Trump and the Russia Interference Allegations Timeline

The timeline of events surrounding President Doland Trump, Jared Kushner, Michael Flynn, James Comey, and others on the possibility that Russia interfered in the U.S. election, and possibly with the complicity of the Trump campaign.

June 6, 2017 - Reading Between the Lines of Comey's Prepared Testimony. New York Times reporters analyze prepared remarks by James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, that were published Wednesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
May 26, 2017 - The Trump-Russia Story Starts Making Sense (WSJ)
May 27, 2017 - Jared Kushner requested secret channel to communicate with Russians (W Post)

May 27, 2017 - Trump mulls staff shake up to "contain" Russia crisis (W Post)

May 27, 2017 - White House will not comment on Jared Kushner's involvement with Russia (The Hill)
May 27, 2017 - Trump and Russia: A Timeline on Communications (The Hill)

May 25, 2017 - The Justice Department tells CNN that Sessions did not disclose his meetings with Kislyak on his application for a security clearance, despite a requirement to name contacts with a foreign government or its representatives in the previous seven years.

May 23, 2017 - Trump gets outside council (a lawyer who has worked for him for 15 years) for possible lawsuit over Russia interference allegations (WSJ) Former CIA director John Brennan confirms that he viewed intelligence showing people involved in Trump’s campaign had interacted with Russian officials and that the contacts “concerned” him. He refuses to identify the individuals or speak to their level of involvement in the campaign, and says he is unsure whether the contacts amounted to “collusion.”

May 19, 2017 - White House lawyers begin researching impeachment
May 19, 2017 - Rick Santorum warns Trump GOP could impeach 

May 17, 2017 - Everything we know so far about Trump, Russia, and Comey (LA Times)

May 16, 2017 - Trump asked Comey to drop investigation into Flynn according to memo (LA Times)

May 11, 2017 - Timeline of events leading to Comey's firing (NY Times)

May 9, 2017 - Trump fires Comey (LA Times) Former acting attorney general Sally Yates says during testimony before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that she had warned the White House that Flynn and Kislyak had discussed sanctions immediately after realizing that Flynn had misled Pence about that fact. Flynn’s communications with Kislyak had been picked up in routine surveillance of the Russian ambassador, she says. Yates also disputes the White House’s characterization of Flynn’s behavior as routine.

April 11, 2017 - Congressman Jason Chaffetz won't investigate the Russia connection, constituents fight back (Deseret News)

April 1, 2017 - Trump tells NBC to stop covering the Russia investigation (thehill.com)

March 28, 2017 - Trump admin tries to block Sally Yates from testifying on Russia.  (W Post)

March 20, 2017 - FBI Director James Comey confirms in public testimony before the House Intelligence Committee that the bureau is investigating Russian election interference, and any linkes between Moscow and Trump’s campaign.
The same day, Spicer says at a press briefing that Trump stands by his comments that he has no knowledge of any contacts between his campaign associates and Russia during the election — though he notes that Trump is aware of Flynn’s contacts with Kislyak. Spicer says that the White House is not aware of any contacts between former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Russian operatives. Spicer also stresses that former Obama intelligence officials have said there is "no evidence of a Trump Russia collusion.”

March 1, 2017 - The Justice Department confirms to the Washington Post that Sessions spoke twice to Kislyak before the 2016 presidential election, once in July and once during a September meeting in his Senate office. Department officials say Sessions met with the Russian ambassador in his capacity as a senator and member of the Armed Services Committee.

March 2017 - 80 Times Trump Talked About Putin (CNN)

February 19, 2017 - White House chief of staff Reince Priebus denies that members or associates of the campaign had contacts with Russian officials involved in the effort to influence the election and says his assertions are backed up by members of the intelligence community.  Priebus also flatly denies any “collusion” between Trump affiliates and Moscow.

February 16, 2017 - Trump says during a news conference that he has nothing to do with Russia, calling the reports about campaign associates’ ties to Moscow a “ruse.” “I have nothing to do with Russia,” Trump says. “To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does.”
Trump acknowledges that Flynn did have contacts with the Russian ambassador — but describes it as routine contact with foreign officials, saying Flynn was “doing his job.” 

February 14, 2017 - Spicer tells reporters at a press briefing that Trump stands by his assertion that no member of the campaign, including Flynn, had contacts with Russia before the election.  “There’s nothing that would conclude me that anything different has changed with respect to that time period."

February 13, 2017 - Michael Flynn resigns as NSA advisor (CNN)
"In the course of my duties as the incoming National Security Advisor, I held numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts, ministers, and ambassadors. These calls were to facilitate a smooth transition and begin to build the necessary relationships between the President, his advisors and foreign leaders. Such calls are standard practice in any transition of this magnitude.
Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador."

The Washington Post reported days earlier that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Kislyak and may have discussed the possibility of lifting them.

January 31, 2017 - Acting Attorney General Sally Yates is fired because she won't defend the immigration (Muslim) travel ban. 

January 15, 2017  - Vice President-elect Mike Pence tells CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Michael Flynn did not discuss sanctions with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
“It was strictly coincidental that they had a conversation,” Pence says of the December conversation between Flynn and Kislyak. “They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States’ decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia.”
Pence also tells “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson that no adviser or member of the campaign had contact with Russians who were trying to influence the election.

January 11, 2017 - Donald Trump writes on Twitter, “Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA — NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!” 

January 10, 2017 - Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he is unaware of any Trump campaign affiliates communicating with the Russian government during the campaign, and that he himself had no such communications.

November 11, 2016 - Press aide Hope Hicks tells the Associated Press that there was “no communication” between the Trump campaign and any foreign entity—including Russia. “It never happened,” Hicks tells the AP. “There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”