We’ve added a new feature to accompany the Interactive Trump-Russia Timeline at Billmoyers.com. It identifies by date and title the most recent additions to the Timeline. For this transitional week, I’ve included here the complete text of each new entry in the Trump-Russia Timeline, some of which also apply to the separate Pence Timeline, Kushner Timeline, and Comey Firing Timeline. For future updates, go directly to the “Newest Additions” link at Billmoyers.com

May 14, 1984: Trump Opens His First Atlantic City Casino 

The Trump Organization opens Harrah’s at Trump Tower—the first of three Trump casinos in Atlantic City, NJ by 1990. [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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NEW: April 3, 1987: Australian Concerns About Alleged “Trump Mafia Connections”

In connection with Trump’s request to build a new casino in Sydney, Australia, the New South Wales Police Board issues its confidential report on whether Trump has the required “sound repute, probity and integrity” for the project. A month later, the May 4, 1987 confidential minutes of the New South Wales Cabinet Casino Subcommittee quote portions of the board’s report, including: “Atlantic City would be a dubious model for Sydney and in our judgement, the Trump Mafia connections should exclude the Kern/Trump consortium.” The minutes also quote this conclusion from the police board: “On tests of sound repute, probity and integrity,” Trump’s consortium “would be dangerous.”

The subcommittee minutes also summarize a conclusion from CIBC Australia Ltd., a subsidiary of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which reviewed the financial aspects of Trump’s proposal: “The projected casino revenue estimates are not soundly based and the quantum of the potential overstatement is so material that [the proposal] is not financially viable.” [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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2002: Trump’s Russian Real Estate Dealings Expand 

Efforts to sell Russians apartments in Trump World Tower, Trump’s West Side condominiums and Trump’s building on Columbus Circle expand with presentations in Moscow involving Sotheby’s International Realty and a Russian realty firm.

In addition to buying units in Trump World Tower, Russians and Russian-Americans flood into another Trump-backed project in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. According to Reuters’ investigation, in South Florida alone, members of the Russian elite eventually invest more than $98 million in seven Trump-branded luxury towers. Owners of another one-third of the more than 2000 units are limited liability companies that can hide a true owner’s identity. [Revised Aug. 21, 2017]

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March 21, 2016: Trump Lists Page and Papadopoulos as Foreign Policy Advisers 

In a Washington Post interview, Trump identifies Carter Page as one of his foreign policy advisers. Page had helped open the Moscow office of investment banking firm Merrill Lynch and had advised Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, in which Page is an investor. He blames 2014 US sanctions relating to Russia’s annexation of Crimea for driving down Gazprom’s stock price. Earlier in March 2016, Iowa tea party activist Sam Clovis had recommended Page to the Trump campaign.

In the same interview, Trump says that George Papadopoulos is also a member of his foreign policy team. “He’s an energy and oil consultant, excellent guy,” Trump says. [Revised Aug. 21, 2017]

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March 24, 2016: Papadopoulos Suggests Russia Meeting 

Three days after Trump identifies George Papadopoulos as a member of his foreign policy team, Papadopoulos sends an email to seven campaign officials with the subject line: “Meeting with Russian Leadership – Including Putin.” According to later reporting from The Washington Post, he offers to set up “a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss US-Russia ties under President Trump,” telling them his Russian contacts welcomed the opportunity. Some Trump advisers express concern about the legality of meeting with Putin or his representatives. But for the next several months, Papadopoulos sends additional emails about Russia’s desire for such a meeting. [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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June 7, 2016: Trump Promises to Reveal “Things That Have Taken Place With the Clintons” 

After winning the New Jersey primary as the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president, Trump includes these lines in his victory speech: “I am going to give a major speech on probably Monday of next week [June 13] and we’re going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons… Hillary Clinton turned the State Department into her private hedge fund – the Russians, the Saudis, the Chinese – all gave money to Bill and Hillary and got favorable treatment in return. It’s a sad day in America when foreign governments with deep pockets have more influence in our own country than our great citizens.” [Revised Aug. 21, 2017]

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NEW: Jan. 9, 2017: Ukrainian Hacker Goes Dark

On an an encripted, anonymous part of the internet known as the “dark web,” a Ukrainian hacker known as “Profexer” goes completely dark. Three days earlier, the US intelligence agencies’ report on Russian interference with the US election publicly identified a malware program that Profexer wrote as one tool used with Russian hacking in the United States. Sometime thereafter, Profexer turns himself into the Ukrainian police and reportedly begins cooperating with the FBI. [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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Feb. 8, 2017: Comey Tells Priebus Not To Meddle 

According to a later report in The New York Times, FBI Director Comey has a private meeting at the White House with chief of staff Reince Priebus. He tells Priebus about a Justice Department policy that largely bars discussions between White House officials and the FBI with respect to continuing investigations. The purpose of the policy is to prevent political meddling — or at least the appearance of it — in the bureau’s work, according to the law enforcement official source for the Times report. [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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Aug. 1, 2017: White House Admits Trump “Weighed In” On Don Jr.’s Misleading Statement 

Responding to reports about Trump’s role in drafting his son’s statement concerning the June 9, 2016 meeting with the Russians, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says, “The statement that Don Jr. issued is true. There’s no inaccuracy in the statement. The President weighed in as any father would, based on the limited information that he had.” [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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NEW: Aug. 14, 2017: Pence Parses His Words On Russia

While visiting a Christian mission in Cartagena, Colombia, Pence tells reporters, “During all of my experience on the campaign, I never witnessed any evidence of collusion or any of the allegations, I’m not aware of that ever having occurred… I made it very clear I am not aware of any contacts during the time that I was on the campaign between any officials of the Russian government and officials with the campaign, and I stand by that.” [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

As for Pence’s awareness of any contacts between Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russian officials prior to the inauguration, Pence adds, “I think I was very clear what I spoke about on television is precisely what Michael Flynn had told me and I believe the president was right to move him out of the White House.” [Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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NEW: Aug. 15, 2017: Trump Tweets Another Russia Distraction

 

 

[Added Aug. 21, 2017]

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NEW: Aug. 17, 2017: Rohrbacher Echoes Assange: Russia Didn’t Hack Election

A day after meeting with Julian Assange in London, Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA)—long known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia—issues a press release stating that Assange told him Russia was not behind the leaks of emails during the 2016 election. [Added Aug. 21, 2017]