Investigations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Incumbent
Presidential campaigns Controversies involving Russia Business and personal
 |
||
.jpg)
Following investigations into the Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, several members of the Trump campaign and his administration have been accused of collusion with Russia. Since Donald Trump took office, the question of undisclosed ties between Trump's campaign associates and Russian officials has been raised repeatedly, and there is ongoing suspicion that his administration is serving Russia's interests.
On March 20, 2017, FBI director James Comey testified to the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI has been conducting a counter-intelligence investigation about Russian interference since July 2016, including possible coordination between associates of Trump and Russia.[1][2] In a move that was widely criticized as an attempt to curtail the investigation, Trump dismissed Comey on May 9, 2017.[3] Comey had reportedly written a memo noting that Donald Trump asked him to stop pursuing Michael Flynn.[4][5][6]
On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to pursue the investigations.[7]
Initial suspicions[edit]
McCarthy–Ryan conversation about Trump being on Putin's payroll[edit]
In June 2016, a month before the Republican Party nominated Trump for president, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, after ending a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, said in a private conversation with his Republican colleagues that he thought "Putin pays Rohrabacher and Trump" (referring to Dana Rohrabacher). House Speaker Paul Ryan interjected to end the conversation and instructed those present to secrecy, stating: "No leaks...This is how we know we're a real family here."[8] The conversation took place a day after it was revealed that Russian operatives had hacked the DNC.[8]
The existence of the conversation was publicly revealed in May 2017, by the Washington Post, which obtained a recording of the conversation[8] and published a full transcript of the conversation.[9]
When asked for comment, spokesmen for both McCarthy and Ryan initially gave a categorical denial that the conversation had taken place, with the former calling the claim "absurd and false." However, after being informed that a recording of the conversation existed, the spokesmen changed tact and called the conversation "humor". At the time the conversation took place, several of those present laughed at McCarthy's comment, but he responded by saying "swear to God". Evan McMullin, who was present at the conversation as the then-policy director for the House Republican Conference, confirmed its content, saying "It's true that Majority Leader McCarthy said that he thought candidate Trump was on the Kremlin's payroll. Speaker Ryan was concerned about that leaking."[8]
GCHQ tips and CIA briefings to Congress[edit]
In part because U.S. agencies cannot surveil U.S. citizens without a warrant, the U.S. was slow to recognize a pattern itself. From late 2015 until the summer of 2016, during routine surveillance of Russians, several countries discovered interactions between the Trump campaign and Moscow. The UK, Germany, Estonia, Poland, and Australia (and possibly the Netherlands and France) relayed their discoveries to the U.S.[10]
According to The Guardian because the materials were highly sensitive, Robert Hannigan, then the director of the UK's GCHQ, contacted CIA director John O. Brennan to give him information directly.[10] Concerned, Brennan gave classified briefings to the Gang of Eight (the leaders of the House and Senate, and the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees) during late August and September 2016.[11] Referring only to intelligence allies and not to specific sources, Brennan told the Gang of Eight that he had received evidence that Russia might be trying to help Trump win the U.S. election.[10]
FBI inquiries[edit]
On October 31, 2016, The New York Times stated that the FBI had been examining possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, but did not find any clear links.[12] At the time, FBI officials thought Russia was motivated to undermine confidence in the U.S. political process rather than specifically support Trump.[12]
On March 20, 2017, during public testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, FBI director James Comey confirmed the existence of an FBI investigation into Russian interference and Russian links to the Trump campaign, including the question of whether there had been any coordination between the campaign and the Russians.[1] He said the investigation began in July 2016 and was "still in its early stages".[2] Comey made the unusual decision to reveal the ongoing investigation to Congress, citing benefit to the public good.[13]
January 2017 ODNI report[edit]
On January 6, 2017, after briefing the president, the president-elect, and members of the Senate and House, U.S. intelligence agencies released a de-classified version[14] of the report on Russian activities. The report asserted that Russia had carried out a massive cyber operation ordered by Russian President Putin with the goal to sabotage the 2016 U.S. elections. The agencies concluded that Putin and the Russian government tried to help Trump win the election by discrediting Hillary Clinton and portraying her negatively relative to Trump, and that Russia had conducted a multipronged cyber campaign consisting of hacking and the extensive use of social media and trolls, as well as open propaganda on Russian-controlled news platforms.[15] A large part of the report was dedicated to criticizing Russian TV channel RT America, which it described as a "messaging tool" for the Kremlin.[16]
On March 5, 2017, James Clapper said, in an interview with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that, regarding the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, "We did not include any evidence in our report, and I say, 'our', that's N.S.A., F.B.I. and C.I.A., with my office, the Director of National Intelligence, that had anything, that had any reflection of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and the Russians. There was no evidence of that included in our report. … Whether there is more evidence that's become available since then, whether ongoing investigations will be revelatory, I don't know," adding "It is to everyone's interest to get to the bottom of this."[17]
Investigation into financial flows[edit]
On January 18, 2017, McClatchy reported that an investigation into "how money may have moved from the Kremlin to covertly help Trump win" had been conducted over several months by six federal agencies: the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, the Justice Department, the FCEN and representatives of the DNI.[18] The New York Times confirmed this investigation into Carter Page, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone on January 19, 2017, the eve of the presidential inauguration.[19]
House and Senate investigations[edit]
In January 2017, both the House and Senate intelligence committees launched investigations on the Russian meddling into the presidential election, including possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.[20] In February, General Michael T. Flynn, Trump's pick for National Security Adviser, resigned after it had been discovered that he had been in touch with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, discussing the possibility of lifting sanctions against Russia.[21]
On February 24, 2017, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa called for a special prosecutor to investigate whether Russia meddled with the U.S. election and was in contact with Trump's team during the presidential campaign, saying that it would be improper for Trump's appointee, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to lead the investigation.[22][23] On February 27, 2017, Nunes said "As of right now, I don’t have any evidence of any phone calls. It doesn't mean they don't exist ... What I've been told by many folks is that there's nothing there."[24]
On March 19, 2017, Schiff told Meet the Press that, despite denials from intelligence officials, there was "circumstantial evidence of collusion" between the Russian government and the Trump campaign, as well as "direct evidence of deception". He added that "there is certainly enough for us to conduct an investigation."[25] On March 22, 2017, Schiff stated that he had seen "more than circumstantial evidence" of collusion between Trump associates and the Kremlin.[26]
On April 6, 2017, Nunes temporarily recused himself from the Russia investigation after the House Ethics Committee announced that it would investigate accusations against him that he had disclosed classified information without authorization. Representative Mike Conaway will be assuming control of the investigation.[27]
2017 developments[edit]
Dismissal of FBI director James Comey[edit]
On May 9, 2017, the Trump Administration dismissed Comey, attributing it to the recommendation of United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.[28] The White House said that Trump had acted on the recommendation of Rosenstein citing Comey's conduct in the investigation about Hillary Clinton's emails.[29] But Trump himself seemed to contradict the White House statements that he had acted because of the Clinton email issue identified by Rosenstein.[improper synthesis?] On May 11 he stated, "When I decided to [fire Comey], I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.'"[30] In the same interview he said he had intended all along to fire Comey, regardless of any recommendations.[31] Also on May 11, a White House spokesperson directly tied the dismissal to the Russian investigations, saying the White House believed firing Comey was a step toward letting that probe "come to its conclusion with integrity".[32] Multiple FBI insiders said they believe the real reason Comey was fired was because he had refused to end the investigation into Russian connections to the election, and in fact had intensified his involvement with the investigation, receiving daily instead of weekly briefings on its progress.[3]
The dismissal came as a surprise to Comey and most of Washington, and was described as having "vast political ramifications" because of the Bureau's ongoing investigation into Russian activities in the 2016 election.[33] The termination was immediately controversial. It was compared to the Saturday Night Massacre, President Richard Nixon's termination of special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been investigating the Watergate scandal,[34][35] and to the dismissal of Sally Yates in January 2017. Many members of Congress expressed concern over the termination and argued that it would put the integrity of the Russia investigation into jeopardy.[36]
According to later reporting Trump had been talking to aides about firing Comey for at least a week before acting, and had asked Justice Department officials to come up with a rationale for dismissing him.[37][38] On May 8, 2017, he asked Sessions and Rosenstein to put in writing a case against Comey. They produced the next day a memo outlining his misconduct and a recommendation to dismiss him, upon which Trump acted immediately.[39] Trump had long questioned Comey's loyalty and judgment; he was reportedly frustrated that Comey had contradicted his claims that Obama had him wiretapped, and furious that Comey had "basically defended Hillary Clinton" in his recent Senate testimony. Trump also felt Comey was giving too much attention to the Russia probe and not to internal leaks within the government.[40][41] A few days before his dismissal, Comey had requested more personnel from the Justice Department to support the FBI probe into Russian interference.[42]
In the termination letter Trump stated that Comey had asserted "on three separate occasions that I am not under investigation".[43] Fact checkers reported that while they have no way of knowing what Comey may have told Trump privately, no such assertion is on the public record, and the White House declined to provide any more detail.[44]
Comey memos[edit]
Comey wrote multiple memorandums of conversation concerning his interactions with President Trump, one of which reportedly relates Trump's attempt to persuade Comey to abort the investigation into General Flynn.[45][46][47][48][49] Referring to an Oval Office meeting on February 14, 2017, this memo notes that Trump stated "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." Comey made no commitments to Trump on the subject.[47]
The Times reported that the memo, which is not classified, was part of a "paper trail" created by Comey to document "what he perceived as the president’s improper efforts to influence a continuing investigation".[47] Comey shared the memo with "a very small circle of people at the FBI and Justice Department."[50] Comey and other senior FBI officials saw Trump's remarks "as an effort to influence the investigation, but they decided that they would try to keep the conversation secret — even from the F.B.I. agents working on the Russia investigation — so the details of the conversation would not affect the investigation."[47]
Two individuals who read the memo told the Times that "Comey created similar memos — including some that are classified — about every phone call and meeting he had with the president."[47][51] The Washington Post reported that two Comey associates who had seen Comey's memo described it as two pages long and highly detailed.[50] The Times noted that contemporaneous notes created by FBI agents are frequently relied upon "in court as credible evidence of conversations."[47]
Disclosure of classified information to Russia[edit]
.jpg)
According to a current and former government official, Trump discussed highly classified intelligence in a May 10, 2017 Oval Office meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov and ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak, providing details that could expose the source of the information and the manner in which it was collected.[52][53][54][55][56]
The intelligence was about an ISIL plot. A Middle Eastern ally had provided the intelligence which was not shared widely within the United States government or passed to other allies.[52] The incident was first reported by the Washington Post,[53] and confirmed by the New York Times[52] and Reuters.[54] The Times reports that "sharing the information without the express permission of the ally who provided it was a major breach of espionage etiquette, and could jeopardize a crucial intelligence-sharing relationship."[52] The White House, through National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, issued a brief denial, saying that the story "as reported" was not correct, and denying that "intelligence sources or methods" were discussed.[54][57] In a Twitter post the following day, Trump admitted sharing "facts pertaining to terrorism and airline safety" stating that Russia is a key ally of the United States against terrorism.[58] Multiple sources, including conservative commentator Erick Erickson, have stated that the leaks were far worse than the current reports, and that similar incidents have happened in the past.[59]
During the same meeting, Trump Told Russian officials that firing the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, had relieved “great pressure” on him. He stated, “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” He continued, “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.”[60]
Aides privately defended the President, stating that he could not reveal information that would harm American allies as he did not know and was not interested in the details of intelligence gathering.[61]
Investigation by Special Counsel[edit]
 | This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this section may not reflect the most current information. (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel in its investigation. Mueller will direct FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors investigating election interference by Russia.[7][62][63] As special counsel, Mueller will have the power to issue subpoenas,[64] hire staff members, request funding, and prosecute federal crimes in connection with the election interference.[65]
On May 19, 2017 The Washington Post reported that a senior Trump administration adviser "close to the president" is the subject of investigation.[66][67]
Members of the combined investigation brought in by Mueller or earlier FBI investigations include James Quarles, Mueller's partner at Wilmer Cutler and an assistant Watergate prosecutor; the head of the Justice Department's criminal fraud division Andrew Weissmann; former DOJ attorney Jeannie Rhee; and Aaron Zebley, who was at one time FBI chief of staff under Mueller.[68]
Links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials[edit]
As of March 2017[update], the FBI is investigating Russian involvement in the election, including alleged links between Trump's associates and the Russian government.[1] British and the Dutch intelligence have given information to United States intelligence about meetings in European cities between Russian officials, associates of Putin, and associates of then-President-elect Trump. American intelligence agencies also intercepted communications of Russian officials, some of them within the Kremlin, discussing contacts with Trump associates.[69] The New York Times reported that multiple Trump associates, including campaign chairman Paul Manafort and other members of his campaign, had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials during 2016, although officials said that so far, they did not have evidence that Trump's campaign had co-operated with the Russians to influence the election. Manafort said he did not knowingly meet any Russian intelligence officials.[70]
Since July 2016 Donald Trump's team has issued at least twenty denials concerning communications between his campaign and Russian officials.[71] Several of these denials turned out to be false, as seven of Trump's associates or advisers (including Page) have had such contacts.[72] Michael Flynn and Jeff Sessions have subsequently confirmed the contacts after having initially denied them.[69] Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN that the "electoral process" was not discussed during these meetings, and that the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak had also met with "people working in think tanks advising Hillary or advising people working for Hillary" during the campaign.[73]
The Trump administration reportedly asked the FBI for help in countering news reports about alleged contacts with Russia. A White House communications aide contacted Senator Richard Burr and Representative Devin Nunes, who chair the Senate and House intelligence committees, to push back press reports. Both declined to answer questions.[74][75][76]
Former ambassadors Michael McFaul and John Beyrle have said they are "extremely troubled" by the evidence of Russian interference in the US election, and both support an independent investigation into the matter, but have dismissed as "preposterous" the allegations that Kislyak participated in it, particularly through his meetings with the Trump campaign: "Kislyak's job is to meet with government officials and campaign people," McFaul stated. "People should meet with the Russian ambassador and it's wrong to criminalize that or discourage it."[77]
Former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell has stated that he has seen no evidence of collusions between Trump and the Kremlin. "On the question of the Trump campaign conspiring with the Russians here, there is smoke, but there is no fire, at all," Morell said.[78]
In a March 5, 2017, interview, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence under President Obama, said that "at the time" there was no evidence of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives when the intelligence community issued its January 2017 report on the subject.[17]
Paul Manafort[edit]
The New York Times reported that campaign chairman Paul Manafort had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials during 2016. Manafort said he did not knowingly meet any Russian intelligence officials.[47]
Jared Kushner[edit]
In April 2017, it was reported that Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, on his application for top secret security clearance, failed to disclose numerous meetings with foreign officials, including Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak as well as Sergey Gorkov, the head of the Russian state-owned bank Vnesheconombank. Kushner's lawyers called the omissions "an error". The Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election plans to question Kushner in connection to the meetings he had set up with these individuals.[79]
Michael Flynn[edit]
National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn was forced to resign after it was revealed that on December 29, 2016, the day that Obama announced sanctions against Russia, Flynn discussed the sanctions with Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. Flynn had earlier acknowledged speaking to Kislyak but denied discussing the sanctions.[80][81]On March 2, 2017, The New York Times reported that Kislyak met with Michael T. Flynn and Jared Kushner in December 2016 to establish a line of communication with the Trump administration.[82] Flynn was paid $45,000 by Russia Today for a 2015 talk and provided an all expense paid 3 day trip paid by Russia.[83] CNN reported that, during a phone call intercepted by American Intelligence, Russian officials bragged that they had cultivated such a strong relationship with Flynn that they beleived they could use him to influence Donald Trump and his team.[84]
Jeff Sessions[edit]
In March 2017, it was revealed that while still a U.S. Senator, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an early and prominent supporter of Trump's campaign, spoke twice with Russian ambassador Kislyak before the election – once in July 2016 and once in September 2016. At his January 10 confirmation hearing to become Attorney General, he stated that he was not aware of any contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, adding that he "did not have communications with the Russians". On March 1, 2017, he said that his answer had not been misleading, stating that he "never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign".[85] On March 2, 2017, after meeting with senior career officials at the Justice Department, Sessions announced that he would recuse himself from any investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.[86]
Carter Page[edit]
In February 2017, Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump stated that he had "no meetings" with Russian officials during 2016 but two days later said that he "did not deny" meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Page's reversal occurred after the news reports that revealed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had likewise met with Kislyak. In March 2017, Page was called on by the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating links between the Trump campaign and Russian government.[87][88]
During the investigation into the 2016 election interference, Page's past contacts with Russians came to public attention.[89] In 2013 Page met with Viktor Podobnyy, then a junior attaché at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at an energy conference, and provided him with documents on the U.S. energy industry.[90] Page later said that he provided only "basic immaterial information and publicly available research documents" to Podobnyy.[89] Podobnyy was later one of a group of three Russian men charged by the U.S. authorities for participation in a Russian spy ring; Podobnyy and one of the other men was protected by diplomatic immunity from prosecution; a third man, who was spying for the Russia under non-diplomatic cover, pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent and was sentenced to prison.[89] The men had attempted to recruit Page to work for the Russian SVR. The FBI interviewed Page in 2013 "as part of an investigation into the spy ring, but decided that he had not known the man was a spy", and never accused Page of wrongdoing.[89]
Page became a foreign policy advisor to Trump in the summer of 2016 but was dropped from the team after reports that he was under investigation by federal authorities over his Russian connections.[91] The FBI and the Justice Department obtained a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) warrant to monitor Page's communications during the summer of 2016, after they made the case that there was probable cause to think Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power (Russia). Page told The Washington Post that he considered that to be "unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance". The 90-day warrant was renewed at least once.[92]
Erik Prince[edit]
On April 3, 2017, The Washington Post reported that around January 11, nine days before Donald Trump's inauguration, Erik Prince, the founder of the Blackwater security company, secretly met with an unidentified Russian, who is close to Vladimir Putin, in the Seychelles. The Trump administration said that it was "not aware of any meetings" and said that Prince was not involved in the Trump campaign. According to U.S., European, and Arab officials, the meeting was arranged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the purpose apparently was to establish a back-channel link between Trump and Putin. The UAE and Trump's associates reportedly tried to convince Russia to limit its support to Iran, including in Syria. Prince is the brother of Trump's pick for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, he was a major contributor to Trump's election campaign, and appears to have close ties to Trump's chief strategist Stephen Bannon. The Seychelles meeting took place after previous meetings in New York between Trump's associates and officials from Russia and the Emirates, when any official contacts between Trump administration and Russian agents were coming under close scrutiny from the press and the U.S. intelligence community. U.S. officials said that the FBI is investigating the Seychelles meeting. The FBI, however, refused to comment.[93]
Two intelligence officials confirmed to NBC News that the Seychelles meeting took place. One of them corroborated The Washington Post's account, but said that it is not clear whether the initiative to arrange a meeting came from the UAE or Trump's associates. A second official said that the meeting was about "Middle East policy, to cover Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran", not Russia.[94]
Roger Stone[edit]
Roger J. Stone Jr., a former adviser to Donald Trump and self-proclaimed political “dirty trickster”, admitted in March 2017 that during August 2016, he had been in contact with Guccifer 2.0, a hacker persona believed to be a front for Russian intelligence operations who has publicly claimed responsibility for at least one hack of the DNC.[95] Stone is suspected of having inside knowledge of these hacks, accurately predicting that it would soon be John Podesta's "time in the barrel" on Twitter, shortly prior to the Wikileaks release of the Podesta emails, a hacking incident now broadly understood to have been a significant contributing factor to Trump's 2016 election victory against then-expected winner Hillary Clinton.[96] Additionally, Stone has also reportedly stated privately to some Republican colleagues that he has "actually communicated with Julian Assange" on at least one occasion, although Stone and his two Attorneys have since denied this.[97]
Stone is presently under FBI scrutiny as the agency investigates the possibility that criminal collusion between key figures in the Trump campaign and the Russian Federation took place during the 2016 election. If the FBI investigation reveals that criminal collusion with a hostile foreign government did indeed occur within the Trump campaign, it is highly likely that Roger Stone was involved, knowingly or otherwise.[98][99]
Steele dossier[edit]
On October 31, 2016, a week before the election, David Corn of Mother Jones magazine, reported that an unnamed former intelligence officer had produced a report (later referred to as a dossier) based on Russian sources and had turned it over to the FBI.[100] The officer, who was familiar to the FBI and was known for the quality of his past work, was later identified as Christopher Steele. The FBI found Steele and his information credible enough that it considered paying Steele to continue collecting information but the release of the document to the public stopped discussions between Steele and the FBI.[101] Corn said the main points in the unverified report were that Moscow had tried to cultivate Donald Trump for years; that it possessed compromising or potentially embarrassing material about him that could possibly be used to blackmail him; and that there had been a flow of information between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin,[102] which involved multiple in-person meetings between Russian government officials and individuals working for Trump.[103][104] The dossier also claimed that the Kremlin's goal had been to "encourage splits and divisions in the Western alliance".[100]
On January 10, 2017, CNN reported that classified documents presented to Obama and Trump the previous week included allegations that Russian operatives possess "compromising personal and financial information" about Trump. CNN stated that it would not publish specific details on the memos because they had not yet "independently corroborated the specific allegations".[105] Following CNN's report, BuzzFeed then published a 35-page dossier that it said was the basis of the briefing.[106] It included unverified claims that Russian operatives had worked with the Trump campaign to help him get elected. It also alleged that Russia had collected "embarrassing material" involving Trump that could be used to blackmail him.[107] Trump denounced the unverified claims as false, saying that it was "disgraceful" for U.S. intelligence agencies to report them.[108][109]
On March 30, 2017, Paul Wood of BBC News revealed that the FBI was using the dossier as a roadmap for its investigation.[110] On April 18, 2017, CNN reported that corroborated information from the dossier had been used as part of the basis for getting the FISA warrant to monitor former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page during the summer of 2016.[111]
Reactions[edit]
Opinion polls[edit]
According to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in late March and early April 2017, respondents were divided 44%–44% over the allegation that Trump campaign personnel colluded with Russia, although 64% of respondents said they were "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about this issue. In a wide partisan gap, 93% of Democrats felt very or somewhat concerned, while only 36% of Republicans expressed concern. The poll also found that 68% of voters supported "an independent commission investigating the potential links between some of Donald Trump's campaign advisors and the Russian government".[112]
An April 2017 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that respondents had little confidence in Congress's investigation into the Russian interference in the election. The poll reported that "some 73% of adults in the survey said that a nonpartisan, independent commission should look into Russia's involvement in the election, compared with 16% who said Congress should take the lead," while 61% of respondents said that they had little or no confidence in Congress to conduct a fair and impartial inquiry into Russia's involvement in the election.[113]
An ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted in April 2017 found that 56 percent of respondents thought that Russia tried to influence the election, while 39% thought that the "Trump campaign intentionally tried to assist such an effort". In a partisan gap, 60% of Democrats thought that Trump aides helped Russian efforts to influence the election, while only 18% of Republicans agreed.[114]
A May 2017 Monmouth University poll, conducted after the dismissal of James Comey, found that "nearly 6-in-10 Americans thought it was either very (40%) or somewhat (19%) likely that Comey was fired in order to slow down or stop the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links with the Trump campaign." Like other recent opinion polls, a majority, 73%, said that the FBI investigation should continue. The poll also noted that 51% of the public said that they were concerned that Trump was too friendly with Russia. 45% of respondents were reportedly not concerned. [115]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Stephen Collinson. "Comey confirms FBI investigating Russia, Trump ties". CNN. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wilber, Del Quentin; Cloud, Davis S. (March 20, 2017). "Comey says FBI began investigation into Russia meddling in July". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Roberts, Rachel (May 11, 2017). "Donald Trump fired James Comey because 'he refused to end Russia investigation', say multiple FBI insiders". The Independent. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Schmidt, Michael S. (2017-05-16). "Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
- ↑ Graham, David A. "'Let It Go': Did Trump Interfere in the FBI's Michael Flynn Investigation?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
- ↑ "Trump Impeachment Talk Grows From Conspiracy Theory To Mainstream". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Levine, Mike; Kelsey, Adam (May 17, 2017). "Robert Mueller appointed special counsel to oversee probe into Russia's interference in 2016 election". ABC News. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Adam Entous, House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: 'I think Putin pays' Trump. Washington Post (May 17, 2017).
- ↑ Transcript
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Harding, Luke; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Hopkins, Nick (April 13, 2017). "British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia". The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
- ↑ Lichtblau, Eric (April 6, 2017). "C.I.A. Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2017. (Subscription required (help)). Cite uses deprecated parameter
|subscription=(help) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lichtblau, Eric; Myers, Steven Lee (October 31, 2016). "Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Matthew (March 20, 2017). "Comey Confirms FBI Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ↑ "Background to 'Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections': The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution" (PDF). Office of the Director of National Intelligence. January 6, 2017.
- ↑ Miller, Greg; Entous, Adam (January 6, 2017). "Declassified report says Putin 'ordered' effort to undermine faith in U.S. election and help Trump". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Hess, Peter (January 6, 2017). "RT America Is Put in the Spotlight on Damning Intelligence Report". Inverse.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Full Clapper: "No Evidence" of Collusion Between Trump and Russia". NBC News. March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ↑ Stone, Peter; Gordon, Greg (January 18, 2017). "FBI, 5 other agencies probe possible covert Kremlin aid to Trump". McClatchy.
- ↑ Michael S. Schmidt; Matthew Rosenberg; Adam Goldman; Matt Apuzzo (January 19, 2017). "Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
- ↑ Wright, Austin (January 25, 2017). "Second Hill panel to probe possible ties between Russia, Trump campaign". Politico. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ↑ Ghitis, Frida (February 13, 2017). "Flynn's talks with Russian ambassador point to larger problem". CNN. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ↑ Wang, Amy (February 25, 2017). "Top Republican says special prosecutor should investigate Russian meddling in Trump's election". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ "GOP Congressman: Special Prosecutor Needed for Russia Probe". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ "use Intelligence chairman says he hasn't found evidence of Trump team's ties to Russian". The Washington Post. February 27, 2017.
- ↑ "Top intel Democrat: "Circumstantial evidence of collusion" between Trump and Russia". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
- ↑ Kailani Koenig, "Schiff: 'More Than Circumstantial Evidence' Trump Associates Colluded With Russia", NBC News (March 22, 2017).
- ↑ Demirjian, Karoun (April 6, 2017). "House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes recuses himself from Russia probe". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- ↑ Michael D. Shear; Matt Apuzzo (May 10, 2017). "Trump Fires Comey amid Russia Inquiry — Clinton Email Investigation Cited — Democrats Seek Special Counsel". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ↑ Smith, David (2017-05-09). "Donald Trump fires FBI director Comey over handling of Clinton investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
- ↑ Malloy, Allie (May 10, 2017). "Trump says he fired Comey because he wasn't "doing a good job"". CNN. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ "President Trump just completely contradicted the official White House account of the Comey firing". The Week. May 11, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Kevin Liptak. "White House: Removing Comey will help bring Russia investigation to end". CNN. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Lauter, David; Memoli, Michael A. (May 9, 2017). "Trump fires Comey as FBI director; Democrats call for a special prosecutor in Russia investigation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Wilstein, Matt (May 9, 2017). "CNN's Jeffrey Toobin Goes Off on Trump for Firing Comey: 'What Kind of Country Is This?'". The Daily Beast.
- ↑ Abbruzzese, Jason (May 9, 2017). "Everyone is comparing Donald Trump to Richard Nixon". The Silicon Times.
- ↑ "Comey firing: Reaction from members of Congress on FBI director's dismissal". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Sommer, Will (2017-05-09). "Sessions was told to find reasons to fire Comey: reports". The Hill. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ↑ Pramuk, Jacob (2017-05-09). "Justice Department was told to come up with reasons to fire Comey, reports say". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ↑ Haberman, Maggie; Thrush, Glenn (May 10, 2017). "'Enough Was Enough': How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing". The New York Times. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Dawsey, Josh. "'He got tired of him'". Politico. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Rucker, Philip; Parker,, Ashley; Barrett, Devlin; Costa, Robert. "Inside Trump's anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Matthew; Apuzzo, Matt (May 10, 2017). "Days Before Firing, Comey Asked for More Resources for Russia Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ↑ "FBI Director James Comey fired by President Trump". Fox59. Associated Press. May 9, 2017.
- ↑ Carroll, Lauren (May 10, 2017). "Did James Comey tell Donald Trump three times that he isn't under FBI investigation?". PolitiFact.com. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Wilber, Del Quentin; Viswanatha, Aruna (17 May 2017). "Trump Asked Comey to Drop Flynn Investigation, According to Memo Written by Former FBI Director". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ Barrett, Devlin; Nakashima, Ellen; Zapotosky, Matt. "Notes made by former FBI director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 47.6 Schmidt, Michael S. (2017-05-16). "Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
- ↑ Graham, David A. (May 16, 2017). "Did Trump Try to Shut Down the FBI's Michael Flynn Investigation?". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ Chait, Jonathan (May 16, 2017). "Comey's Memo Is the Smoking Gun of Donald Trump's Watergate". New York. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 Devlin Barrett, Ellen Nakashima & Matt Zapotosky (May 16, 2017). "Notes made by former FBI director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe". Washington Post.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ CNN, Pamela Brown. "Comey documented 'everything he could remember' after Trump conversations". CNN. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 Rosenberg, Matthew; Schmitt, Eric (15 May 2017). "Trump Revealed Highly Classified Intelligence to Russia, in Break With Ally, Officials Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Miller, Greg; Jaffe, Greg. "Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Mason, Jeff; Zengerle, Patricia (16 May 2017). "Trump revealed intelligence secrets to Russians in Oval Office: officials". Reuters.
- ↑ Lee, Carol E.; Harris, Shane (16 May 2017). "Trump Shared Intelligence Secrets With Russians in Oval Office Meeting". Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ CNN, Dan Merica, Jake Tapper and Jim Sciutto. "Sources: Trump shared classified info with Russians". CNN. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
- ↑ Aaron Blake, The White House isn't denying that Trump gave Russia classified information — not really, Washington Post (May 15, 2017).
- ↑ "Trump defends 'absolute right' to share 'facts' with Russia". May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017 – via www.bbc.com.
- ↑ Feldscher, Kyle. "Erick Erickson says at least one source in the Washington Post story is pro-Trump". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
- ↑ Haberman, Matt Apuzzo, Maggie; Rosenberg, Matthew (19 May 2017). "Trump Told Russians That Firing 'Nut Job' Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ↑ Thrush, Glenn; Haberman, Maggie (2017-05-16). "At a Besieged White House, Tempers Flare and Confusion Swirls". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
- ↑ Williams, Pete; Dilanian, Ken (May 17, 2017). "Special Counsel Will Take Over FBI Russia Campaign Interference Investigation". NBC News. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Order 3915-2017: Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference With the 2016 Election and Related Matters" (PDF). Office of the Deputy Attorney General, United States Department of Justice. May 17, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2017.
- ↑ Kevin Johnson, Justice Department taps former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel for Russia investigation, USA Today (May 17, 2017).
- ↑ Tanfani, Joseph (May 17, 2017). "Former FBI Director Robert Mueller named special prosecutor for Russia investigation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ Barrett, Devlin; Zapotosky, Matt (May 19, 2017). "y Russia probe reaches current White House official, people familiar with the case say". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ↑ Hensch, Mark (May 19, 2017). "Russia probe looking at current WH official: report". The Hill. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ↑ http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/06/mueller-russia-probe-trump-239163
- ↑ 69.0 69.1 Rosenberg, Matthew; Goldman, Adam; Schmidt, Michael S. (March 2, 2017). "Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking". The New York Times. p. A1.
- ↑ Schmidt, Michael S.; Mazzetti, Mark; Apuzzo, Matt (February 14, 2017). "Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ↑ "Trump team issued at least 20 denials of contacts with Russia". USA Today. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ↑ "A Who's Who of the Trump Campaign's Russia Connections". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ↑ Balluck, Kyle (2017-03-12). "Kremlin spokesman: Russian ambassador met with advisers to Clinton campaign too". The Hill. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ↑ Cullison, Alan,; Hughes, Siobhan (February 27, 2017). "White House Dismisses Calls for Special Prosecutor to Investigate Russia Ties". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 3, 2017.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- ↑ Riechmann, Deb; Sullivan, Eileen (February 28, 2017). "The House Probe Into Trump's Russia Ties Is Off to a Rocky Start". Time. Associated Press. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ↑ Miller, Greg, and Entous, Adam (February 24, 2017). "Trump administration sought to enlist intelligence officials, key lawmakers to counter Russia stories". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2017.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- ↑ Sommer, Will (2017-03-11). "Diplomats warn of Russia hysteria". The Hill. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ↑ "Clinton Ally Michael Morell says no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
- ↑ Becker, Jo; Rosenberg, Matthew (April 6, 2017). "Kushner Omitted Meeting With Russians on Security Clearance Forms". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
- ↑ Dilanian, Ken (February 10, 2017). "Official: Flynn Discussed Sanctions With Russians Before Taking Office". NBC News. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ↑ Murray, Sara; Borger, Gloria; Diamond, Jeremy (February 14, 2017). "Flynn resigns amid controversy over Russia contacts". CNN. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ↑ Michael S. Schmidt; Matthew Rosenberg; Matt Apuzzo (2017-03-02). "Kushner and Flynn Met With Russian Envoy in December, White House Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ↑ Isikoff, Michael. "Moscow paid $45,000 for Flynn's 2015 talk, documents show". Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ↑ CNN, Gloria Borger, Pamela Brown, Jim Sciutto, Marshall Cohen and Eric Lichtblau. "Sources: Russian officials bragged they could use Flynn to influence Trump". CNN. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- ↑ Entous, Adam; Nakashima, Ellen; Miller, Greg (March 1, 2017). "Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ↑ Lichtblau, Eric; Shear, Michael D.; Savage, Charlie; Apuzzo, Matt; Haberman, Maggie; Schmidt, Michael S. (March 2, 2017). "Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself From Russia Inquiry". The New York Times.
- ↑ Julie Pace (March 6, 2017). "Senate committee calls on former Trump adviser Carter Page in Russia investigation". Associated Press.
- ↑ Marshall Cohen & Eli Watkins (March 4, 2016). "Who is Carter Page?". CNN.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ 89.0 89.1 89.2 89.3 Adam Goldman, "Russian Spies Tried to Recruit Carter Page Before He Advised Trump", The New York Times (April 4, 2017).
- ↑ Julie Pace (April 3, 2017). "Trump campaign adviser Carter Page met with Russian spy in 2013". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press.
- ↑ Ali Watkins, "A Former Trump Adviser Met With A Russian Spy", BuzzFeed News (Aptil 3, 2017).
- ↑ Nakashima, Ellen; Devlin Barrett; Adam Entous (April 11, 2017). "FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor former Trump adviser Carter Page". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
- ↑ Adam Entous, Greg Miller, Kevin Sieff & Karen DeYoung, "Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel", The Washington Post (April 3, 2016).
- ↑ Dilanian, Ken; Arkin, William M. (April 3, 2017). "Blackwater Founder Repped Trump at Secret Meeting Overseas: Sources". NBC News. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ↑ Matishak, Martin (March 20, 2017). "Roger Stone takes center stage as Congress lines up Russia probe witnesses". Politico. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ↑ Danner, Chas. "Trump Adviser Roger Stone Admits Messaging With Alleged DNC Hacker". New York. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- ↑ Massie, Chris; McDermott, Nathan; Kaczynski, Andrew. "Trump adviser Roger Stone repeatedly claimed to know of forthcoming WikiLeaks dumps". CNN. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Matthew; Haberman, Maggie (March 11, 2017). "Trump Adviser Had Twitter Contact With Figure Tied to Russians". The New York Times.
- ↑ Haberman, Maggie (March 21, 2017). "Roger Stone, the 'Trickster' on Trump's Side, Is Under F.B.I. Scrutiny". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ↑ 100.0 100.1 Corn, David (October 31, 2016), "A Veteran Spy Has Given the FBI Information Alleging a Russian Operation to Cultivate Donald Trump", Mother Jones, retrieved January 12, 2017
- ↑ Hamburger, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S. (February 28, 2017). "FBI once planned to pay former British spy who authored controversial Trump dossier". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ↑ Corn, David (January 14, 2017), Meeting the man behind the Trump memos, BBC, retrieved January 14, 2017
- ↑ Gray, Rosie (January 10, 2017). "'It Is Fake News Meant to Malign Mr. Trump'". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ↑ Shane, Scott (January 11, 2017). "What We Know and Don't Know About the Trump-Russia Dossier". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ↑ Perez, Evan; Sciutto, Jim; Tapper, Jake; Bernstein, Carl (January 10, 2017). "Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to compromise him". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ↑ Wemple, Eric (January 10, 2017). "BuzzFeed's ridiculous rationale for publishing the Trump-Russia dossier". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ↑ Mak, Tim; Suebsaeng, Asawin; Weiss, Michael (January 11, 2017). "U.S. Spies Warn Trump and GOP: Russia Could Get You Next". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ↑ Sutton, Kelsey (January 11, 2017). "Trump calls CNN 'fake news,' as channel defends its reporting on intelligence briefing". Politico. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
- ↑ Rascoe, Ayesha (January 11, 2017). "Trump accuses U.S. spy agencies of Nazi practices over 'phony' Russia dossier". Reuters. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
- ↑ Bertrand, Natasha (March 30, 2017). "The FBI is reportedly using the explosive Trump-Russia dossier as a 'roadmap' for its investigation". Business Insider. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ↑ Perez, Evan; Prokupecz, Shimon; Raju, Manu (April 18, 2017). "FBI used dossier allegations to bolster Trump-Russia investigation". CNN. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ↑ "Two-Thirds Of U.S. Voters Take Climate Personally, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Opposition To The Wall Hits New High". Quinnipiac University. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- ↑ Aaron Zitner (April 24, 2017). "Poll: Americans Doubtful of Congress's Ability to Probe Russia Meddling in U.S. Election". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
- ↑ Holyk, Gregory (April 26, 2017). "Republicans and Democrats split over Russia probes: Poll". ABC News. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ↑ "Does Trump-Russia Relationship Pose Security Threat? Public Split". Monmouth University. May 18, 2017.
This article "Investigations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Investigations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
