts
(The New York Times) May 19, 2019, by David Enrich—Anti-money-laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank recommended in 2016 and 2017 that multiple transactions involving legal entities controlled by Donald J. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, be reported to a federal financial-crimes watchdog.... Read the full article here.
Did Donald Trump’s Grip on the Justice Department Sabotage Robert Mueller’s Investigation?
(The Intercept) May 7, 2019, by James Risen—Through his unrelenting efforts to obstruct the Trump-Russia investigation since its inception, President Donald Trump has inflicted a slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre on the American people, a constitutional nightmare that has lasted two years instead of one night.... Read the full article here and The Intercept's annotated read of the Mueller report here.
Ex-DOJ prosecutors: Trump would have been charged with obstruction if he wasn't president
(Politico) May 6, 2019, by Caitlin Oprysko—Nearly 400 federal prosecutors on Monday said they believe President Donald Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice if not for a longstanding Justice Department policy barring the indictment of a sitting president.... Read the full article here and the prosecutors' statement here.
Pelosi says Barr 'lied to Congress' and 'that's a crime'
(CNN) May 2, 2019, by Clare Foran, Ashley Killough and Lauren Fox—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Attorney General William Barr committed a crime when he testified before Congress.... Read the full article here.
Barr takes shots at Mueller during tense Senate hearing
The attorney general went on the offensive after it was revealed Mueller twice pushed Barr to release Russia probe summaries.
(Politico) May 1, 2019, by Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio—Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday offered pointed critiques of Robert Mueller’s investigation after it was revealed that the special counsel had twice pressed Barr to speed the release of his report's summaries and introductions to Congress and the public.... Read the full article here.
Mueller complained to Barr about Russia report memo
‘This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel,’ the letter said.
(Politico) April 30, 2019, by Natasha Bertrand, Darren Samuelsohn, Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney—Special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr last month complaining that a four-page memo Barr wrote characterizing Mueller’s findings “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of the Russia investigation, two senior Justice Department officials confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday.... Read the full article here and read Mueller's letter here.
Stymied by aides, Trump sought out loyalist to curtail special counsel — and drew Mueller’s glare
(The Washington Post) April 25, 2019, by Ashley Parker, Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky—President Trump was furious.
He had just learned that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation went beyond Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign and into the White House — and that Trump himself was now under scrutiny for his actions in office.... Read the full article here.
Obstruction of Justice in the Mueller Report: A Heat Map
(Lawfare Blog) April 21, 2019, by Quinta Jurecic—The Mueller report describes numerous instances in which President Trump may have obstructed justice.... Read the full article here and see a Brookings Institution panel discussion on the Mueller report here.
What Mueller Found on Russia and on Obstruction: A First Analysis
(Lawfare Blog) April 18, 2019, by Scott R. Anderson, Victoria Clark, Mikhaila Fogel, Sarah Grant, Susan Hennessey, Matthew Kahn, Quinta Jurecic, Lev Sugarman, Margaret Taylor, Benjamin Wittes—“Really the best day since he got elected,” said Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counselor, about a day on which 400 pages dropped into the public’s lap describing relentless presidential misconduct and serial engagements between his campaign and a foreign actor. The weeks-long lag between Attorney General William Barr’s announcement of Robert Mueller’s top-line findings and the release of the Mueller report itself created space for an alternate reality in which the document released today might give rise to such a statement. But the cries of vindication do not survive even the most cursory examination of the document itself.... Read the full article here and a Lawfare Blog review here of the Mueller report's evidence on obstruction of justice by Trump.
Document: The Mueller Report
(Lawfare Blog) April 18, 2019, by Matthew Kahn—On Thursday, Attorney General Bill Barr released a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the findings of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and related matters. Read the report at this link. Lawfare will post the document in full as soon as possible.... Read the blog post here.
Barr 'disagreed' with Mueller's obstruction theories
The attorney general also said Mueller examined 10 episodes involving Trump when he probed possible obstruction.
(Politico) April 18, 2019, by Kyle Cheney—Attorney General William Barr on Thursday said he disagreed with some of special counsel Robert Mueller's legal theories underlying his investigation of potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump in the FBI's Russia probe.
Barr said Mueller examined 10 episodes that could have amounted to obstruction, but that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ultimately determined the facts failed to amount to evidence of a crime. Barr had previously said that Mueller reached no determination about whether the president obstructed justice.... Read the full article here.
Patten's Cooperation Wins Him Probation in Mueller Case
- Judge cites his ‘substantial assistance’ to prosecutors
- His wife, a former CIA covert operative, urges leniency
Some on Mueller’s Team Say Report Was More Damaging Than Barr Revealed
(The New York Times) April 3, 2019, by Nicholas Fandos, Michael S. Schmidt and Mark Mazzetti—Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.... Read the full article here and a Washington Post piece here on frustrations in Mueller's team with Barr's handling of the report.
Don’t Wait For a Redacted Mueller Report
The law is clear: Congress is entitled to the full 400 pages.
(Politico) April 1, 2019, by Nelson W. Cunningham—Attorney General William Barr is right: For public release of the Mueller report, he has no choice but to redact classified information, and also grand jury information pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e). It’s not optional — it’s the law, designed to protect both the secrecy of grand jury proceedings and our nation’s security.... Read the full article here.
Mueller Report Exceeds 300 Pages, Raising Questions About Four-Page Summary
(The New York Times) March 28, 2019, by Nicholas Fandos and Adam Goldman—The still-secret report on Russian interference in the 2016 election submitted by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, last week was more than 300 pages long, according to the Justice Department, a length that raises new questions about Attorney General William P. Barr’s four-page summary.... Read the full article here and a Lawfare Blog analysis of Barr's summary here.
What to Make of Bill Barr’s Letter
(Lawfare Blog) March 24, 2019, by Mikhaila Fogel, Quinta Jurecic, Susan Hennessey, Matthew Kahn, Benjamin Wittes—Leave it to President Trump to describe as “Total EXONERATION” a document that specifically quotes Special Counsel Robert Mueller as saying that one of his principal findings “does not exonerate” the president.... Read the full article here, Barr's letter here and a report here on a Trump attorney rejecting the public disclosure of Trump's responses to Mueller.
Mueller Delivers Report on Russia Investigation to Attorney General
(The New York Times) March 22, 2019, by Sharon LaFraniere and Katie Benner—The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has delivered a report on his inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election to Attorney General William P. Barr, according to the Justice Department, bringing to an apparent close an investigation that has consumed the nation and cast a shadow over President Trump for nearly two years.... Read the full article here and a BuzzFeed News article on the development here.
Explosive revelations in Russia saga add up to a bad day for Trump
(CNN) March 14, 2019, by Stephen Collinson, Analysis—It would be hard to think of a more damaging day for a President than one on which his former campaign chairman disappeared behind bars for years to come. But Paul Manafort's new sentence was the least of Donald Trump's worries Wednesday as his Russia investigation nightmare took yet another turn for the worse.... Read the full article here.
5 key takeaways from the Michael Cohen hearing
(The Washington Post) February 27, 2019, by Aaron Blake—Michael Cohen’s date with the House Oversight Committee began with a big bang. His opening statement contained most of the day’s major revelations. This was probably inevitable, given that Cohen isn’t your average witness: He was there to get some things off his chest.... Read the full article here, a transcript of Cohen's opening statement here, the Lawfare Blog's analysis of Cohen's testimony here and a Politico story here on implications for Trump's family members and associates.
20 questions that Michael Cohen could answer for lawmakers when he testifies on Capitol Hill this week
(The Washington Post) February 26, 2019, by Matt Zapotosky and Rosalind S. Helderman—Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, is scheduled to testify before three congressional committees this week — two in private and one in a potentially explosive public hearing.... Read the full article here and a New York Times article on Cohen's planned testimony here.
Senate investigators pursue Moscow-based former Trump associate
(CNN) February 21, 2019, by Nina dos Santos—Senate investigators want to question a Moscow-based American businessman with longstanding ties to President Donald Trump after witnesses told them he could shed light on the President's commercial and personal activities in Russia dating back to the 1990s, multiple sources have told CNN.... Read the full article here.
Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him
President Trump’s efforts have exposed him to accusations of obstruction of justice as Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, finishes his work.
(The New York Times) Feb. 19, 2019, by Mark Mazzetti, Maggie Haberman, Nicholas Fandos and Michael S. Schmidt—As federal prosecutors in Manhattan gathered evidence late last year about President Trump’s role in silencing women with hush payments during the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump called Matthew G. Whitaker, his newly installed attorney general, with a question. He asked whether Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and a Trump ally, could be put in charge of the widening investigation, according to several American officials with direct knowledge of the call.... Read the full article here.
'I believe Putin': Trump dismissed US advice on North Korea threat, says McCabe
Former FBI chief says president believed Russian leader over US security agencies and ‘a crime may have been committed’ over Comey firing
(The Guardian) February 18, 2019, by Kate Lyons and agencies—A former FBI acting director has alleged Donald Trump dismissed advice from his own security agencies on the threat posed by North Korea’s missiles, saying “I don’t care. I believe Putin.”... Read the full article here, watch the full CBS 60 Minutes interview with McCabe here, and read a review of McCabe's book here.
Mueller: Guidelines call for Manafort to get up to 24.5 years in prison for Virginia convictions
Prosecutors made a clear reference to Manafort’s time atop Trump’s 2016 campaign, noting his 'repeated misrepresentations to financial institutions were brazen' during that time.
(Politico) February 15, 2019, by Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Gerstein—Robert Mueller’s team told a federal judge Friday that federal guidelines call for Paul Manafort to get as long as 24-and-a-half years in prison for his conviction last summer for financial malfeasance.... Read the full article here.
McCabe Says Justice Officials Discussed Recruiting Cabinet Members to Push Trump Out of Office
(The New York Times) Feb. 14, 2019, by Adam Goldman and Matthew Haag—Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director, said in an interview aired on Thursday that top Justice Department officials were so alarmed by President Trump’s decision in May 2017 to fire James B. Comey, the bureau’s director, that they discussed whether to recruit cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office.... Read the full article here.
Federal judge finds Paul Manafort lied to Mueller probe about contacts with Russian aide
(The Washington Post) February 13, 2019, by Spencer S. Hsu—Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about matters close to the heart of their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.... Read the full article here.
In Closed Hearing, a Clue About ‘the Heart’ of Mueller’s Russia Inquiry
(The New York Times) February 10, 2019, by Sharon LaFraniere, Kenneth P. Vogel and Scott Shane—Of the few hints to emerge from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, about evidence of possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia, one of the most tantalizing surfaced almost in passing in a Washington courtroom last week.... Read the full article here.
Manafort continued Ukraine work in 2018, prosecutors say
(The Washington Post) February 7, 2019, by Spencer S. Hsu, Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky—Prosecutors allege that Paul Manafort was working on Ukrainian political matters in 2018, after his indictment in the special counsel’s investigation, and also revealed that a former business associate of his who was assessed by the FBI to have ties to Russian intelligence attended President Trump’s inaugural, according to new court filings.... Read the full article here.
Trump Wanted $20 Million for 2006 Moscow Deal: Developer
- Ukrainian-Russian provides new details of an early negotiation
- Pavel Fuks describes meeting Trump, hosting children in Moscow
(Bloomberg) February 6, 2019, by Stephanie Baker—Donald Trump’s dream of putting his name on a tower in Moscow came with a hefty price tag: $20 million.... Read the full article here.
The President Said No Site Was Picked For Trump Moscow — But Documents Show His Fixers Were Scoping A Prime Location
Trump told the New York Times the Moscow development was “not important” and he was “not even sure they had a site.” But documents reveal early plans to build the luxury skyscraper on an industrial complex near the Moscow River.
(BuzzFeed News) February 1, 2019, by Emma Loop—President Donald Trump said Thursday that his company had not selected a location to build a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential election.... Read the full article here and BuzzFeed's article here about the news site's release of internal Trump Organization documents on the Moscow tower discussions.
Roger Stone wanted WikiLeaks dump to distract from ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, Mueller witness says
(The Washington Post) January 29, 2019, by Isaac Stanley-Becker—The revelation in The Washington Post of a tape of Donald Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women landed just after 4 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2016.... Read the full article here.
Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration
(The New York Times) January 26, 2019, by Karen Yourish and Larry Buchanan—During the 2016 presidential campaign and transition, Donald J. Trump and at least 17 campaign officials and advisers had contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, a New York Times analysis has found. At least 10 other associates were told about interactions but did not have any themselves.... Read the full article here.
Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone indicted by special counsel in Russia investigation
(The Washington Post) January 25, 2019, by Rosalind S. Helderman, Devlin Barrett, John Wagner and Manuel Roig-Franzia—Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime informal adviser to President Trump, was arrested Friday by the FBI in Florida on charges that he lied and tried to tamper with a witness to hide his efforts to learn about releases of Democrats’ hacked emails during the 2016 presidential campaign.... Read the full article here, a closer look at the indictment here and the indictment here.
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.
(BuzzFeed News) January 22, 2019, Azeen Ghorayshi—The plan was dazzling: a glass skyscraper that would stretch higher than any other building in Europe, offering ultra-luxury residences and hotel rooms and bearing a famous name. Trump Tower Moscow, conceived as a partnership between Donald Trump’s company and a Russian real estate developer, looked likely to yield profits in excess of $300 million.... Read the full article here.
Giuliani says Trump might have talked to Cohen about his testimony: 'So what?'
(The Hill) January 20, 2019, by Alicia Cohn—President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, on Sunday said that it's "possible" the president spoke to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, ahead of his congressional testimony.
"Which would be perfectly normal," Giuliani said on CNN's "State of the Union." "So what?"... Read the full article here.
Moscow Skyscraper Talks Continued Through ‘the Day I Won,’ Trump Is Said to Acknowledge
(The New York Times) January 20, 2019, by Mark Mazzetti, Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt—President Trump was involved in discussions to build a skyscraper in Moscow throughout the entire 2016 presidential campaign, his personal lawyer said on Sunday, a longer and more significant role for Mr. Trump than he had previously acknowledged.... Read the full article here.
Why Is Trump Spouting Russian Propaganda?
The president’s endorsement of the U.S.S.R.’s invasion of Afghanistan echoes a narrative promoted by Vladimir Putin.
(The Atlantic) January 3, 2019, by David Frum—It was only one moment in a 90-minute stream of madness.
President Donald Trump convened a Cabinet meeting, at which he invited all its members to praise him for his stance on the border wall and the government shutdown. There’s always a lively competition to see which member of the Cabinet can grovel most abjectly. The newcomer Matthew Whitaker may be only the acting attorney general, but despite—or perhaps because of—that tentative status, he delivered one of the strongest entries, saluting the president for sacrificing his Christmas and New Year’s holiday for the public good, and contrasting that to members of Congress who had left Washington during the Trump-created crisis.... Read the full article here.
Trump-Deutsche Bank links in sights of U.S. House investigators
(Reuters) January 18, 2019, by Mark Hosenball and Ginger Gibson—Democrats now in control of the U.S. House of Representatives are working out which House panels will take the lead in investigating President Donald Trump’s business ties to Deutsche Bank, lawmakers and aides familiar with the plans told Reuters.... Read the full article here and 2017 stories in The New York Times, The Guardian and The Washington Post on scrutiny of Trump's connection to Deutsche Bank.
President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project
Trump received 10 personal updates from Michael Cohen and encouraged a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin.
(BuzzFeed News) January 17, 2019, by Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier—President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.... Read the full article here, read the reaction from House Democrats here, read the Lawfare Blog's take here and read an article on the special counsel's office denying aspects of the story here.
Law Firm to Pay $4.6 Million in Case Tied to Manafort and Ukraine
(The New York Times) by Kenneth P. Vogel and Matthew Goldstein, January 17, 2019—A global New York-based law firm has agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle a Justice Department investigation into whether its work for a Russia-aligned Ukrainian government violated lobbying laws.... Read the full article here.
Click here to see my earlier Trump-Putin bromance timeline for June 2018-Jan. 2019, here to see my timeline for Oct. 2017-May 2018, here to see my Aug.-Sept. 2017 timeline and here to see my June 2015-July 2017 timeline.
See links to my investigative journalism here, including my book Police Wife: The Secret Epidemic of Police Domestic Violence, a finalist in the 2018 Reader's Favorite International Book Awards and winner or finalist in 12 other book prizes.
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