Trump isn’t subtle. He uses big sticks and tantalizing carrots. His sticks include tweets attacking potential witnesses in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. Those open and notorious attempts to intimidate are one of the many ways that Trump has been obstructing justice.

Last week, Trump used carrots — signaling to those who remain loyal to him personally the prospect of a pardon down the road. He even claimed the power to pardon himself. It was a remarkable week for the Trump-Russia Timeline.

Sheriff Joe

In August 2017, Trump bypassed the years-long pardon application process to grant one to former Maricopa Country Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He had been convicted of criminal contempt of court for brutally racist treatment of undocumented immigrants. Some speculated that Trump’s pardon was a “message” to potential witnesses in the Trump-Russia investigation — a natural follow-up to Trump’s April 25 message to Mike Flynn: “Stay strong.”

But as with all outrageous Trump actions, the controversy over Arpaio’s pardon disappeared as his new outrageous acts took its place. By May 1, 2018, Mike Pence was saying that he was honored by the presence of then-GOP Senate candidate Arpaio — a  “tireless champion of the rule of law.”

Scooter

In 2007, President George W. Bush received enormous pressure from Vice President Dick Cheney to pardon Cheney’s former chief of staff “Scooter” Libby after convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice. That’s even closer to the Trump-Russia situation than Arpaio’s because:

1) Crimes similar to Libby’s — perjury and obstruction of justice — are the subject of Mueller’s investigation;

2) A special counsel investigation led to Libby’s conviction; and

3) The special counsel who prosecuted Libby successfully was then-US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald — appointed to do so by then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey. Fitzgerald is now in private practice and represents Comey.

Dinesh, Martha, and Rod

In 2014, conservative author, commentator, and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud. But even without a pending application, Trump pardoned him on May 31, 2018. It’s no coincidence that campaign finance laws are elements of Mueller’s investigation.

As he announced D’Souza’s pardon, Trump said he was contemplating similar relief for Martha Stewart. She was convicted in 2004 of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal investigators. Sound familiar?

So is the name of the US Attorney in Manhattan who gave prosecutors the green light to proceed with the case against Stewart: James Comey. (Stewart had also appeared with Trump on The Apprentice.)

On the same day, Trump also floated commuting the public corruption sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He was convicted on 18 felony counts and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Blago — another alumnus of The Apprentice — probably got Trump’s attention with his May 28, 2018 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, “I’m in Prison for Practicing Politics.”

Like Trump, Blagojevich called his prosecution a “witch hunt.” The US attorney who prosecuted that case was Patrick Fitzgerald.

Roger Stone Gets It

Trump is working his way though a checklist. It’s a mix of crimes that he and his compatriots may have committed (Flynn, Gates, and Papadopoulos have confessed to giving false statements to federal investigators), along with individuals who have connections to one of Trump’s most formidable enemies: James Comey. The message is clear, and Roger Stone said that he, for one, has received it:

“It has to be a signal to Mike Flynn and Paul Manafort and even Robert S. Mueller III: Indict people for crimes that don’t pertain to Russian collusion and this is what could happen. The special counsel has awesome powers, as you know, but the president has even more awesome powers.”

The same day, Stone told ABC News, “I will never betray this president. Under no circumstances will I bear false witness against President Trump.”

There are many ways to obstruct justice. Trump is utilizing all of them. And he’s not done yet.

Postscript on Sekulow and A Dangerous Memo

Last week’s post on the Trump-Russia Timeline update discussed Trump’s lawyer-enablers — with a special focus on Emmet Flood and Jay Sekulow. This week was bad for both of them, especially Sekulow.

Recall that in July 2017, Sekulow took to the airwaves, proclaiming repeatedly that Trump — his client — had no involvement whatsoever with Donald Trump Jr.’s misleading statement to the The New York Times about the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting that included Don Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

Last week, the Times obtained the Jan. 29, 2018 memo that Sekulow and his then-co-counsel, John Dowd, wrote on Trump’s behalf to special counsel Robert Mueller:

“[T]he President dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump, Jr.”

From “no involvement whatsoever” to having “dictated” Don Jr.’s statement. More proof that either Sekulow lied publicly for Trump, or Trump lied to him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the 20-page memo that Sekulow and Dowd sent to Mueller is an embarrassment to the legal profession. For example, it relies on the wrong statute to claim that Trump could not have obstructed justice in his conversations with then-FBI Director James Comey about “letting Flynn go.” They ignore altogether the correct statute, which destroys their argument.

In substance and style, the memo’s legal positions would be laughable, if they weren’t so frightening. With respect to the Trump-Russia investigation, Sekulow and Dowd suggest that Trump can do whatever he wants and the law cannot touch him. Trump’s enablers with legal degrees have become a mortal threat to democracy and the rule of law.

Where is Emmet Flood? As his reputation slides down Mt. Trump, he is nowhere to be found. But history will record his guilt by association. Flood’s sins of omission are no less damning than Sekulow’s sins of commission.

Here are the latest updates to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

DEC. 15, 2016: Bannon, Flynn and Kushner Meet Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Gerson Surfaces; Nader Nearby (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 11, 2017: Prince Meets With Putin Associate in the Seychelles (revision of previous entry)

MAR. 4, 2017: Trumps Asks Sessions To “Unrecuse” Himself

AUG. 25, 2017: Trump Pardons Arpaio; Warner Concerned About “Message”

NOV. 21, 2017: Trump’s Lawyers Talk With Mueller About Possible Trump Interview

JAN. 8, 2018: Trump’s Lawyers Talk Again With Mueller about Possible Trump Interview

JAN. 10, 2018: Trump Waffles on Mueller Interview (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 29, 2018: Trump’s Lawyers Resist Mueller Interview

APR. 13, 2018: Trump Pardons Libby

MAY 29, 2018: Gowdy Defends FBI and DOJ

MAY 30, 2018: Trump Renews Attack on Sessions

MAY 30-31, 2018: Trump’s Twitter Rampage Over Russia Investigation Continues

MAY 31, 2018: Trump Issues Another Pardon; Hints About More With A Comey Connection

MAY 31, 2018: Stone: Trump Pardons “Send a Message”; Stone Receives It

JUNE 1, 2018: Trump Tweets About Mueller Investigation

JUNE 1-2, 2018: Brennan Attacks Trump; Trump Tweets Back at Brennan and Mueller

JUNE 2, 2018: Trump Tweets In Advance of NYT Story

JUNE 3, 2018: Trump Tweets About Obstruction, Comey, Manafort, and Mueller

When Trump hired Emmet Flood (JD, Yale, ’91) the legal profession consensus was that, at long last, a principled, disciplined, qualified, and widely respected attorney would finally be in charge. The consensus was wrong.

Flood is the featured player in this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline update. In less than a month, he ruined forever a reputation that took him decades to develop. Welcome to the world of Trump’s reverse-King Midas touch afflicting those who become his enablers. For an attorney, it’s an especially ignominious distinction.

Lessons Not Learned

Flood should have known better. Jay Sekulow (JD, Mercer, ’80) is the sole survivor from Trump’s original legal team, and it has cost him dearly. Along with every sentient lawyer, Flood must have felt pain for the entire profession as Sekulow self-destructed.

It began in July 2017, after Don Jr. was caught lying about his June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Jared Kushner (JD/MBA, NYU, ’07), Paul Manafort (JD, Georgetown ’74), and three Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Sekulow hit the national media circuit, proclaiming that Trump himself had nothing to do with his son’s initial false statement. Then the truth emerged: either Sekulow had lied or his client had duped him. No lawyer wants to be the subject of that Hobson’s choice.

Yet Sekulow soldiered on. In February 2018, Politico wrote about Sekulow’s weekly radio program during which he shilled for Trump by attacking the Russia probe. Perhaps he forgot the oath that all lawyers take to uphold the rule of law, along with the legal profession’s ethical rules requiring all attorneys to promote public confidence in the judicial system.

Enter Emmet Flood

But Flood was supposed to be more than just another Sekulow-type Trump lackey. Unlike Sekulow, who from the outset was unqualified for the job of defending Trump, Flood has advised top Republicans (Vice President Dick Cheney during the Valerie Plame episode) and Democrats (President Clinton during his impeachment) through the challenging intersection of law and politics. Flood probably believed that he could avoid landmines that had blown up predecessor legal-enablers such as Marc Kasowitz (JD, Cornell, ’77), John Dowd (JD, Emory, ’65), and Ty Cobb (JD, Georgetown, ’78).

Flood’s first warning sign was Rudy Giuliani (JD, NYU ’68). Prior to Flood, Giuliani had been the most recent addition to Trump’s legal team. The second warning sign came on May 2, when Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued this press release announcing Flood’s arrival:

“Emmet Flood will be joining the White House staff to represent the president and the administration against the Russia witch hunt.”

If Flood knew that his publicly stated job description would be helping Trump beat back the “Russia witch hunt” — a stunning official White House declaration — he never should have taken the position. If he didn’t know until Sanders’ announcement, he should have saved himself by resigning immediately and returning to his respected firm law firm, Williams & Connolly. It’s too late now.

Fake “Spy-Gate” Story

Flood knows that Trump traffics in lies and that some are more dangerous than others. Last week’s Big Lie was Trump’s claim that the FBI had planted a spy in his campaign. There was never any evidence to support Trump’s rants. But beginning on May 22, Trump launched “spy-gate.” By the end of the Memorial Day weekend, he’d tweeted 23 more Russia-related attacks on the rule of law.

One of those tweets was Trump’s unprecedented demand: The Justice Department must disclose highly confidential information to Trump’s most complicit GOP congressional ally, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA).

[Pro tip known to experienced Trump-Russia Timeline followers: Go to the Trump-Russia Timeline at InvestigateRussia, org and click on Nunes’ name. The resulting entries reveal that he should be a “subject” of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, if not a “target.” Nunes was on Trump’s transition team, spoke daily with Mike Flynn in December 2016 (when Flynn was talking to the Russian ambassador about sanctions), and has been a key player in Trump’s efforts to derail the Russia probe. (E.g., Nunes led the phony “unmasking” controversy; he made the “midnight run” of White House documents back to the White House; he championed bogus issues relating to the FBI’s request for a FISA warrant on Carter Page. And so on and so on and so on…]

Nunes’ favorite red herring is attacking the FBI and the Justice Department. Most recently, he has been seeking information about a specific person who became an FBI informant during the Bureau’s counterintelligence investigation of Russians trying to infiltrate the Trump campaign. No prior president has ever attempted to get the FBI or the Department of Justice to divulge such information during an ongoing investigation, much less an investigation involving that president’s own campaign.

Trump’s demand was actually a ham-handed effort to learn what evidence special counsel Robert Mueller has on him and his colleagues. Giuliani admitted it:

“We want to see how the briefing went to today and how much we learned from it. If we learned a good deal from it, it will shorten that whole process considerably… What I need to know is, ‘What’s the basis for their doing it?’ Most important, ‘What did the informant produce?'”

Where Was Emmet Flood?

Into this mess walked Emmet Flood — literally. Although Sarah Huckabee Sanders had said previously that no one from the White House would attend the meeting between Nunes, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), and senior leaders from the FBI and DOJ, Flood entered the room with chief of staff John Kelly.

Neither Kelly nor Flood had any legitimate reason for attending that meeting. Consistent with long-standing norms, they should have remained far away from a confidential session during which the FBI and the Justice Department would be discussing an investigation into the person who happens to be their boss. Trump is already a “subject” of the probe, yet Flood — a lawyer who knows better — proceeded anyway.

Complicit Lawyer-Enablers

Before the meeting, Trump had tweeted his latest Big Lie eight times. Immediately thereafter — from Friday, May 25 through Tuesday morning, May 29 — he posted another 16 tweets railing about his phony “spy-gate” claim, repeating assaults on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, and even asserting that Mueller would “meddle” in the upcoming midterm election. Meanwhile, Giuliani declared Mueller’s investigation “illegitimate.”

Where is Emmet Flood now? It was bad enough that he walked into the Trump assault on democracy in the first place. He has no excuse for staying there as his new client undermines the rule of law by attacking an investigation that has already yielded 22 indictments (including five guilty pleas).

History will judge harshly Flood and others on the long list of Trump’s enablers with law degrees, including Kushner, Manafort, Mike Pence (JD, Indiana-Robert McKinney School of Law, ’86), Kellyanne Conway (JD, George Washington, ’92), Reince Priebus (JD, Miami, ’98), Don McGahn (JD, Widener, ’94), and numerous members of Congress (including Sen. Mitch McConnell, JD, Kentucky, ’67) and Rep. Trey Gowdy (JD, South Carolina, ’89).

None of Trump’s enablers will recover their reputations. Emmet Flood is different from the others in only one respect: he had far more to lose.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

NEW: SEPT. 18, 2016: Stone Wants Info From Assange

NEW: JAN. 9, 2017: Vekselberg Meets With Cohen

REVISED: JAN. 20, 2017: Vekselberg, Veselnitskaya, Akhmetshin and Butina Attend Trump Inauguration Festivities; Cohen Gets Big Contract

NEW: MAY 21, 2018: Trump Meets With Wray, Rosenstein and Coats

NEW: MAY 22, 2018: Cohen’s Business Partner Pleads Guilty

NEW: MAY 22, 2018: Trump Continues Tweeting About “Spies” In His Campaign

NEW: MAY 23, 2018: Trump Twitter Barrage About Campaign “Spies” Persists

NEW: MAY 23, 2018: Mueller: “Ongoing Criminal Investigation with Multiple Lines of Non-Public Inquiry”

NEW: MAY 24, 2018: Trump Continues Tweeting About Bogus “Spy-gate”

NEW: MAY 24, 2018: Trump Resumes Attack on Comey

NEW: MAY 24, 2018: White House Meeting Among Rosenstein, Wray, Coats, Kelly, and Congressional Leaders

NEW: MAY 24, 2018: Giuliani: “We Want To See How The Briefing Went Today”

NEW: MAY 25-29, 2018: Trump’s Memorial Day Weekend: 16 Tweets About the Russia Investigation and Spies

NEW: MAY 25, 2018: Deripaska Resigns From Rusal Board

 NEW: MAY 25, 2018: Manafort’s Virginia Trial Reset For July 24

NEW: MAY 25, 2018: Giuliani Wants Briefing on Classified Info

NEW: MAY 27, 2018: Guiliani: “The Basis of Mueller’s Appointment is Illegitimate”

.

Russia wasn’t the only foreign government trying to help Trump win the election. Last week’s bombshell on that subject competed for attention with two other big stories:

— The Senate Judiciary Committee released interview transcripts relating to the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump’s top campaign advisers and Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton; and

— Trump made an unprecedented demand: The Justice Department should investigate the unfounded claim that the FBI had placed spies in his 2016 presidential campaign. In other words, Trump is now openly issuing orders in an investigation for which he is a subject.

But an August 2016 rendezvous that Erik Prince arranged between Donald Trump Jr. and George Nader as an emissary from two foreign powers could reverberate beyond wherever those two stories lead. At a minimum, it sure looks like Prince and Don Jr. have a serious legal problem. And that is very bad news for Trump.

Erik Prince Testifies

For a long time, Prince has been a featured player on the Trump-Russia Timeline. On Nov. 30, 2017, here’s what he told House Intelligence Committee:

— He had no formal role in the Trump campaign, except as a donor, fundraiser, and occasional supplier of foreign policy position papers to Steve Bannon. (Prince did admit to having a Trump sign on his lawn. That sarcastic comment typified his cavalier and irreverent congressional performance; the joke is now on him.)

— He had minimal interactions with Don Jr. (“I met him at a campaign event… I ran into him a couple of times when I was up there [at Trump Tower] during the transition.”).

— His January 2017 meeting with a Russian close to Putin in the Seychelles was a chance encounter having nothing to do with the incoming Trump administration or its policies.

The Truth Emerges

Now go to the Trump-Russia Timeline, click on Prince’s name, and see what the truth looks like.

— In August 2016, Prince set up a meeting that included Don Jr., Nader as an emissary from the governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and a specialist at social media manipulation.Through Nader, Saudi Arabia and UAE offered their assistance to help Trump win the election.

— Witnesses to the January 2017 Seychelles meeting have contradicted Prince’s account. They say it was an organized gathering aimed at easing US-Russia relations.

It’s worth noting here that prior to Prince’s congressional testimony in November 2017, he visited the office of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) — Trump’s principal Republican congressional ally in the effort to derail special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. In March 2018, Prince co-hosted a fundraiser for “Putin’s favorite congressman”, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).

And Then There’s Don Jr.

Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 7, 2017, Donald Trump Jr. provided answers that lined up nicely with Prince’s but, like Prince’s, are now problematic:

“Q: We’ve talked a lot about Russia. So I have some broader questions about other foreign governments. Did other foreign governments offer or provide assistance to the Trump campaign?

“Don Jr: None that I’m aware of.

“Q: Did other foreign nationals offer or provide assistance to the Trump campaign?

“Don Jr: No.

“Q: Did you directly or indirectly seek foreign government or foreign nationals assistance for the Trump campaign?

“Don Jr: No.

“Q: Are you aware of anyone else seeking foreign government or foreign nationals assistance for the Trump campaign?

“Don Jr: I’m not.

“Q: Did you ever tell anyone that you or the Trump campaign would be receptive to offers of assistance from foreign governments or foreign nationals?

“Don Jr: No.” (Transcript pp. 208-209)

Through his attorney, Don Jr. acknowledged on May 20, 2018, that the August 2016 meeting occurred:

“Prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting with Erik Prince, George Nader and another individual who may be Joel Zamel. They pitched Mr. Trump Jr. on a social media platform or marketing strategy. He was not interested and that was the end of it.”

The Problem With Lies

So it seems that yet another “Flynn situation” has emerged. That is, it sure looks like Erik Prince and Donald Trump Jr. made statements to federal investigators that weren’t true. Why? Even more damning than Flynn’s dissembling about his communications with Russians during the transition, Prince and Don Jr. may be at the center of a more important unfolding storyline: If other foreign governments wanted to help Trump win the election, Prince could be a matchmaker and Don Jr. would be all ears.

That’s not good.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

JAN. 19, 2016: Goldstone Pushes Russian Social Media Campaign; Graff Responds

FEB. 29, 2016: Agalarov Sends Trump A Super-Tuesaday Greeting

JUNE 8, 2016: Goldstone Offers Trump Help From Russian Social Media Giant

JUNE 9, 2016: Don Jr., Manafort, Kushner Meet With Russian Lawyer (revision of previous entry)

JUNE 14, 2016: Goldstone Emails Emin Agalarov and Ike Kaveladze (revision of previous entry)

JUNE 29, 2016: Goldstone Again Pitches Help From Russian Social Media

AUG. 3, 2016: Don Jr. Meets With Emissary From Saudi Arabia and UAE

AUG. 17, 2016: Trump Receives First National Security Briefing (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 11, 2017: Cohen Falsely Claims No Trump-Russia Contacts

JUNE 2-5, 2017: Goldstone Responds to Garten

JUNE 27, 2017: Goldstone Complains To Emin Agalarov About Heat From June 9, 2016 Meeting

JULY 9, 2017: Goldstone Complains About Publicity Surrounding June 2016 Trump Tower Meeting

JULY 9-10, 2017: Goldstone Seeks Help Responding To Media Stories About June 2016 Meeting

JULY 10, 2017: Emin Agalarov on Trump Tower Meeting: “No Comment”

JULY 11, 2017: “Why Did He Release This E-Mail Admitting Collusion?”

SEPT. 7, 2017: Don Jr. Talks to Senate Intelligence Committee (revision of previous entry)

NOV. 30, 2017: Prince Testifies Before House Intelligence Committee (revision of previous entry)

APR. 18, 2018: Trump Tweets About Stormy Daniels (revision of previous entry)

MAY 15, 2018: Putin Drives Across New Bridge Connecting Russia and Crimea

MAY 15, 2018: Trump Tweets “Witch Hunt” “No Collusion”

MAY 15, 2018: Federal Judge Denies Manafort Motion to Dismiss Indictment

MAY 15, 2018: Trump Eliminates Top Cybersecurity Policy Coordinator

MAY 15-16, 2018: Trump Belatedly Reports Cohen Reimbursement

MAY 16, 2018: Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats Issue Preliminary Findings on June 9, 2016 Trump Tower Meeting

MAY 16, 2018: Senate Intelligence Committee Report Disputes House Report: Putin Wanted Trump to Win

MAY 17, 2018: Trump Tweets “No Collusion” “No Obstruction” “Witch Hunt”

MAY 17, 2018: Manafort’s Former Son-In-Law Makes Plea Deal

MAY 18-20, 2018: Trump Tweets Culminate Demanding DOJ Investigation

MAY 20, 2018: Rosenstein Responds To Trump Demand

MAY 20, 2018: RNC Has Paid Almost $500,000 In Legal Fees to Hicks and Others

MAY 21, 2018: Trump’s Twitter-Storm Against Russia Investigation Continues

The drumbeat is underway. Trump’s enablers are using the one-year anniversary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment to call for an end of the Trump-Russia investigation, As the Trump-Russia Timeline demonstrates, the chorus is the culmination of a systematic effort that began within days of Mueller’s appointment. For a sample, consider these entry titles from the Timeline:

MAY 18, 2017: Trump Denounces Special Counsel

MAY 19, 2017: Reuters Reports White House Lawyers Reviewing Ways to Undermine Mueller

SOMETIME IN JUNE 2017: Trump Wants Mueller Fired; McGahn Threatens To Resign

JUNE 12, 2017: Trump Is Rumored to Consider Firing Mueller

JULY 20, 2017: Reports About White House Efforts to Limit or Block Mueller Investigation

JULY 25, 2017: Trump Says Mueller’s Job Is Not ‘Safe’

AUG. 7, 2017: Trump Asks GOP Senators To End Trump-Russia Investigation

OCT. 27, 2017: Trump Tweets About Russia Investigation Costs

SHORTLY AFTER DEC. 5, 2017: Trump Considers Firing Mueller, Again

JAN. 24, 2018: Trump Says He Was Only “Fighting Back”; Hopes Mueller Will Be Fair

And so on, and so on, and so on…

That doesn’t count Trump’s tweets, or the complicit GOP team members of Congress — especially Rep. Devin Nunes — who have pursued diversionary attacks aimed at undermining the investigation, the Justice Department, and the FBI.

What Worries Pence?

Until last week, Mike Pence had refrained from critical commentary about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. But as three prisoners were returning from North Korea, Pence urged Mueller to shut it down:

“It’s been about a year since this investigation began… In the interests of the country, I think it’s time to wrap it up. And I would very respectfully encourage the special counsel and his team to bring their work to completion.”

For perspective, the special counsel’s investigation in Iran-Contra took more than six years; Whitewater consumed more than four. And in their first year, neither had yielded as many indictments and guilty pleas as Mueller’s investigation has.

If you wonder why Pence wants the investigation over, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on his name. Pence has plenty to fear from a thorough understanding of his involvement in the Trump-Russia story. After all, he was head of the Trump transition team. Running Pence’s name through the Timeline filter reveals that he has a big “Flynn problem” and was a central player in the Comey firing cover-up. As a potential disinfectant, sunlight is not Pence’s friend.

Russians Penetrated Voter Registration Systems

Meanwhile, Trump dithers as a hostile foreign power continues its massive cyberattack on American democracy.

Remember the Election Day reports of citizens who couldn’t vote because of confusion in voter rolls and problems with voting machines? The Senate Intelligence Committee released a preliminary report confirming that from “at least as early as 2014 through Election Day 2016,” Russian government-affiliated actors engaged in cyberattacks on at least 21 state election systems. And to some unknown degree, they succeeded:

“In a small number of states, Russian-affiliated cyber actors were able to gain access to restricted elements of election infrastructure. In a small number of states, these cyber actors were in a position to, at a minimum, alter or delete voter registration data….”

Long ago, the media should have stopped saying that Trump won the election “fair and square.” He didn’t, and that’s why Trump keeps obsessing about Hillary Clinton and the election. He’s using every weapon at his disposable to block the investigation aimed at uncovering the whole truth.

Here’s a complete list of the week’s updates to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

2014 to Nov. 8, 2016: Russian Cyber-Actors Target 2016 Election Cycle

DEC. 10, 2015: Flynn Receives Money From RT (revision of previous entry)

MAR. 29, 2016: Trump Hires Manafort

OCT. 17, 2016: Cohen Creates Shell Company

OCT. 26, 2016: Cohen Signs Non-Disclosure Agreement With Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) (revision of previous entry)

BETWEEN JANUARY 2017 AND AUGUST 2017: Oligarch-Linked Firm Pays Cohen $500,000

JAN. 20, 2017: Vekselberg, Veselnitskaya, Akhmetshin and Butina Attend Trump Inauguration Festivities (revision of previous entry)

APR. 3, 2017: Cohen and Broidy Become RNC National Deputy Finance Co-Chairs

APR. 4, 2018: Mueller Quizzing Oligarchs (revision of previous entry)

AROUND APR. 28, 2018: Giuliani Meets With Mueller; Mueller Rejects Written Responses in Lieu of Trump Testimony

MAY 8, 2018: Emerdata Shutting Down, Too

MAY 9, 2018: Pence Says Mueller Should “Wrap It Up.”

[NOTE: My May 1, 2018 interview on “Background Briefing with Ian Masters” discusses the latest Trump-Russia developments. The Trump-Russia Timeline also appears at investigaterussia.org.] 

Last week, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and Rudy Giuliani occupied the center ring of Donald Trump’s scandal circus. But important things were happening in the Trump-Russia ring, too. They’re less sensational and, therefore, relegated to the media’s back burner. But they are a useful reminder of the central theme that is easily lost in Trump’s continuing chaos:

Russia helped Trump win the election. He wants desperately to end the resulting investigation into how and why.

Sanctions

A key strand of the story involves Russian sanctions. For years, Putin has wanted them lifted. From the beginning of the presidential campaign, Trump made clear his desire to accommodate him.

After the election, Trump resisted a unified Congress that wanted tougher Russian sanctions for interfering with the 2016 election. Eventually, he signed the bill into law, but not before legislators made clear that they had veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate. Undeterred, Trump then dragged his feet in implementing the sanctions. Now he’s softening them.

The latest example involves Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Apr. 6, 2018: Great fanfare surrounds the list of newly sanctioned Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska, who is Manafort’s former business associate.

Apr. 20, 2018: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discusses the new sanctions with the Russian Finance Minister.

May 1, 2018: The Trump administration amends its “blacklist” to pave the way for Deripaska’s company to escape the new sanctions.

Obstruction

Likewise, the supposedly tough stance that the Trump administration adopted in permitting the sale of antitank missiles to Ukrainian resistance fighters against Russia may have produced a benefit to Trump after all. In early April 2018, as the Pentagon prepared to finalize the sale, the Ukrainian government ordered its chief anticorruption prosecutor to freeze ongoing investigations into Paul Manafort. The prosecutor’s previous offer to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe became moot. The US completed the shipment of the missiles on Apr. 30, 2018.

Meanwhile, Trump’s obstruction efforts — with the active assistance of complicit congressional Republicans — continue to hide in plain sight. On Apr. 30, 2018, the public learned that “Freedom Caucus” members had drafted articles of impeachment directed at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. At the same time, Giuliani’s botched rollout of the latest pretext for firing FBI Director James Comey — that Comey refused to say Trump wasn’t a “target” of the FBI’s investigation — overshadowed a more ominous development: FBI lawyers James Baker and Lisa Page resigned.

Baker and Page are corroborating witnesses for Comey’s statement that Trump had spoken to him about “letting [Mike Flynn] go.” That made them Trump’s enemies. He subjected them to relentless attacks, and now they have left the bureau.

When it comes to undermining the investigation into Trump-Russia, Trump will do whatever it takes to save himself. Unfortunately, he has no shortage of eager accomplices. And Trump is still tweeting that what the law calls obstruction of justice, he regards as “fighting back.”

Here’s a complete list of entries in the latest Trump-Russia Timeline update:

2006: Trump Begins Decade-Long Cash Spending Spree

OCT. 28, 2016: Cohen Signs Non-Disclosure Agreement With Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels)

BETWEEN OCTOBER 2017 and JANUARY 2018: Trump Campaign Pays More Than $200,000 Toward Cohen’s Legal Expenses

FEB. 13 2018: Cohen Issues Statement on Stormy Daniels Scandal

MAR. 5, 2018:  Mueller Confirms Trump Is ‘Subject’ of Probe; Raises Possibility of Trump Subpoena; Reports Underway

MAR. 6, 2018: Stephanie Clifford (aka “Stormy Daniels”) Sues Trump and Cohen

MAR. 16, 2018: Cambridge Analytica Backers and Executives Form New Group: Emerdata

APR. 4, 2018: Mueller Quizzing Oligarchs (revision of previous entry)

APR. 5, 2018: Trump Deflects Questions About Stormy Daniels Payoff to Cohen

APR. 6, 2018: Treasury Dept. Sanctions Oligarchs and Putin Cronies (revision of previous entry)

EARLY APRIL 2018: Ukraine Freezes Its Manafort Investigations, Gets US Missiles

APR. 23, 2018: Trump Softens Sanctions on Deripaska’s Company (revision of previous entry)

APR. 25, 2018: Cohen Asserts Fifth Amendment Concerning Payment to Stephanie Clifford (revision of previous entry)

APR. 30, 2018: House Republicans Draft Impeachment Articles Against Rosenstein; Rosenstein Responds

APRIL 30, 2018: Mueller’s 49 Questions For Trump

MAY 1, 2018: Not Really Mueller’s 49 Questions

MAY 2, 2018: Trump Tweets: “No Collusion” – “Hoax” – Threatens To “Get Involved” With Justice Department

MAY 2, 2018: Cambridge Analytica File For Bankruptcy, But Executives Might Continue Business Under New Name: Emerdata

MAY 2, 2018: Cobb Steps Down; Emmet T. Flood Steps In

MAY 2, 2018: DOJ Denies House Request For Mueller Memo

MAY 2, 2018: Trump Tweet Implies No Time For Mueller Interview

MAY 2, 2018: Giuliani Offers New Defense To Comey Firing

MAY 2, 2018: Giuliani Undercuts Cohen’s Payoff Story

MAY 3, 2018: Trump Tweets After Giuliani Speaks About Daniels Payoff

MAY 3, 2018: Giuliani Digs Deeper Hole On $130,000 Payoff

MAY 4, 2018: Trump: Rudy Will “Get His Facts Straight”

MAY 4, 2018: Baker and Page Resign From FBI

MAY 5, 2018: Guiliani Says Trump Could Ignore Subpoena and/or Take the Fifth Amendment

MAY 6, 2018: Trump Tweets About “Witch Hunt” and Mueller’s Team

[NOTE: In case you missed it, here’s the link to my Apr. 27, 2018 appearance on “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” (MSNBC).]

Last week, Trump threw out plenty of shiny objects to divert attention from the story he wants to avoid: Michael Cohen. It now appears that Trump is throwing Cohen under the bus.

Cohen’s background is interesting. Admittedly a poor student, he graduated from one of the worst law schools in the country and then amassed great wealth relatively quickly. As Cohen and his family members purchased multiple units in Trump buildings, he came to Trump’s attention and accepted a job for the organization in 2006.

He became known as Trump’s “Fixer.” Now he’s in a fix.

Unwanted Attention

Occasionally, Cohen appeared as a Trump surrogate during the campaign. But his more important contributions to the cause were happening behind the scenes. Cohen’s most recent notoriety arises from his role in allegedly orchestrating a $130,000 payoff to porn star Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) less than two weeks before the 2016 election. In return, Clifford claims, she agreed not to disclose her prior affair with Trump.

But there’s much more to the Trump-Cohen story. For a sense of its depth and breadth, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on Cohen’s name. Here’s a sample:

May 2013: Cohen confirms that Trump has commissioned research on a potential run for the presidency.

October 2015 – January 2016: Trump and a childhood friend, Felix Sater — another name worthy of a click on the Trump-Russia Timeline name filter — work together on a project. As Trump claims repeatedly on the campaign trail that he has “no business deals” with Russia, he signs a letter of intent that Cohen and Sater have developed for a Trump Tower-Moscow.

January 2016: When the Trump Tower-Moscow project sputters, Cohen seeks help from Putin’s spokesperson and right hand man to get it moving.

January 2017: Sater and a pro-Putin Ukrainian politician meet with Cohen at a midtown Manhattan hotel where they give him a proposed Ukrainian peace plan. Cohen is supposed to deliver the plan to then-National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. It would eliminate US sanctions against Russia.

Under the Bus

Cohen has denied wrongdoing. But the recent FBI raid on his home, office, and apartment sent Trump into orbit — in person and on Twitter.

April 13: Jay Goldberg–one of Trump’s longtime legal advisers–warns Trump that Cohen will “flip” and cooperate with federal prosecutors, rather than face criminal prosecution and the risk of a lengthy prison term.

Also on April 13: Trump calls Cohen to “check-in.” We don’t know whether Trump’s conversation with Cohen occurs before or after Goldberg’s warning. Also unknown is whether Cohen gets the equivalent of the “stay strong” admonition that Trump reportedly gave Mike Flynn months before Flynn pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

April 24: A reporter asks if Trump is considering a pardon for Cohen. “Stupid question,” Trump says without answering.

April 26: A day after Cohen asserts his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the Stephanie Clifford/Stormy Daniels case, Trump phones into a Fox & Friends interview and rails against former FBI Director James Comey and Mueller’s investigation. At times, he threatens to take control of the Justice Department and end the “nonsense of collusion with Russia.”

Meanwhile, as the initial smiles on the faces of the Fox & Friends hosts morph into more worrisome expressions, Trump tries to distance himself from Cohen. But after Trump tries to minimize the amount of legal work that Cohen did for him, out tumbles this admission: “Michael would represent me, and represent me on some things. He represents me, like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me.”

Like all Trump loyalists who outlive their usefulness to the boss, Michael Cohen is headed toward his place under the Trump bus.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s updates to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

2006: Cohen Joins Trump Organization

OCT. 12, 2015: Sater Email To Cohen Re: Trump Tower Project

OCT. 28, 2015: Trump Signs Letter of Intent for Trump Tower in Moscow (revision of previous entry)

DEC. 2, 2015: Mike Flynn and His Son Meet with Russian Ambassador

JAN. 14, 2016: Cohen Contacts Peskov to Move Trump Tower Deal Forward

JUNE 6 AND 7, 2016: Don Jr.’s Phone Calls With Emin Agalarov (revision of previous entry)

JUNE 10, 2016: Agalarov Delivers Birthday Gift to Trump

JUNE 14, 2016: Goldstone Emails Emin Agalarov and Ike Kaveladze (revision of previous entry)

JULY 15, 2016: Flynn Predicts Cyber-actions Against DNC

SEPT. 26, 2016: “It Could Be Someone Sitting On Their Bed That Weighs 400 pounds”

NOV. 28, 2016: Goldstone Contacts Graff

JULY 8, 2017: White House Scrambles to Deal with Forthcoming NYT Story; Trump Supervises Media Response (revision of previous entry)

JULY 26, 2017: FBI Raids Manafort’s Home (revision of previous entry)

APR. 23, 2018: Flynn’s Son Implies Pence Lied

APR. 23, 2018: Trump Softens Sanctions on Deripaska’s Company

APR. 24, 2018: House Democrats Interview Wylie; Republicans Boycott

APR. 24, 2018: Trump Response to Question About Possible Pardon For Cohen: “Stupid question”

APR. 25, 2018: Cohen Asserts Fifth Amendment

APR. 26, 2018: Trump Complains about FBI; Threatens Involvement in Justice Department

APR. 26, 2018: Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Bill to Protect Mueller

APR. 27, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey, Again

APR. 27, 2018: House Intelligence Committee Issues Report; Trump Claims Exoneration

[NOTE: Great news! Starting this week, in addition to BillMoyers.com, the complete Trump-Russia Timeline will also appear at the website for the Committee to Investigate Russia. Expanding the group of concerned citizens seeking to remain informed is always healthy for democracy. At this moment in the great American experiment, it’s essential.]

He’s b-a-a-a-a-c-k.

Rudy Giuliani earns the newest Trump-Russia Timeline “pop-up” bubble and name filter.

On Thursday, April 19, Giuliani joined Trump’s legal defense team. It’s a curious choice. For more than a year, he served as Trump’s most faithful campaign surrogate — defending Trump’s crudest and cruelest words and deeds. But after the election, Giuliani couldn’t land a job in the new administration. Now he’s Trump’s lawyer. Go figure.

Lawyer as Witness?

What makes Rudy a truly special selection is that he is (or should be) a witness in various investigations relating to Trump and the 2016 election. Special counsel Robert Mueller has informed Trump’s lawyers that their client is a “subject” of the Trump-Russia probe — a status no citizen wants. A cynic might suggest that retaining Giuliani allows both men to rely on the attorney-client privilege to get their stories’ straight. At times, the privilege comes in handy, provided the crime-fraud exception doesn’t kick in.

And if you doubt that Giuliani is destined to be a witness, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on his name. Of particular note is a sequence of events shortly before the election:

— Oct. 25-26, 2016: Giuliani says that a “big surprise” is coming.

— Oct. 28: Then-FBI Director James Comey’s letter to Congress says the FBI is taking another look at new materials relating to its previously closed investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. (The revelation provides a big boost to Trump and, arguably, puts him in the White House.)

— Oct. 28: Giuliani boasts publicly about how former and acting FBI agents have been telling him about a “revolution inside the FBI” over Comey’s failure in July to recommend the prosecution of Clinton. If Giuliani is telling the truth about his sources, such FBI leaks would be crimes.

— Nov. 4: Giuliani tries to walk back his earlier bravado about receiving inside information from present and former FBI agents. But it’s too late. Comey has already initiated an internal investigation of FBI leaks. The Justice Department’s Inspector General is on the case.

“Trumpland”

Giuliani has a long, deep history with the FBI, especially its New York office. During the 1980s, he served as US Attorney in Manhattan before becoming New York City’s mayor from 1994 to 2001. In 2014, Giuliani was the keynote speaker at the FBI Agents Association’s (FBIAA) First Annual “G-Man Honors Gala” where he received a distinguished service award named after him. His former law firm — then called Bracewell Giuliani — has long been general counsel to the FBIAA, which represents more than 13,000 active and retired FBI special agents.

During the 2016 election, the FBI’s New York office had such widespread animosity toward Hillary Clinton that it earned a nickname: Trumpland.

A Busy Week

Giuliani’s new assignment highlights this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline update. But Trump’s lawyers come and go, so in the long run of the Trump-Russia scandal, other developments will prove more enduring. Last week, every day produced a new bombshell that reinforced the larger narrative arc.

Sunday. United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley announces new sanctions against Russia. But after Trump watches her revelation on national television, he erupts — and then kills the sanctions. Trump’s effort to minimize US sanctions against Russia remains an enduring theme that helps explain why Putin wanted Trump to win the election.

Monday. Michael Cohen’s attorney tells a federal judge that Cohen has had only three law clients since January 2017, one of whom is Trump’s most vocal media supporter: Fox News’ Sean Hannity. But of greater legal significance that day is Trump’s call to “check in” on Cohen. No competent attorney would advise the subject of an ongoing investigation — Trump — to communicate with a witness and thereby create evidence supporting an obstruction of justice charge. Why would Trump take that risk? As a key operator in Trump’s business dealings for the past decade, Cohen knows where bodies are buried — and probably helped to bury them.

Tuesday. Senate Republicans are preparing to move forward with bipartisan legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from Trump. But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pronounces it DOA. The Complicit GOP never rests.

Wednesday. Former FBI Director James Comey begins national television appearances promoting his new book. Trump tweets complaints. By midweek, Trump’s comments at a joint press conference (with Japan’s prime minister) demonstrate that he is unglued over the Russia investigation.

Thursday. At the urging of Trump’s defenders in the House, the Justice Department releases redacted copies of Comey’s contemporaneous memos on his early 2017 conversations with Trump. This time, the Complicit GOP missile becomes a boomerang because it corroborates everything Comey has said about those conversations. They’re more evidence that Trump is a liar, not Comey.

Friday. The Democratic National Committee sues the Russian government, WikiLeaks, the Trump campaign, and several top Trump campaign advisers over claims relating to the hacking, theft, and dissemination of DNC and Clinton campaign emails.

Saturday-Sunday. Read Trump’s manic tweets and decide for yourself what to make of them. Eleven relate to Trump-Russia.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s updates to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

NEW: JULY 28, 2016: Giuliani Says Russians Have Had Clinton Email “For Some Time”

NEW: NOV. 4, 2016: Giuliani Says He Expected Action on Clinton

NEW: NOV. 4, 2016: Senior House Democrats Ask DOJ To Investigate FBI Leaks

NEW: NOV. 4, 2016: Giuliani Walks Back Comments Predicting Action on Clinton

REVISED: JAN. 27, 2017: Trump to Comey: ‘I Need Loyalty’

REVISED: FEB. 8, 2017: Priebus Asks Comey About Flynn; Trump Returns to “Golden Showers Thing”

REVISED: JUNE 8, 2017: Comey Testifies Before Senate Intelligence Committee

NEW: JAN. 22-23, 2018: Trump Pressures Wray and Sessions to Fire Page and Strzok

NEW: APR. 12, 2018: Rosenstein Tells Trump He’s Not a Target of Russia Probe; Sessions Warns Trump

REVISED: APR. 13, 2018: DOJ Inspector General Issues Report on McCabe; Trump Issues Bizarre Tweet

NEW: APR. 13, 2018: Warning to Trump: Cohen Will “Flip”

NEW: APR. 15, 2018: Trump Halts New Russian Sanctions

NEW: APR. 16, 2018: Sean Hannity Is Cohen’s Client

NEW: APR. 16, 2018: Trump Tweets

NEW: APR. 17, 2018: McConnell Kills Legislation to Protect Mueller

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: Trump Tweets About Stormy Daniels

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey, Again

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: Eleven Congressmen Seek Investigations of Clinton, Comey, and Others

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: Trump Dodges Question on Firing Rosenstein or Mueller

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: Trump Says Nobody’s as Tough on Russia as Donald Trump

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: Cohen Drops Lawsuits Against Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: NY State Attorney General Seeks Curb on Presidential Pardon Impact

NEW: APR. 18, 2018: Schiff Seeks to Limit Presidential Pardon Power

NEW: APR. 19, 2018: Giuliani Joins Trump Legal Team; DOJ To Issue Report on FBI Leaks

NEW: APR. 19, 2018: Rosenstein Provides Comey Memos to Congress

NEW: APR. 19, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey Memos and McCabe

NEW: APR. 20, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey and Flynn

NEW: APR. 20, 2018: DNC Sues Russia, Trump Campaign, and WikiLeaks

NEW: APR. 20, 2018: Trump Tweets About DNC Lawsuit, Comey, and Mueller

NEW: APR. 21, 2018: Trump Tweets About Cohen 

NEW: APR. 21, 2018: Trump Tweets About DNC Lawsuit, Again

NEW: APR. 21, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey, Again

NEW: APR. 21, 2018: Trump Tweets About Sessions and Rosenstein

NEW: APR. 21, 2018: Trump Retweets About Comey Memos and Collusion

NEW: APR. 21, 2018: Trump Keeps Tweeting About Comey

NEW: APR. 22, 2018: Trump Tweets About Sessions and Comey

NEW: APR. 22, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey Memos and Mueller Investigation, Again

Trump calls it “fighting back.” His lawyers should be telling him it fits neatly into the narrative that Trump is obstructing justice.

As this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline update depicts, Trump and the GOP — with Fox News as their reliable delivery vehicle — are orchestrating a public relations assault on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and former FBI Director James Comey. As Trump and his defenders flood the airwaves with chaos and confusion, it’s worth remembering the line that Gen. George S. Patton wrote in 1944 and legendary football coach Vince Lombardi repeated twenty years later: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

Comey’s new book is a vivid reminder to a tired nation that he is a central witness against Trump in any obstruction of justice case that special counsel Robert Mueller might bring. Trump’s aggressive turn toward Rosenstein sure looks like a prelude to firing the deputy attorney general who supervises Mueller’s investigation. That would allow Trump to install a lackey who could limit or terminate the probe.

These are perilous times for American democracy and the rule of law.

Here are the latest Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015: Ukrainian Billionaire Contributes $150,000 to Trump Foundation

JULY 27, 2016: Stone Says Russians Leaking Hacked Clinton Emails

OCT. 7, 2016: Intelligence Community Publishes Statement on Russian Interference

JAN. 11, 2017: Trump To Comey: “Golden Shower” Claim Cannot Be True

MARCH 22, 2017: Trump Asks Senior Intelligence Officials to Get Comey to Back Off

MARCH 30, 2017: Nunes’ Sources Are Members of the Trump Administration

MARCH 30, 2017: Trump Asks Comey to ‘Lift the Cloud’ of the Russia Investigation

AUG. 30, 2017: Cohen Rebuts ‘Steele Dossier’ and REPLACED with: AUG. 14, 2017: Cohen’s Attorney Rebuts ‘Steele Dossier’

SHORTLY AFTER DEC. 5, 2017: Trump Considers Firing Mueller, Again

APRIL 9, 2018: FBI Raids Michael Cohen

APRIL 9, 2018: Trump Lashes Out After FBI Raid on Cohen

APRIL 10, 2018: Trump Tweets About Cohen Raid and the Russia Investigation 

APRIL 10, 2018: Zuckerberg Testifies Before Congress

APRIL 10, 2018: Trump Believes He Can Fire Mueller

APRIL 10, 2018: NRA Shuts Down Wyden

APRIL 11, 2018: Trump Tweets About $150,000 Payment to His Foundation

APRIL 11, 2018: Trump Tweets: “No Obstruction, (Other Than I Fight Back)”

APRIL 11, 2018: Trump Tweets About Mueller and Rosenstein Conflicts

APRIL 11, 2018: Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Mueller; Fate Uncertain

APRIL 11-12, 2018: White House Approves GOP Attack on Comey and Rosenstein

APRIL 12, 2018: Trump Won’t Sit for Mueller Interview

APRIL 12, 2018: Trump Tweets About Mueller

APRIL 13, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey

APRIL 13, 2018: DOJ Inspector General Issues Report on McCabe; Trump Issues Bizarre Tweet

APRIL 13, 2018: Trump Calls Cohen, Pardons Libby

APRIL 13, 2018: Nunes, Gowdy & Goodlatte Demand Comey’s Memos from Rosenstein

APRIL 15, 2018: Trump Tweets About Comey, Mueller, and Clinton

APRIL 16, 2018: Trump Tweets About Clinton, Comey, and McCabe

APRIL 16, 2018: Cohen-Watnick Joins DOJ

Under Justice Department guidelines, “A ‘subject’ of an investigation is a person whose conduct is within the scope of the grand jury’s investigation.” Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is formally the subject of a criminal investigation into unlawful foreign influence in the 2016 presidential election that he won.

Let that sink in.

Consistent with its prior practice, special counsel Robert Mueller’s legal team isn’t talking about any of this. That leaves Trump’s team as the “leakers” behind the story about Trump’s status. And they’re trying to spin it as inconsequential because Mueller hasn’t yet designated Trump as a “target.”

Here’s the thing: Some targets don’t know they’re targets until they’re indicted. As the DOJ guidelines state, “A ‘target’ is a person as to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant.” [Emphasis supplied]

Moreover, whether a sitting president can ever be indicted is the subject of scholarly debate. Until Mueller determines with reasonable certainty that Trump can be indicted, Trump can’t become a “target” — even for provable crimes.

In other words, Trump — as a “subject” — may already occupy the worst possible status he could possess in the Trump-Russia probe, namely, a criminal who is immune from prosecution until he leaves office.

Let that sink in, too.

Pruitt: Trump’s Ace-In-The-Hole

Since early March, Trump’s lawyers have known about their client’s unfortunate status. The timing now provides a context within which to evaluate Trump’s words and deeds over the past month. In particular, keep an eye on his vigorous defense of embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Here’s why.

Trump has made no secret of his desire to restrict or terminate Mueller’s investigation. One approach he might attempt is to replace Mueller’s immediate supervisor, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein assumed control of the Trump-Russia investigation after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. If Sessions resigns, Trump can appoint an interim Attorney General replacement, provided that the Senate has previously confirmed that individual.

Enter Scott Pruitt. As interim Attorney General, Pruitt would become Mueller’s supervisor.

There are important qualifications. For example, if Trump fires Sessions (rather than forcing his resignation), Trump’s ability to appoint an interim successor AG becomes murkier. Likewise, Pruitt’s “political relationship” with Trump should require Pruitt to recuse himself from any investigation involving Trump. But given Pruitt’s behavior to date, it’s reasonable to assume that he would ignore ethical and legal restraints in gutting Mueller’s investigation.

Trump doesn’t care about Pruitt’s newsworthy ethical lapses or extravagant expenditures of taxpayer monies. Trump views the world through the prism of Trump-Russia. Whatever he does to survive the investigation is collateral damage of no concern to him. Scott Pruitt has demonstrated unwavering fealty to Trump, coupled with a blindness toward legal and ethical norms that apply to everyone else. For him, clipping Mueller’s wings in the service of Trump would be a pleasure.

The Week Wasn’t As Quiet As It Seemed

Two other noteworthy names in this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline Update: Roger Stone keeps moving himself from barrel to barrel; and every day, Erik Prince seems to develop new exposure to charges that he made false statements to Congressional investigators. Click on the Timeline name filter for each of them and see what pops up now.

Here’s a complete list of the new entries in this week’s Timeline Update:

REVISED: JUNE 2014: Massive Facebook Data Leak Underway; Cambridge Analytica in Contact With Russians

NEW: SUMMER 2016: Trump Adviser Goes to FBI With Claimed Access to Clinton Emails

NEW: AUG. 4, 2016: Stone Says “Devastating” WikiLeaks Coming

NEW: AUG. 4, 2016: Stone: “I dined with Julian Assange last night”

NEW: AUG. 5, 2016: Stone Tweets About Clinton’s Emails

REVISED: OCT. 2, 2016: Stone Appears to Predict More Damaging WikiLeaks

NEW: OCT. 3, 2016: Stone Tweets About Clinton and WikiLeaks

NEW: OCT. 5, 2016: Stone Tweets About Assange

NEW: AROUND JAN. 4, 2017: Erik Prince Reportedly Meets with George Nader

NEW: AUG. 2, 2017: Rosenstein Confirms Mueller’s Authority to Investigate Manafort’s Possible Collusion with Russia

NEW: EARLY MARCH 2018: Mueller Confirms Trump Is “Subject” of Probe

NEW: MARCH 9, 2018: Mueller Obtains Another Search Warrant Against Manafort

NEW: DURING THE WEEK OF APRIL 2, 2018: Mueller Questions Trump Business Associate About Foreign Deals

NEW: APRIL 2, 2018: Mueller Outlines Potential Scope of Investigation

NEW: APRIL 3, 2018: Van der Zwaan Sentenced

NEW: APRIL 4, 2018: Facebook Finds More Russian Accounts; More Cambridge Analytica Problems

NEW: APRIL 4, 2018: Mueller Quizzing Oligarchs

NEW: APRIL 6, 2018: Trump Reportedly Contemplates Replacing Sessions With Besieged EPA Administrator Pruitt; Trump Tweets

NEW: APRIL 6, 2018: Treasury Dept. Sanctions Oligarchs and Putin Cronies

NEW: APRIL 7, 2018: Trump Tweets About DOJ and FBI, Again

NEW: APRIL 8, 2018: Trump Tweets About Clinton and DOJ, Again

NEW: APRIL 8, 2018: Trump Finally Criticizes Putin

[Note: If you’re in the neighborhood… 

On Tuesday, April 3 at 7:00 pm, I’ll be talking about the Trump-Russia Timeline at the Wilmette (IL) Public Library. Free admission and open to the public.]

Spring break, Passover, and Holy Week produced a relatively quiet period for the Trump-Russia Timeline. The line of the week goes to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). On Easter Sunday, he said, “The problem is that Russia is running wild, whatever we are doing is not working and the president for some reason has a hard time pushing back against Putin.”

“For some reason…” What could it possibly be?

Meanwhile, This Week’s Update Reveals…

— The burgeoning Cambridge Analytica scandal may reach Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) and his unsuccessful presidential bid. After Walker dropped out of the race, several of his staffers became executives for the company.

— Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates, apparently knew in August 2016 that he was dealing with a Russian who had continuing ties to Russian intelligence. (That revelation required adding a new pop-up bubble for Manafort-Gates associate Konstantin Kilimnik.)

— When Trump expelled Russian diplomats, it was more for show than for real.

— The complicit GOP-controlled Congress’ diversionary efforts to undermine the FBI and Justice Department (and thereby support Trump’s scorched-earth attack on the world’s premier law enforcement agency) continues.

— And anyone who believes that Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein have job security is not paying attention. In an April 2 tweet attacking the Department of Justice, Trump put quotation marks around “Justice.” Firing Sessions and/or Rosenstein and substituting a Trump puppet to supervise special counsel Robert Mueller remains Trump’s easiest path to gutting the Trump-Russia investigation.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

LATE 2013: Bannon and the Beginning of Cambridge Analytica (revision of previous entry)

EARLY SUMMER 2014: Peter Thiel’s Palantir Connected to Cambridge Analytica

SEPT. 21, 2015: Walker Drops Out; Staffers Become Cambridge Analytica Execs

EARLY AUGUST 2016: Manafort Meets with Kilimnik

SEPTEMBER 2016: Skadden Attorney Communicates With Gates and “Person A” (revision of previous entry)

SOMETIME BETWEEN JUNE 16, 2017 and OCTOBER 27, 2017: Trump’s Lawyer Reportedly Raised Prospect of Pardons for Flynn and Manafort

MARCH 22, 2018: House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Rosenstein

MAR. 26, 2018: Trump Expels Russian Diplomats, Closes Seattle Consulate, Russia Retaliates; But There’s a Catch (revision of previous entry)

MARCH 27, 2018: NRA Admits Accepting Foreign Contributions; Wyden Presses on Torshin

MARCH 27, 2018: Sens. Coons, Tillis Support Mueller

MARCH 28, 2018: Sessions Rebuffs GOP Request for Another Special Counsel, Says IG Already Investigating

APRIL 1, 2018: Graham Perplexed on Trump-Putin

APRIL 2, 2018: Trump Attacks Justice Department

NOTE: On Tuesday, April 3 at 7:00 pm, I’ll be talking about the Trump-Russia Timeline at the Wilmette (IL) Public Library. Free admission and open to the public.

One of this week’s Trump-Russia nuggets was lost in Trump chaos. To be sure, Stormy Daniels is not the diversion Trump would have chosen. Nevertheless, the media aren’t talking about Guccifer 2.0, and that’s unfortunate.

In January 2017, US intelligence agencies assessed with “high confidence” that Russian intelligence agencies had used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and WikiLeaks to disseminate stolen Hillary Clinton emails. Last week, we learned that Guccifer 2.0 was actually a Russian military intelligence officer.

To understand the importance of the latest Guccifer 2.0 revelation, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on Roger Stone’s name. Here’s a sample of the entries that pop up:

JUNE 15, 2016: Guccifer 2.0 claims responsibility for the hack of the Democratic National Committee computer system and begins posting the stolen DNC documents online.

AUG. 5, 2016: Writing for Breitbart News, Roger Stone asserts that Guccifer 2.0 has nothing to do with Russia. A few days later, Stone boasts that he is in contact with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange.

AUG. 12, 2016: Guccifer 2.0 posts more stolen DNC documents.

AUG. 13-15, 2016: Stone communicates directly with Guccifer 2.0.

AUG. 15, 2016: Guccifer 2.0 posts more stolen DNC documents.

As he exchanges more direct messages with Guccifer 2.0, Stone continues to declare publicly that he is communicating with Assange. As summer turns to fall, Stone also issues prescient tweets about WikiLeaks’ ongoing dissemination of stolen DNC documents, including this one on Aug. 21, 2016: “Trust me, it will soon the Podesta’s time in the barrel. #CrookedHillary.” And another on Oct 2, 2016: “Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #Wikileaks.”

WikiLeaks’ drip-drip-drip of DNC documents continues through the election, and so do Roger Stone’s direct communications with WikiLeaks.

BUSTED!

On JAN. 3, 2017, the CIA, FBI and NSA release their unclassified report, concluding unanimously, “Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election.” The three intelligence agencies agree that “the Russian government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible.”

The report also states that WikiLeaks had been Russia’s conduit for the effort, writing, “We assess with high confidence that Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and DCLeaks.com to release US victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly and in exclusives to media outlets and relayed material to WikiLeaks.”

Roger Stone could not have been pleased on MARCH 22, 2018, when The Daily Beast reported how Guccifer 2.0 blew its cover to reveal the Russian behind the curtain.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

JUNE 2014: Massive Facebook Data Leak Underway; Cambridge Analytica in Contact With Russians (revision of previous entry)

JULY 22, 2014: Giuliani’s Law Firm Warns Cambridge Analytica

NOV. 4, 2014: Cambridge Analytica Works on Midterm Elections, Helps Tillis Win Senate Seat

EARLY 2015: Trump Campaign Retains Parscale (revision of previous entry)

SOMETIME BEFORE JUNE 16, 2015: Lewandowski Meets with Cambridge Analytica

JUNE 2016: Kushner Takes Control of Trump Digital Effort and Hires Cambridge Analytica (revision of previous entry)

JUNE 15, 2016: Russian Hacker Leaks DNC Documents (revision of previous entry)

SEPT. 9, 2016: Papadopoulos Gets Green Light for Interfax Interview

NOV. 10, 2016: Zuckerberg Rejects “Crazy Idea” that Facebook Affected Election (revision of previous entry)

MARCH 20, 2017: Leahy and Franken Ask FBI to Investigate Sessions’ Testimony

APRIL 28, 2017: Leahy and Franken Request Briefing on Sessions Investigation

MAY 12, 2017: Leahy and Franken Ask McCabe for Status Report on Sessions Investigation

MAR. 18, 2018: Prince Hosts Fundraiser for Rohrabacher

MARCH 19, 2018: Trump Tweets “Witch Hunt”

MARCH 19, 2018: GOP Leaders See No Need to Protect Mueller

MARCH 20, 2018: Trump Congratulates Putin on Election Victory

MARCH 21, 2018: Trump Tweets About Mueller, Again

MARCH 21, 2018: Trump Tweets About Putin

MARCH 21, 2018: Sessions Responds to Reports of Perjury Investigation

MARCH 22, 2018: Dowd Resigns From Trump’s Legal Team

MARCH 22, 2018: House Intelligence Committee Votes to Release GOP Report; Trump Tweets

MARCH 22, 2018: Trump Replaces McMaster With Bolton

MARCH 25, 2018: Trump Tweets About Losing His Lawyers

MARCH 26, 2018: Trump To Expel 60 Russian Diplomats and Close Seattle Consulate

This video is one of the many reasons Trump wants to end special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Watch it. A British public-service broadcaster conducted an undercover investigation of an important player in the Trump-Russia scandal: Cambridge Analytica.

For context, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and select these five names on the Timeline filter: Cambridge Analytica, Steve Bannon, Facebook, the Mercer Family, and Brad Parscale. Here’s a small sample of what emerges:

JUNE 2014: Steve Bannon had figured prominently in the creation of Cambridge Analytica. He even chose the firm’s name. Funding came from a $15 million investment by conservative mega-donor Robert Mercer. Thanks to the firm’s arrangement with a Russian-American academic in Great Britain, Cambridge Analytica becomes the beneficiary of Facebook’s massive data leak. Fifty million user profiles make their way to Cambridge Analytica’s voter targeting and messaging operation.

JULY 2014: An American attorney advising the firm warns that the company’s structure and activities could violate laws prohibiting foreign influence in US elections.

BEGINNING IN JUNE 2015 AND CONTINUING THROUGH AUGUST 2017: 150 Million Americans see social media content from a Russian-government linked troll farm. Among other media vehicles supporting Trump’s election, Russians are buying geographically-targeted political ads on Facebook.

MID-MAY 2016: Bannon introduces the Trump campaign to Cambridge Analytica. The campaign is all-ears.

JUNE 2016: Jared Kushner takes control of Trump’s digital campaign and hires Cambridge Analytica. With the assistance of embedded Facebook employees, the campaign’s digital director, Brad Parscale, takes special pride in targeting and messaging particular voters. Around the same time, Cambridge Analytica’s president asks WikiLeaks to share stolen Hillary Clinton emails so his firm can help disseminate them.

AUGUST 2016: Cambridge Analytica board member Rebekah Mercer (Robert’s daughter), tells the firm’s president to contact WikiLeaks about making the Clinton emails more searchable.

AUGUST 2016: Having verified the previously reported data leak, Facebook warns Cambridge Analytica not to use the data.

NOV. 10, 2016: Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg dismisses as “crazy” the idea that Facebook could have influenced the election outcome. But two days later, a Russian politician close to Putin claims that he colluded with Cambridge Analytica and the Trump campaign to do exactly that — tip the election in Trump’s favor.

MARCH 16, 2018: Facebook admits to the 2014-2015 data leak of private user profiles and suspends Cambridge Analytica from its platform.

Then came the bombshell.

MARCH 19-20, 2018: Channel 4, a British public-service broadcaster, airs an undercover investigation that videotapes Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix explaining the firm’s methods for manipulating elections in foreign countries, including the use of bribes and sex workers (“beautiful Ukrainian girls”) to entrap politicians.

In the video, Nix says that he has met Donald Trump “many times.” Discussing Cambridge Analytica’s role in Trump’s 2016 election victory, Nix adds, “We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting. We ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign, and our data informed all the strategy.”

If American democracy is worth a 20-minute investment of your time, watch the March 20, 2018 video.

Here is a complete list of entries in this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline update:

LATE 2013: Bannon and the Beginning of Cambridge Analytica

JUNE 2014: Mercers Invest in Cambridge Analytica

JUNE 2014: Massive Facebook Data Leak Underway; Cambridge Analytica in Contact With Russians

MARCH 31, 2016: Trump Meets With Foreign Policy Advisers (revision of previous entry)

SPRING 2016: Stone Reportedly Knows That WikiLeaks Has Clinton Emails

JULY 24, 2016: Pompeo Tweets and Deletes

AUGUST 2016: Facebook Lawyers Warn Cambridge Analytica

WEEK OF OCT. 17, 2016: Stone Sends Weekly Memos to Trump

JAN. 6, 2017: Trump Receives Intelligence Briefing; Meets Comey for the First Time (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 11, 2017: Prince Meets With Putin Associate in the Seychelles (revision of previous entry)

NOV. 14, 2017: Sessions Says That He Has Not Lied About Trump Campaign Contacts With Russia (revision of previous entry)

MARCH 5, 2018: Prostitute Claims to Have Audio Recordings (revision of previous entry)

MARCH 12, 2018: Sater Is Still an FBI Source

MARCH 12, 2018: GOP Leader Announces End of House Intelligence Committee Investigation

MARCH 12, 2018: Trump Embraces GOP House Intel Committee Report

MARCH 12-13, 2018: Theresa May Blasts Putin; Tillerson Agrees; Trump Fires Tillerson

MARCH 13, 2018: Democrats Rebut GOP House Intelligence Committee Report; Republicans Backtrack

MARCH 14, 2018: Theresa May Expels 23 Russians; Putin Counters

MARCH 15, 2018: Mueller Has Subpoenaed Trump Organization

MARCH 15, 2018: Russia Has Hacked Into Critical US Infrastructure

MARCH 15, 2018: Trump Imposes New Russian Sanctions

MARCH 15, 2018: GOP Senators Ask for Another Special Counsel

MARCH 16, 2018: Sater Hits Interview Circuit

MARCH 16, 2018: Facebook Suspends Cambridge Analytica Over Data Leak

MARCH 16, 2018: Sessions Fires McCabe; Trump Tweets

MARCH 16, 2018: McCabe Has Memos; Responds to Firing

MARCH 17, 2018: Dowd Says Rosenstein Should End Mueller Probe

MARCH 17, 2018: Trump Tweets About Russia Investigation, McCabe, Comey, and Mueller

MARCH 18, 2018: Trump Tweets About Russia, McCabe, Comey, and Mueller Continue

MARCH 19, 2018: GOP Mostly Silent on Trump Attacks on Mueller; Graham: “The Beginning of the End”

MARCH 19-20: Cambridge Analytica Exposé Airs on British TV

Trump fires Rex Tillerson; members of a complicit GOP Congress lead another whitewash of Trump’s Russia problems; Pennsylvania voters in a deep red district repudiate the Republican candidate in a special election; and students nationally show their elders how to speak truth to power. This week, the events through Wednesday alone make last week seem like a distant memory. But it’s worth remembering one that received little media attention.

Way back then, a botched porn-star payoff, former Trump aide Sam Nunberg’s cable news circus act, typical Trump-style hype over North Korea, and a vile rally in Pennsylvania swamped cable news networks. But last week’s most important and underreported story involved Erik Prince. He may find himself among Trump’s many aides and allies who have been caught lying about their contacts with Russia.

In this week’s update of the Trump-Russia Timeline, Prince earns a Timeline name filter and this descriptive “pop-up” bubble:

Erik Prince is the founder of the Blackwater private security firm (now known as Academi). He is also a $250,000 donor to the Trump campaign and the brother of Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. In 1990, Prince worked as an intern for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). In January 2017, he reportedly met in the Seychelles with Kirill Dmitriev and representatives of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Now Go To The Timeline

For Prince, the key date is Jan. 11, 2017 How and why did he meet with Kirill Dmitriev on a remote sovereign archipelago in the Indian Ocean? Increasingly, the answer appears to be “backchannel.”

This week’s update brings the total number of Trump-Russia Timeline entries to almost 1,000. When I created the Timeline in February 2017, there were 25. The hits keep coming, and the best is yet to come.

For a while, it appeared that Brad Parscale’s appointment as the manager of Trump’s 2020 campaign would be last week’s biggest addition to the Trump-Russia Timeline. But then Hope Hicks resigned the day after testifying that she told “white lies” for Trump, who berated her for such candor.

So much has already happened this week that it’s easy for forget those bombshells. That would be a mistake.

Brad Parscale

Around 2011, Parscale had begun creating web designs for Trump family businesses. In early 2015, he was working alone from his home in San Antonio when he received a message: Donald Trump was planning to run for president and needed a website. Parscale offered to do the job for $1,500.

Eventually, he became the Trump campaign’s digital director. Facebook and Twitter embedded their employees in his organization, and by the end of 2016, the campaign had paid Parscale’s firm more than $90 million.

Where does Parscale fit in the broader Trump-Russia scandal? Here’s a little context:

June 2015: According to special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities behind one prong of the election interference project, Russia’s exploitation of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media begins.

June 16, 2015: Trump announces his candidacy. Within a month, he is boasting about his relationship with Putin’s oligarchs, praises the Russian dictator, and makes clear that he thinks the US should soften its position on Russian sanctions.

June 9, 2016: Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort meet with Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Six weeks earlier, other Russians had told George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, that they possessed Clinton’s stolen emails.

September 2016: Wikileaks contacts Donald Trump Jr. who, in turn, tells Parscale, Steve Bannon, and Jared Kushner about it. Meanwhile, Trump confidant Roger Stone claims repeatedly to be in communication with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. (Go to the Timeline and click on Stone’s name.) Through the election, Trump himself praises publicly WikiLeaks’ disclosures — all of which target Clinton.

January 2017: After the election, Parscale, Rick Gates, and other former Trump aides form a large, pro-Trump non-profit organization: “America First Policies.”

July 2017: After receiving a request to appear before the House Intelligence Committee, Parscale issues a statement saying that he is “unaware of any Russian involvement in the digital and data operations of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign.”

Meanwhile, Facebook still denies that it has any evidence of Russian political ad purchases on its platform. In September, it finally begins to come clean.

Jan. 5, 2018: Parscale tweets:

Kushner and Eric? And now Parscale is managing the 2020 Trump campaign. Friends taking care of friends.

Hope Hicks

Hicks stole Parscale’s spotlight: She admitted to telling “white lies” for Trump and resigned the next day. Go to the Trump-Russia Timeline, and click on her name. Here’s a sample of what’s there:

July 2016; Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page informs Hicks about his trip to Russia.

September 2016: Hicks receives an email from Don Jr. about his contact with WikiLeaks.

November 2016: Hicks denies that there were any contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign.

March 2017; Hicks issues a statement trying to explain away Jared Kushner’s secret meeting with a Russian banker in December 2016.

May 2017: Hicks is a member of Trump’s core group as he decides to fire FBI Director James Comey and then initially lies about his reasons for doing so.

July 2017: As Trump participates in crafting Don Jr.’s misleading statement about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians promising “dirt” on Clinton, Hicks is there.

Hicks seems to know more than where some bodies are buried. She may have held a shovel that helped put them there.

Here is a complete list of entries for this week’s update to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

APRIL 2015: Trump and Torshin at NRA Convention

EARLY 2015: Trump Campaign Retains Parscale

APRIL 26, 2016: Papadopoulos Learns That Russians Have ‘Dirt’ on Hillary Clinton and Can Help Disseminate It (revision of previous entry)

OCT. 13, 2016: The Atlantic: Stone and WikiLeaks Communicate Directly

OCT. 30, 2016: WSJ: Internal FBI Feud Over Clinton Investigation

NOV. 8, 2016: Election Day Troubles (revision of previous entry)

NOV. 9, 2016: WikiLeaks Sends Message to Stone

NOV. 10, 2016: Zuckerberg Rejects “Crazy Idea” that Facebook Affected Election

JAN. 5, 2017: Intelligence Chiefs Brief Obama on Trump and Russia

MARCH 2017: Kushner Companies Gets Big Loans; SEC Drops Inquiry

OCT. 27, 2017: US Attorney Dana Boente Resigns; Later Gets New FBI Job (revision of previous entry)

FEB. 27, 2018: Trump Tweets

FEB. 27, 2018: Parscale Named Trump’s 2020 Campaign Manager

FEB. 27, 2018: Hicks Admits to “White Lies”; House Intelligence Committee Gets “Bannon’ed”

FEB. 27, 2018: Trump Dragging Feet on Disrupting Russian Interference Efforts

FEB. 27, 2018: Kushner Suffers Security Clearance Downgrade and Other Woes

FEB. 27-28, 2018: Trump Attacks Sessions Again; Sessions Counterpunches

FEB. 27-28, 2018: Mueller Eyes Trump’s Russian Connections and Hicks’ Denials

FEB. 28, 2018: Manafort Trial Date Set

FEB. 28, 2018: Hicks Announces Resignation

MARCH 3, 2018: Mueller Investigating UAE Election Influence

MARCH 4, 2018: Putin: Russia Will Never Allow US to Extradite Accused Russians

MARCH 5, 2018: Trump Tweets Another Lie About Russia Investigation

Two major news stories intersected, but most of the media missed the collision. The Parkland High School shooting brought new scrutiny to the NRA’s position on assault weapons. And Rick Gates’ guilty plea agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller led many pundits to focus on how Gates’ cooperation could bolster the case against former Trump campaign manager, Paul Manafort. The Trump-Russia Timeline reveals a connection between the seemingly separate stories about the NRA and Gates. That connection could become key.

Start with Gates

Certainly, Rick Gates’ plea creates pressure on Manafort to flip and, presumably, testify against Trump. But Gates’ testimony alone could also worsen the legal jeopardy facing Trump (and Jared Kushner and Don Jr.). When it comes to Trump, Gates might know as much as Manafort, and perhaps more.

Go to the Trump-Russia Timeline, click on Rick Gates, and you’ll find more details about the following entries:

2006: Gates joins Manafort’s consulting firm and begins a decade-long relationship as his confidant.

March 2016: Manafort joins the Trump campaign. Gates goes with him and remains Manafort’s right-hand man.

A month ago, I urged a watchful eye on the FBI’s interest in whether Russians funneled campaign contributions to Trump through the NRA. Accepting campaign contributions from a foreign adversary is illegal. How might Gates fill out that picture? Here’s a start:

There Could Be Much More

But Gates alone may have more to say about a lot of other Trump-Russia things. Returning to Gates’ entries on the Timeline:

May 21, 2016: Papadopoulos Pushes Russia Meeting. Manafort forwards to Gates an email that he received from George Papadopoulos, who is pushing the Russians’ request for a direct meeting between Putin and Trump.

Timeline entries for June 9, 2016 (“Don Jr., Manafort, Kushner Meet With Russian Lawyer”) and July 14, 2016 (“Trump Campaign Successfully Changes GOP Platform on Ukraine”) do not yet show up as involving Gates. But his proximity to Manafort makes them candidates for future inclusion. Meanwhile, Gates does appear in these entries:

Aug. 19, 2016: Manafort Resigns From Trump Campaign; Gates Remains. After Manafort leaves the campaign amid controversy over increasing media attention to his exploits with Ukraine’s pro-Putin president, Gates moves over to the Republican National Committee and remains in Trump’s inner circle.

Jan. 20, 2017: Gates Remains in Trump Orbit. After the election, Gates becomes a consultant to the presidential transition, including the inauguration committee. After the inauguration, Gates and the Trump campaign’s digital director, Brad Parscale, help raise $25 million for a new pro-Trump group, “America First Policies.”

In short, Gates has a continuity of experience with Trump that Manafort doesn’t. As a cooperating witness for Mueller, Gates could be especially potent.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline update:

MARCH 19, 2013: Manafort Has Dinner with Rohrabacher

DECEMBER 2016: Suspicious Bank Loans to Manafort

SEPTEMBER 2012: US Law Firm Completes Report on Ukrainian Trial

SEPTEMBER 2016: FBI Has Open “Sub-Inquiries” On Individuals with Trump Campaign Links

SEPTEMBER 2016: Skadden Attorney Communicates With Gates and “Person A”

OCT. 21, 2016: FBI Seeks FISA Warrant on Carter Page (revision of previous entry)

OCTOBER 2017: Trump’s Bodyguard Gets RNC Job

FEB. 1, 2018: Gates Lies to Mueller

FEB. 2, 2018: Mueller Issues Criminal Information Against Rick Gates

FEB. 7, 2018: US Forces Attacked in Syria; Russian Oligarch Involved

FEB. 14, 2018: Lawyer Connected to Manafort and Gates Agrees to Guilty Plea Guilty

FEB. 16, 2018: Mueller’s DC Grand Jury Issues Superseding Indictment Against Manafort

FEB. 18, 2018: Former Russian Troll Farm Employee Arrested

FEB. 19, 2018: Mueller Looking at Kushner’s Finances

FEB. 19, 2018: Trump Blames Obama for Russian Meddling

FEB. 20, 2018: Trump Tweet-storm About Russia and Obama Continues

FEB. 21, 2018: Trump Tweets

FEB. 22, 2018: Trump Tweets As NRA Takes Heat

FEB. 22, 2018: New Charges Against Manafort and Gates

FEB. 23, 2018: Gates Pleads Guilty; Manafort Professes Innocence

FEB. 24, 2018: Democratic Rebuttal To Nunes Memo Released

FEB. 24, 2018: Trump Lies About Democratic Response to Nunes Memo

FEB. 26, 2018: GOP House Leaders Refuse to Investigate Trump Finances

Last week in brief: bad for Trump; worse for Kushner; busy for the Trump-Russia Timeline.

At the end of the week, special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury charged 3 entities and 13 Russian nationals with orchestrating an attack on American democracy. The resulting media coverage eclipsed more important news from a few days earlier: US intelligence chiefs warned Congress and the nation that Putin is still at it — trying to undermine the 2018 midterm elections.

But the really big news is Trump’s continuing indifference to it all, coupled with his endless efforts to distort the truth into something more pleasant for him.

Does It Really Matter?

In a Feb. 14, 2018 appearance, Vice President Mike Pence had a simple message for the audience: US intelligence agencies had found that none of Russia’s efforts had any impact on the 2016 election. For emphasis, he repeated the lie.

The truth: In their Jan. 6, 2017 report on Putin’s widespread influence campaign, the heads of America’s intelligence apparatus said that their agencies did not make any assessment of the impact that Russia’s activities had on the election outcome.

Then on Feb. 16, 2018, special counsel Mueller eliminated any doubt about the seriousness, sophistication, and success of Russia’s efforts to help Trump win. Mueller’s grand jury indicted a Russian-government linked troll farm, two of its funding entities, and 13 Russian nationals for conspiring against the United States “for the purpose of interfering with the US political and electoral system, including the presidential election of 2016.” Social media became Russia’s weapons of choice in the battle against democracy.

Referring to the indictment, Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster said, “[T]he evidence is now really incontrovertible and available in the public domain.” The last line of defense for Trump’s claim of presidential legitimacy — that he won the election “fair and square” — now lies in the dustbin of history.

“No Collusion — No Impact”? No Way

Responding to the indictment, Trump lied again. He said that it somehow proved “no collusion” between Russia and the Trump campaign, as well as “no impact” on the election outcome. Neither claim withstands even minimal scrutiny. Lawyers choose their words carefully, and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein is no exception.

“There is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in the alleged unlawful activity,” Rosenstein said. “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.” (emphasis supplied) Identifying allegations that aren’t in an indictment is a far cry from vindicating the Trump-Pence claims.

No collusion? The Russia indictment focuses only on Russia’s side of the election-interference transaction. Future indictments will reveal the complete roster of players on the US side. More importantly, they won’t use the red-herring word “collusion.” As Mueller well knows, the relevant legal concepts are conspiring, aiding, abetting, and obstructing.

Impact on the outcome? Functionally, the Russians became Trump’s biggest SuperPac. Putin’s favored candidate lost the US popular vote by almost 3 million ballots and prevailed in the electoral college only because he won three key states by fewer than 80,000 votes out of more than 136 million cast. Bottom line: His presidential victory carries a permanent asterisk. Trump will never be able to prove that he could have won without unlawful help from a foreign adversary.

Someday, Trump’s tweets about the Russia indictment — like so many others — will come back to haunt him and those mounting vigorous defenses based on his false claims.

And Then There’s Kushner…

The indictment, together with news that Mueller’s team had interviewed Steve Bannon for more than 20 hours, could mean special trouble for Jared Kushner. Bannon hates Kushner. The Russia indictment focuses on the defendants’ successful social media efforts. That puts a new spotlight on Trump’s son-in-law, who ran the digital campaign.

For those following the Trump-Russia Timeline, that spotlight was always there. Go to the Timeline and click on Jared Kushner’s name. Or, if you prefer, take a look at the stand-alone Kushner Timeline — made especially for him. He earned it.

Here’s the complete list of this week’s new/revised entries:

NEW: MAY 27, 2013: Trump Contemplating Presidential Bid in 2016

JULY 2013: Internet Research Agency Formed in Russia

APRIL 2014: The “Translator Project” Begins

JUNE 4-26, 2014: Russians Visit US

APRIL TO JUNE 2016: Russians Buy Pro-Trump Ads

JUNE 2016: Russians Get Voter Targeting Info

JUNE TO NOVEMBER 2016: “Translator Project” in Full Swing

NOV. 12, 2016: Russian Interference Campaign Continues

APRIL 2017: Trump Tells McGahn to Get Comey’s Help on Russia

MAY 9, 2017: Internal Trump Team Clash After Comey Firing

MAY 17, 2017: Rosenstein Names Former FBI Director Robert Mueller Special Counsel (revision of previous entry)

JULY 25, 2017: Trump Continues Attacking Sessions on Twitter; Wants Sessions’ Resignation (revision of previous entry)

SEPT. 13, 2017: Russians Realize They Have Been Busted; Destroy Evidence

NEW: DEC. 19, 2017: Prigozhin Added to Sanctions List

FEB. 13, 2018: US Intelligence Chiefs Warn About Russian Interference in 2018

FEB. 13, 2018: Sekulow Using His Radio Show To Defend Trump

FEB. 13, 2018: Mueller Has More For Manafort

FEB. 14, 2018: Pence Lies About US Intelligence Findings

FEB. 15, 2018: Bannon and Trump Frame Permissible Questions for Congress

FEB. 16, 2018: Grand Jury Indicts Internet Research Agency and Russian Nationals

FEB. 16, 2018: Trump Claims Indictment Exonerates Him

NEW: FEB. 17, 2018: Trump Tweets About Indictment

NEW: FEB. 17, 2018: Trump Tweets About Indictment

NEW: FEB. 17, 2018: Trump Retweets Facebook’s Defense

NEW: FEB. 17, 2018: Florida Suffers Tragedy; Trump Tweets

NEW: FEB. 17, 2018: McMaster Speaks; Trump Tweets

NEW: FEB. 18, 2018: Trump Tweets Russians Are “Laughing Their Asses Off”

NEW: FEB. 18, 2018: LA Times: Gates Agrees to Plea Deal

The motivation for Rep. Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) persistent efforts to obstruct the Trump-Russia probe became clearer last week. Specifically, we learned that on Dec. 23, 2016, Nunes gave an interview to Newsweek. At best, it will certainly land him in an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. At worst, well…

When Nunes spoke with Newsweek, he was on the executive committee of Trump’s presidential transition team. Here’s what he said about his relationship with national security-designate Mike Flynn:

“This guy was one of the best intelligence officers in several generations…. Flynn is extremely smart. He really is top notch… I talk to Flynn virtually every day, if not multiple times a day. Seldom there’s a day that goes by that I don’t talk to Flynn, and especially right after the campaign, directly.” (emphasis supplied)

Now go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on Mike Flynn. Here’s what was happening with him around the time of Nunes’ interview:

Late November 2016: Flynn tells senior Trump advisers that he has scheduled a meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Dec. 1, 2016: Flynn, Kislyak, and Jared Kushner meet privately, and Kushner reportedly suggests to Kislyak the possibility of establishing a secret back-channel through which the Trump administration could communicate directly with the Kremlin — and without the knowledge of US intelligence officials.

Mid-December 2016: Flynn, Kushner, and Steve Bannon meet with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who reportedly arranges a January meeting in the Seychelles islands between Trump supporter Erik Prince (Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos’s brother) and a Russian close to Putin.

Dec. 22, 2016: Flynn lobbies Kislyak directly (and, perhaps, illegally) about Russia’s upcoming UN vote on Israeli settlements. (Flynn later lies to federal investigators about it.)

DEC. 23, 2016: NUNES’ INTERVIEW WITH NEWSWEEK

Dec. 28-31, 2016: Flynn speaks with certain members of Trump’s transition team about his discussions with Kisylak. The topic is President Obama’s new sanctions against Russia for its interference in the US election. Kislyak tells Flynn that Putin will not retaliate for the sanctions, (Flynn later lies to federal investigators about his conversations with Kislyak.)

Jan. 4, 2017: Flynn tells the transition team’s chief legal counsel (and White House counsel-designate) Don McGahn that Flynn is under federal investigation for his lobbying activities on behalf of entities connected to the Turkish government.

To follow the action from this point, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline, click on Devin Nunes, and discover his publicly known efforts to obstruct and undermine the Trump-Russia investigation. His fears of where the truth could take him personally are well-grounded.

Members of Congress have immunity from criminal liability for acts that are an integral part of their legislative duties. But such “speech or debate” immunity provides no protection for whatever Nunes may have done while serving on Trump’s transition team. Nor could it protect him from charges that he obstructed justice in connection with the investigation of such wrongdoing.

Russian Interference

Another important and under-reported story of the week was lost in Nunes’ nonsense over his distracting attack on the FBI. On Jan. 10, 2018, Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released a report detailing how Putin operates as he seeks to undermine Western democracy.

Among the highlights of the 200-page report:

• Putin’s goal: Amass personal wealth and power
• Means and methods:
  • Control internal government intelligence agencies
  • Dismiss the truth as “FAKE NEWS”
  • Spread disinformation
  • Operate without meaningful legislative oversight
  • Sow division among Western allies
  • Exploit explosive issues to divide Americans 

Sound familiar? The report notes that Trump has stood “practically idle” in dealing with Putin’s ongoing attacks on American democracy.

One more thing: With Rachel Brand’s resignation on Feb. 9, 2018, Trump’s path to undermining Mueller’s investigation got a lot easier.

Here’s a complete list of the latest Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

EARLY JULY 2016: Steele Contacts FBI About His Trump Findings (revision of previous entry)

NOV. 8, 2016: Election Day Troubles (revision of previous entry)

DEC. 23, 2016: Nunes Talks to Flynn Daily

JAN. 10, 2018: Senate Report: Putin’s Attacks on Democracy

FEB. 2, 2018: Nunes Moves Inquiry To State Dept.

FEB. 5, 2018: House Intelligence Committee Votes to Release Response to Nunes Memo

FEB. 5, 2018: Trump’s Lawyers Don’t Want Him to Testify

FEB. 6, 2018: Tillerson: Russia Already Meddling in 2018 Midterms

FEB. 8, 2018: Grassley Says Release of Don Jr. and Other Transcripts Will Take Weeks

FEB. 8, 2018: Trump Tweets

FEB. 9, 2018: Democrats Rebut Grassley/Graham Criminal Referral on Steele

FEB. 9, 2018: Rachel Brand Resigns

FEB. 9, 2018: Trump Objects to Releasing Democrats’ Rebuttal to Nunes’ Memo

FEB. 10, 2018: Trump Tweets

For weeks, the media focused on Rep. Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) memo. On Feb. 2, it landed with a thud and crushed a key GOP talking point. As wrangling continues over the Democrats’ rebuttal, the controversy is working for Trump: Nunes has obscured far more important developments in the Trump-Russia Timeline. In that respect, he’s a recidivist.

First Things First: Killing a GOP Talking Point

Trump and his GOP allies have been pushing the false narrative that the Trump-Russia investigation began as a partisan conspiracy. They base their claim on this sequence of events:

• After Trump clinched the GOP nomination in 2016, conservative Republicans funding Fusion GPS’s anti-Trump opposition research bowed out and Democrats stepped in.
• Fusion hired former British MI6 intelligence officer Christopher Steele, a widely respected specialist on Russia.
• Steele started digging and provided Fusion with raw intelligence that became known as the Steele dossier.
• Some of Steele’s material became part of the FBI’s Oct. 21, 2016 FISA warrant application to surveil a former Trump foreign policy adviser, Carter Page.
• From there, the theory goes, the FBI was off to the races on a Trump-Russia investigation that became a partisan “witch hunt.”

Nunes’ memo killed the Trump/GOP talking point. It’s true that, on Oct. 21, 2016 — after Page had left the Trump campaign — the FBI sought and the FISA court issued a warrant to surveil Page. It’s also true that some of Steele’s material was part of the application for that warrant.

But neither Steele nor Page started the FBI investigation. As Nunes’ memo concedes, George Papadopoulos did:

“The Papadopoulos information triggered the opening of an FBI counterintelligence investigation in late July 2016….”

July v. October. Nunes missed the GOP’s talking point target by three months. For the facts surrounding Christopher Steele’s role in the Trump-Russia story, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on his name. Steele is an American patriot — and he’s not even a US citizen.

The Important Stuff

To understand the facts surrounding how and why the FBI’s investigation began, go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on Papadopoulos’ name. Look at what Papadopoulos — then one of only five Trump foreign policy advisers — began doing in March 2016. Look at what he told an Australian diplomat in May 2016, namely, that Russia possessed stolen Clinton emails.

Now click on Carter Page — another of Trump’s five foreign policy advisers in March 2016. This week’s Timeline update revises the first entry for Page (Apr. 8, 2013) to add this:

“On Aug. 25, 2013, Page writes a letter boasting, ‘Over the past half year, I have had the privilege to serve as an informal advisor to the staff of the Kremlin in preparation for their Presidency of the G-20 Summit next month, where energy issues will be a prominent point on the agenda.’”

Finally, go to the Timeline and click on Devin Nunes to see that his latest farce is reminiscent of earlier antics. In March 2017. he personally delivered to Trump documents allegedly supporting Trump’s tweet that President Obama had “wire tapped” Trump Tower during the campaign. The documents did no such thing. Nothing could because Trump’s claim was bogus from the beginning. Eventually, even congressional Republicans admitted it.

In fact, the supposed bombshell documents that Nunes gave Trump had come from a White House lawyer whom Nunes knew well, Michael Ellis. Until a week earlier, Ellis had served as general counsel of Nunes’ House Intelligence Committee.

As I write this post, Nunes threatens another sideshow relating to his investigation into a State Department envoy — and more memos. The search for partisan conspiracies should focus on Nunes.

The Real Trump-Russia News

Meanwhile, three far more important themes run through this week’s Timeline update, starting with Trump’s persistent preference for personal loyalty over love of country and the rule of law. As calls to “cleanse” the FBI morph into a purge, add the following events to a litany that begins with Trump’s January 2017 request for former FBI Director James Comey’s loyalty:

May 9, 2017: After firing Comey, Trump asks Acting Director Andrew McCabe how he voted in the 2016 election.

December 2017: As Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein meets with Trump prior to Rosenstein’s congressional appearance, Trump asks him if he is on Trump’s “team.”

January 29, 2018: After weeks of Trump’s withering assaults, McCabe resigns. He wasn’t on Trump’s team.

That leads to the second theme in this week’s update: It’s becoming clearer why Trump might want inside help from federal law enforcement officials investigating him. A new witness has emerged in special counsel Robert Mueler’s obstruction of justice investigation.

July 7-9, 2017: As The New York Times breaks the story about the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting among Don Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, Mark Corallo — a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team — is on a conference call with Trump and Hope Hicks. The topic is what to tell the media about the Trump Tower meeting. The easy answer would have been “the truth.” That didn’t happen. Corallo has now emerged as a potentially important witness.

Why the continuing Trump cover-up of all things Russian? The answer leads to the third theme, which centers on the most underreported story of the week.

January 29: Trump refuses to impose the sanctions on Russian election interference under a law that passed Congress with nearly unanimous bipartisan support. A few days earlier, top Russian intelligence officers had been in the US meeting with their US counterparts, including CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

Trump/Nunes attacking the FBI; Trump refusing to impose new sanctions for Russia’s election interference; the media obsessing over Trump’s shiny objects.

All in all, Putin had a good week. The country? Not so much.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Timeline updates:

APRIL 8, 2013: Russians Attempt to Recruit Page (revision of previous entry)

LATE JULY 2016: FBI Formally Opens Investigation Into Possible Collusion (revision of previous entry)

OCT. 21, 2016: FBI Seeks FISA Warrant On Carter Page

MAY 9, 2017: Trump Fires Comey; Asks McCabe How He Voted (revision of previous entry)

JULY 7, 2017: NY Times Prepares Story on June 9, 2016 Meeting With Russians

JULY 8, 2017: White House Scrambles to Deal with Forthcoming NYT Story; Trump Supervises Media Response

JULY 8, 2017: Donald Trump Jr. Releases First Statement

JULY 8, 2017: Spokesperson for Trump’s Legal Team Offers Different Version of June 9 Meeting

JULY 9, 2017: Trump-Hicks-Corallo Conference Call

JULY 2017: Nunes’ Aide Sends Staffers to Contact Steele (revision of previous entry)

SEPT. 28, 2017: Senators Are Concerned That Trump May Not Enforce New Russia Sanctions (revision of previous entry)

EARLY DECEMBER 2017: Trump Asks Rosenstein If He Is On Trump’s “Team”

JAN. 11, 2018: Trump Calls FBI Agent’s Text “Treason”

WEEK OF JAN. 22, 2018: CIA Director Pompeo Meets With Russian Counterpart; Other Russian Intel Chiefs Also in US

JAN. 24, 2018: Justice Department Cautions Against Release Of Nunes Memo; Trump Erupts (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 28, 2018: Wray Reviews Nunes’ Memo

JAN. 28, 2018: White House Still Wants Nunes’ Memo Released

JAN. 29, 2018: White House Dismisses DOJ Concerns About Nunes’ Memo

JAN. 29, 2018: McCabe Steps Down As FBI’s Deputy Director

JAN. 29, 2018: Trump Defies Congress on Sanctions; CIA Director Says Russian Interference Will Continue

JAN. 29, 2018: DOJ Warns Against Releasing Nunes’ Memo

JAN. 29, 2018: House Intelligence Committee Votes to Release Nunes’ Memo; Nunes Revises Memo Before Sending It To White House

JAN. 29, 2018: Trump Wants Nunes’ Memo Released

JAN. 30, 2018: NBC: Trump Talks About Prosecuting Mueller

JAN. 31, 2018, Schumer Wants Answers Relating to Russian Spy Visit to US

JAN. 31, 2018: FBI Issues Public Statement On Nunes’ Memo

FEB. 2, 2018: Trump Tweets

FEB. 2, 2018: Nunes’ Memo Goes Public; Undermines Trump and GOP Position

FEB. 3, 2018: Trump Tweets

FEB. 3, 2018: Democratic Rebuttal Blasts Nunes Memo

FEB. 5, 2018: Trump Tweets

[NOTE: My Jan. 25, 2018 interview on “BACKGROUND BRIEFING” with Ian Masters is available here: “Updating the Timeline on the Trump-Russia Story.” My appearance begins at the 35-minute mark]

**************

The big news in the latest Trump-Russia Timeline update occurred more than six months ago. In June 2017, Trump told White House counsel Don McGahn that he wanted the Justice Department to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. McGahn balked; Trump blinked; Mueller remains. Plan A — firing Mueller outright — stayed on the shelf. It’s still there.

But Plan B went forward. Around the same time that Trump talked to McGahn about firing Mueller, Trump reportedly directed aides to devise and implement a strategy to undermine Mueller’s investigation. Plan B is still underway in earnest.

A comprehensive timeline of Trump’s efforts to obstruct justice would begin a week after his inauguration, when he asked then-FBI Director James Comey for loyalty. And it would continue to this day with attempts to intimidate witnesses, attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller’s integrity, and frontal assaults on the FBI and the Justice Department. The Trump-Russia Timeline of the reasons for Trump to obstruct justice begins in the 1980s.

This installment focuses on one small slice of the scandal: events surrounding Trump’s newly reported attempt in June 2017 to fire Mueller. Keep the facts straight, add context, and the story tells itself.

May 17, 2017: Trump is still furious that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from the Trump-Russia investigation, thereby putting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in charge. Eight days after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Rosenstein names Robert Mueller as special counsel to supervise the FBI investigation.

May 18: Trump denies news reports that he ever asked Comey to end the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation.

May 19: Reuters reports that White House lawyers are investigating ways to undermine Mueller.

Meanwhile, the media find clues to what Mueller may be unearthing. On May 19, The Washington Post reports that Mueller has identified a current White House official as a “person of interest” in the investigation. Most observers believe it’s Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. On May 26, the Post reveals that during a previously undisclosed meeting with Russian Ambassador Kislyak on Dec. 1, 2016, Jared Kushner had sought a communications “back-channel” with the Kremlin. And then Reuters follows with a May 27 article about previously undisclosed communications between Kushner and Kislyak during the campaign.

June 2-3: The press reports that Mueller has assumed control of grand juries investigating Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Flynn and former campaign manager Paul Manafort.

June 7: Vox reports that Comey has corroborating witnesses for his reported assertion that, during an Oval Office conversation in February 2017, Trump asked him to back off the Flynn investigation.

June 8: Comey testifies publicly before the Senate Intelligence Committee. He confirms that Trump asked for his loyalty, told him privately in the Oval Office that he hoped Comey would “let Flynn go,” and thereafter sought Comey’s assistance in “lifting the Russia cloud” over his presidency. He also identifies a handful of top FBI officials who can corroborate his testimony.

After Comey’s testifies, Trump’s legal team reportedly is preparing a complaint to be filed with the Justice Department against Comey for “leaking” his memos about their loyalty dinner.

June 9: Trump accuses Comey of lying under oath and tweets:

Sometime during this period, Trump tells aides to devise and carry out a plan to discredit the senior FBI officials whom Comey had named as corroborating witness to their private conversations, according to subsequent reporting by Foreign Policy. Trump and his supporters have to “fight back harder,” Trump reportedly says.

June 11: The New York Times reports that White House aides are asking Trump’s personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, if they need their own lawyers.

June 12: Trump confidant Chris Ruddy tells PBS NewsHour that Trump is “considering, perhaps, terminating the special counsel.”

June 13: Rosenstein testifies that he hasn’t yet seen the “good cause” required to fire Mueller.

June 14: The Washington Post reports that Mueller may be targeting Trump for obstruction of justice.

June 15: Trump tweets:

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence — who had headed Trump’s presidential transition team — hires his own outside lawyer to deal with Trump-Russia matters. The Washington Post reports that Mueller is investigating Jared Kushner’s finances. And The Wall Street Journal says that White House counsel Don McGahn is concerned that investigators could construe private meetings between Trump and Kushner as an effort to coordinate their stories.

June 15: Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein issues a curious statement that cautions against public reliance on “anonymous” officials and “anonymous” allegations.

June 16: Rosenstein reportedly tells colleagues that he might have to recuse himself from supervising Mueller’s investigation.

June 16: A Trump tweet takes aim at Rosenstein:

And all of that preceded this week’s bombshells: Details surrounding the infamous June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting among Don Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton; Trump reportedly asking Rosenstein if he was on Trump’s team; and Rep. Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) ongoing attacks on the DOJ and the FBI. More about those in next week’s Timeline update.

Crisis Over Or Intensifying?

Some observers are now breathing a sigh of relief. They say that the country survived the June episode and Trump wouldn’t try to fire Mueller again. Why not? Since June, the investigation has moved closer to Trump’s inner circle, and Mueller has secured two indictments, two guilty pleas, and at least two cooperating witnesses (one is Mike Flynn).

For now, Trump and a complicit GOP Congress are following Plan B: Hollow out the investigation by attacking Mueller’s personal integrity, intimidating potential witnesses, and undermining the integrity of FBI and the Justice Department. However, Trump’s ever-present desire to fire Mueller and terminate the investigation remains.

But beware of Plan C. While watching Mueller, keep a close eye on the fate of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who supervises him. If Trump fires Rosenstein, Trump’s hand-picked replacement could gut Mueller’s investigation from within.

Will Trump await the next round of indictments before acting on his instinct for self-preservation and — one way or another — terminate Mueller’s Trump-Russia probe? The more important question is whether the Republican Congress will allow him to get away with it if he does.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s new entries:

SUMMER: 2015: Dutch Intelligence Notifies US Intelligence About Russian Hack of DNC

SEPT. 1, 2016 – NOVEMBER 15, 2016: Russians Tweet To Promote Trump

FEB. 29, 2016: Manafort Pitches Himself to Trump (revision of previous entry)

DEC. 26, 2016: Russian Intelligence Officer Found Dead

MAY 9, 2017: Trump Fires Comey; Questions McCabe (revision of previous entry)

SOMETIME IN JUNE 2017: Trump Wants Mueller Fired; McGahn Threatens To Resign

JUNE 8, 2017: Comey Testifies Before Senate Intelligence Committee; Trump Launches Counteroffensive (revision of previous entry)

SOMETIME IN DECEMBER 2017: Sessions Pressures McCabe

DURING THE WEEK OF JAN. 15, 2018: Mueller Interviews Sessions

JAN. 23, 3018: Trump Tweets

JAN. 23, 2018: Democrats Seek Social Media Info About Nunes’ Memo

JAN. 23, 2018: Mueller Seeks To Question Trump

23, 2018: Top House Democrats Blast GOP Attack on Mueller and the FBI

JAN. 23, 2018: Sarah Sanders Says Trump Wants Transparency On Nunes Memo

JAN. 24, 2018: Key Democrats Want to Share Testimony With Mueller

LATE-JANUARY 2018: Nunes Refuses FBI and Senate Intelligence Committee Requests to View Memo

JAN. 24, 2018: Justice Department Cautions Against Release Of Nunes Memo

JAN. 24, 2018: Trump Wants Nunes Memo Released

JAN. 24, 2018: Trump Says He’d “Love” To Testify Under Oath For Mueller; Trump’s Attorneys Backpedal

JAN. 24, 2018: Trump Says He Was Only “Fighting Back”; Hopes Mueller Will Be Fair

JAN. 25, 2018: Nunes Gets Local Heat

JAN. 26, 2018: Trump Calls Reports Of His Order to Fire Mueller “Fake News”

On Jan. 24, 2018, NBC posted an article about Michael Flynn’s Jan. 24, 2017 interview with the FBI. Two-thirds of the way into the piece, this grabbed my attention:

“McGahn did not later ask Flynn if he lied to the FBI, one person familiar with the matter said. This person said it was unclear if Flynn intended to lie and that McGahn did not conclude that Flynn had lied to the FBI until after he had been fired. It was at that time in late winter or early spring that the White House received a request from the FBI for phone records and other documents related to Flynn that McGahn and other top officials concluded he had lied in his interview and was otherwise under investigation, this person said.” (emphasis supplied)

That description of events is wrong. NBC should not have run it just because a person said it.

Mistakes Happen; This Is Something Else

“This person” fed the NBC reporter, Carol E. Lee, incorrect information. The disturbing aspect is that, in the face of known facts refuting “the person’s” attempt to rewrite history, NBC published it.

Who benefits from such disinformation? In this case, the article is self-revealing: “McGahn and other top officials.”

The Facts

Jan. 24, 2017: Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s office contacts national security adviser Mike Flynn’s scheduler to set up the FBI’s interview with Flynn. Three weeks earlier, Flynn’s lawyer had informed then-White House counsel-designate Don McGahn that Flynn was already under investigation for his dealings with Turkey.

Jan. 24, 2017: FBI agents interview Flynn.

Jan. 26, 2017: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates informs McGahn that, based on recent public statements of White House officials including Vice President Mike Pence, Mike Flynn had lied to Pence and others about his late-December conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. According to Sean Spicer, Trump and a small group of White House advisers were “immediately informed of the situation.”

Jan. 27, 2017: McGahn asks Sally Yates to return to the White House for another discussion about Flynn. He asks Yates, “Why does it matter to the Department of Justice if one White House official lies to another?” Yates explains that Flynn’s lies make him vulnerable to Russian blackmail because the Russians know that Flynn lied and could probably prove it.

According to subsequent reporting by Foreign Policy, McGahn researches “federal law dealing both with lying to federal investigators and with violations of the Logan Act, a centuries-old federal law that prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments.” McGahn’s records indicate that he then warns Trump about Flynn’s possible violations.

Feb. 13, 2017: Flynn resigns.

Dec. 2, 2017: Trump tweets:

That evening, White House sources tell CBS that Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, had written the tweet. Dowd then tells NBC, CNN and ABC that he wrote it.

Dec. 3, 2017: The Washington Post reports:

“President Trump’s personal lawyer said Sunday that the president knew in late January that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account he provided to Vice President Pence about a call with the Russian ambassador.

“Trump lawyer John Dowd said the information was passed to Trump by White House counsel Donald McGahn, who had been warned about Flynn’s statement to the vice president by a senior Justice Department official.” (emphasis supplied)

A cursory review of the factual record would have revealed that the person in the Jan. 24, 2018 article was seeking to enlist NBC’s help in rewriting history. Mission accomplished. As the country enters the most dangerous phase of the Trump-Russia investigation, the media cannot succumb to systematic disinformation emanating from Trump defenders or others seeking to protect themselves. When in doubt, the Trump-Russia Timeline is only a click away.

For the third straight week, the theme of the Trump-Russia Timeline Update is GOP complicity. In that ongoing race to the bottom, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) continues to distinguish himself.

Members of Congress enjoy broad immunity from prosecution for criminal wrongdoing. But it’s not unlimited, and it won’t cover Nunes’ role as a member of Trump’s transition team. Loyalty to Trump is one thing, but perhaps Nunes’ personal exposure also helps explain his obstructionism.

Nunes, Flynn, and Turkey

For the first part of the Nunes complicity exercise, go to the Timeline and click on two names: Nunes and Michael Flynn. Highlights:

July 2016: Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn denounces Turkey’s President Erdoğan.

Aug. 2016: A businessman close to Erdoğan hires Flynn’s private consulting firm.

Sept. 19, 2016: Flynn discusses with top Turkish foreign ministers the prospect of kidnapping Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish cleric who had led a popular uprising against Erdoğan.

Nov. 8, 2016: Reversing his prior condemnation of Erdoğan, Flynn publishes an op-ed blasting Gülen.

Nov. 11, 2016: Trump names Nunes to the presidential transition team. Coincidentally, Nunes chairs the Select Intelligence Committee that will conduct the House investigation into Trump shenanigans.

Mid-December 2016: Flynn and Turkish officials again meet to discuss the prospect of kidnapping Gülen.

Dec. 28-29, 2016: As Flynn discusses sanctions with the Russian ambassador, he’s in direct communication with at least one of Nunes’ fellow transition team members, K.T. McFarland.

Jan. 18, 2017: Nunes attends a breakfast meeting with Flynn and Turkey’s foreign minister.

Nunes – The Great Obstructor

This week’s Timeline Update includes Nunes’ faux investigation of the FBI’s alleged abuses. For the second part of the Nunes complicity exercise, go to the Timeline and click on Nunes and Christopher Steele.

March 4, 2017: Furious that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Trump-Russia investigation, Trump claims falsely that the Obama administration had his Trump Tower “wires tapped” during the campaign.

March 7, 2017: Three days later, Michael Ellis, the 32-year-old general counsel to Nunes’ House committee, joins the White House counsel’s staff as “special assistant to the president, senior associate counsel to the president, and deputy National Security Council legal adviser.”

March 22, 2017: After admitting that no evidence supports Trump’s wiretapping claim, Nunes engages in a charade. He bypasses the Intelligence Committee and goes directly to the White House with supposedly dynamite evidence: Prior to the inauguration, American intelligence agencies conducting foreign surveillance may have incidentally picked up Trump associates. Trump says that Nunes’ information makes him feel “somewhat vindicated” about his bogus wiretapping claim.

March 30, 2017: The New York Times reports that Nunes’ sources for the information that he’d taken to Trump are two members of the Trump administration: Ezra Cohen-Watnick, an NSC staffer whose job Trump personally had saved around March 13, and Michael Ellis, the former general counsel of Nunes’ House Intelligence Committee! The supposedly revelatory material had made a circular trip: from Nunes’ man in the White House — to Nunes — and then back to Trump. But for a week, Nunes’ farce had fueled another Trump diversionary mission.

Sept. 1, 2017: The Justice Department acknowledges that it has no evidence to support Trump’s wiretapping claims. But Nunes pivots to an equally baseless claim: Obama administration officials engaged in improper “unmasking” of Trump associates mentioned in intelligence reports. So Nunes subpoenas President Obama’s former national national security adviser, Susan Rice. She reportedly testifies that the unmasking related to secret, pre-inaugural meetings between Trump aides and representatives of the United Arab Emirates at Trump Tower — perhaps for the purpose of establishing a back-channel for Trump communications with Russia. When that truth emerges, even Nunes’ fellow Republicans walk away from his spurious claims.

Oct. 4, 2017: Nunes issues subpoenas as part of his assault on Fusion GPS and the Steele dossier. Rather than deal with evidence proving that much of the dossier is true, Nunes attacks the messengers.

Jan. 3, 2018: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) approves Nunes’ effort to obtain FBI documents and employee testimony aimed at discrediting the Bureau. For months, Nunes and a select group of Republicans have been working on that project. He’s also trying to manufacture a case against special counsel Robert Mueller and the Justice Department.

And Now This

On Jan. 18, 2018, the House Intelligence Committee votes to release Nunes’ four-page memorandum of FBI abuses to all GOP representatives. Among other items, it reportedly asserts that the FBI used information from the Steele dossier to obtain a FISA warrant targeting Carter Page. Apart from being incorrect factually, that premise is yet another diversion from the central issue: Putin’s interference in the election to help Trump win.

Ranking Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), says that Nunes’ memo is a “profoundly misleading set of talking points drafted by Republican staff attacking the FBI and its handling of the investigation. Rife with factual inaccuracies and referencing highly classified materials that most of Republican Intelligence Committee members were forced to acknowledge they had never read, this is meant only to give Republican House members a distorted view of the FBI. This may help carry White House water, but it is a deep disservice to our law enforcement professionals.”

More Than Nunes

For this week’s Update, other noteworthy items include:

— Russia, Trump, and the NRA. Keep an eye on that one.

— Congressional appearances by Steve Bannon and Corey Lewandowski. Trump’s defense has entered the “fight everything” stage. While the White House feigns cooperation with investigations, witnesses are refusing without justification to testify in congressional hearings. (Bannon’s refusal is at the White House’s direction.)

— Fusion GPS’s road map. In testimony released on Jan. 18, 2018, Glenn Simpson gave congressional investigators a road map of leads — banks, real estate brokers, travel records, and the like. Until Democrats control the relevant committees, Congress won’t pursue them.

Here’s the complete list of this week’s Timeline Updates:

JUNE 9, 2016: Don Jr., Manafort, Kushner Meet With Russian Lawyer (revision of previous entry)

OCT. 31, 2016: NYT Story Sours Steele on FBI; Steele and Simpson Go To The Press (revision of previous entry)

AFTER THANKSGIVING 2016: Steele and Simpson Talk To Bruce Ohr

JAN. 20, 2017: Velesnitskaya, Akhmetshin, and Butina Attend Trump Inauguration Festivities

SEPT. 13, 2017: Rice’s Reasons for ‘Unmasking’ Trump’s Associates Satisfies GOP (revision of previous entry)

NOV. 14, 2017: Fusion GPS’s Simpson Testifies Before House Intelligence Committee

JAN. 9, 2018: Mueller Subpoenas Bannon

JAN. 12, 2018: Mueller Seeks May 14 Trial Date For Manafort (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 16, 2018: Bannon Follows White House Directive In Refusing To Answer Questions From House Intelligence Committee

JAN. 16, 2018: White House Asserts Cooperation With Russia Probe

JAN. 17, 2018: Bannon Agrees To Interview With Special Counsel

JAN. 17, 2018: Sen. Flake Blasts Trump’s Assault On Truth

JAN. 17, 2018: Lewandowski Fails To Answer House Intelligence Committee Questions

JAN. 18, 2018: FBI Investigating Whether Russian Money Going To NRA Helped Trump

JAN. 18, 2018: House Releases Simpson Transcript

JAN. 18, 2018: Nunes Memo Attacks FBI

During the Watergate investigation, Republicans wanted the Select Committee chaired by Sen. Sam Ervin (D-NC) to expand the scope of its inquiry to alleged Democratic skulduggery during the 1964 and 1968 elections. Ervin warned that such a diversion would be “as foolish as the man who went bear hunting and stopped to chase rabbits.”

The key difference between 1972 and 2018 is that the GOP-controlled Congress is directing the hunt for wrongdoing by a Republican president. On Jan. 9, 2018, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reiterated Sen. Ervin’s sentiment on the Senate floor, chastising Republicans for sending the Trump-Russia investigation down rabbit holes. It’s the theme for this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline Update.

Grassley Revealed, Again

Last week’s Update — the “Complicit GOP Edition” — saw Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) joining with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in a public relations ploy, namely, referring former MI6 intelligence officer Christopher Steele to the FBI for criminal investigation. It was a publicity stunt because the referral related to alleged misstatements that Steele had made to…the FBI! And it was based on information that the Senate Judiciary Committee had received from… the FBI!

In June 2016, Fusion’s Glenn Simpson hired Steele to investigate Trump’s connections to Russia. On Aug. 22, 2017, the staff attorneys on Grassley’s committee interviewed Simpson. Shortly thereafter, Grassley said he’d hold a committee vote on whether to release the transcript, but he never did.

On Jan 9, 2018, Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) released the transcript unilaterally, revealing why Grassley and other Trump defenders wanted to suppress it. The questions from attorneys working for the Republicans on Grassley’s committee reflect a desperate attempt to gain Simpson’s support for two false GOP narratives. One Republican talking point is that Russia paid for the creation of the Steele dossier. Another is that the dossier was the genesis of the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. Simpson’s answers destroyed both. Even so, two days after Feinstein released the transcript, Trump tweeted the lies again.

Grassley’s constituents want to know why he’s protecting Trump.

More Detail On Hacks

Beyond rebutting two key GOP diversionary talking points, Simpson worsened Trump’s Russia plight. Using the Trump-Russia Timeline provides context for the newest entries:

— March 19, 2016: Russians hack the email account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta and obtain at least 50,000 emails.

— But until April 29, 2016, the DNC itself didn’t realize that its computer system had been hacked. Go to the Timeline and click on George Papadopoulos to see that three days earlier Russians had told Papadopoulos that they had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton — thousands of stolen emails — and wanted to help Trump win the election. In mid-May, Papadopoulos tells an Australian diplomat about the Russian “dirt” on Clinton, and the information makes its way to the FBI.

— June 12, 2016: The DNC tries to get ahead of the hacking story, only to find that Julian Assange says his organization, WikiLeaks, possesses Clinton emails “pending publication.” (In January 2017, the US intelligence community reports its unanimous conclusion that Russia used WikiLeans to disseminate the stolen DNC emails. Even more revealing, go to the Timeline, click on Julian Assange, and see the intersections among Assange, Jared Kushner, Roger Stone, and Cambridge Analytica — where Steve Bannon had previously been a vice president.)

— Meanwhile in June 2016, Fusion GPS — originally retained by Republicans investigating then-candidate Trump — hires Christopher Steele to dig more deeply into Trump’s Russia connection. (For more go to the Timeline and click on Christopher Steele.)

— By early July 2016, according to Simpson, Steele believes that he has discovered an ongoing criminal conspiracy — what Simpson later tells Grassley’s staff is a “crime in progress.” Specifically, Russia seeks to divide the Western alliance by cultivating Trump as a presidential candidate. Even worse, the Russians have compromising material on Trump. Steele contacts the FBI’s Rome field office about what he views as a grave US national security threat.

— In September 2016, according to Simpson, the FBI tells Steele that it has Trump-Russia intelligence from a human source inside the Trump organization. Now the FBI wants to see what Steele has compiled on Trump-Russia.

Another Crime In Progress?

That takes us to the Update entries concerning a story in The New York Times on Oct. 31, 2016 — a “Halloween surprise” that becomes central to Steele’s subsequent actions.

— Oct. 25-26, 2016: Trump campaign adviser Rudy Giuliani speaks publicly about an upcoming “surprise.”

— Oct 28: FBI Director James Comey announces the FBI’s renewed interest in Clinton’s emails. Commenting on the news, Giuliani says he’s heard from FBI agents that there was a “revolution” going on inside the FBI” about Comey’s closing of the Clinton investigation in July, and Comey was “feeling the pressure.”

— Oct. 31: The New York Times publishes a story that the FBI had investigated Trump and, essentially, found no connection to Russia. According to Simpson, Steele finds the Times report an unpleasant “Halloween surprise.” He worries that someone is manipulating the FBI for political purposes. It appears to him that FBI insiders may be feeding false information to the Times, and the Times is running with it. Steele concludes that the FBI is no longer a reliable actor in getting to the truth about Trump-Russia. So he stops talking to the FBI about his findings.

Who inside the FBI was feeding Giuliani? Who was feeding false information to the Times about the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation? If there is a scandal to be found in the FBI relating to the 2016 election, it may well involve surreptitious efforts of rogue agents wanting Trump to win — not current GOP diversions relating to Hillary Clinton’s email server or “Uranium One.”

Democracy At Work

Meanwhile, Sen. Grassley’s town hall visit to what he thought would be a friendly, conservative rural county in Iowa gave him an unwelcome taste of democracy:

“I think you’re protecting the president and protecting his game about shifting the attention away from Russia,” a 72-year-old constituent told him.

It’s getting hotter in the rabbit holes.

Other nuggets appear this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates. Here’s the complete list:

SEPTEMBER 2015: Anti-Trump Republicans Hire Fusion GPS To Investigate Trump

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2015: FBI Notifies DNC of Possible Russian Hacking (revision of previous entry)

NOVEMBER 2015: FBI Again Tells DNC About Russian Hacking

MARCH 19, 2016: Russians Hack Podesta’s Email

APRIL 29, 2016: DNC Notices Suspicious Computer Activity (revision of previous entry)

MAY 2016: Fusion GPS’s Republican Funders Bow Out

MAY-JUNE 2016: Fusion Hires Christopher Steele

JUNE 12, 2016: WikiLeaks Has Clinton Emails; DNC Tries To Get Ahead Of Hacking Story

EARLY JULY 2016: Steele Contacts FBI About His Trump Findings

MID-TO-LATE SEPTEMBER 2016: “A Crime In Progress…”

OCT. 25-26, 2016: Giuliani Discusses Coming “Surprise”

OCT. 28, 2016: Comey Announces FBI Is Investigating New Clinton Emails; Giuliani Speaks About FBI “Revolution” (revision of previous entry)

OCT. 31, 2016: NYT Story Sours Steele on FBI

AUG. 22, 2017: Simpson Appears Before Senate Judiciary Committee Attorneys (revision of previous entry)

EARLY NOVEMBER 2017: Mueller Adds Veteran Cyber Prosecutor To Team

DEC. 29, 2017: Trump Grants Deutsche Bank Waiver On Penalty

JAN. 3, 2018: Trump’s Selects Interim US Attorney With Deutsche Bank Connection

JAN. 5, 2018: Interim US Attorney Chooses Former Deutsche Bank General Counsel As Deputy

JAN. 9, 2018: Feinstein Releases Fusion GPS Transcript

JAN. 9, 2018: Cohen Sues Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed

JAN. 9, 2018: Sen. Whitehouse Blasts GOP Investigations

JAN. 10, 2018: Trump Tweets

JAN. 10, 2018: Trump Waffles On Mueller Interview

JAN. 10, 2018: Deripaska Sues Manafort and Gates

JAN. 11, 2018: Trump Tweets

JAN 11, 2018: Trump To WSJ: Russia Investigation Is A Hoax

JAN. 12, 2018: Mueller Seeks May 14 Trial Date For Manafort

JAN. 12, 2018: Grassley Under Fire At Town Hall Meeting

JAN. 12, 2018: Will Pence Testify?

Last week, Michael Wolff’s book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, dominated the news. A far more important story is unfolding in real time: As new facts emerge about Trump’s attempts to obstruct the Trump-Russia investigation, the GOP is intensifying efforts to thwart serious inquiry into the scandal.

The Obstruction Story Line Continues To Develop

The New York Times reported that in March 2017, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced increasing pressure to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, Trump gave White House counsel Don McGahn an assignment: lobby Sessions to remain where he could protect Trump. When McGahn failed, Trump was furious.

“Where’s my Roy Cohn?” he reportedly asked, referring to Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s dark aide — a “fixer” who, decades ago, had represented Trump personally.

Students of the Trump-Russia Timeline aren’t surprised at this latest news about Trump’s obstruction efforts. Go to the Timeline and click on “James Comey” to see the complete story, which includes these highlights:

— On Jan. 27, 2017, then-Acting Attorney General Sally Yates told the White House that Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn was in serious legal trouble over Russia. Immediately thereafter, Trump had a private dinner with then-FBI Director James Comey and asked for Comey’s personal loyalty.

— In February, Trump talked to Comey about “letting Flynn go,” despite the FBI’s ongoing criminal investigation of Flynn and other Trump players in the Russia story.

— In March, Trump reportedly sought assistance from the CIA director and the director of national intelligence in getting Comey to back off the Russia investigation.

— In March and April, Trump asked Comey to help him “lift the cloud” of Russia from his presidency.

— In May, Trump fired Comey — admittedly because of the Russia investigation — and turned to witness intimidation, a standard element in Trump’s Russia playbook.

A short video of these and other key items prepared in August 2017 appears here.

A More Insidious Story In Real Time

With every new revelation about Trump’s pressure on federal law enforcement officials to protect him from whatever truth he fears, the congressional GOP doubles down on aiding and abetting his wrongdoing. Here are the new Timeline entries on that subject:

— Jan. 2: The founders of Fusion GPS described the GOP’s continued obfuscation of the Trump-Russia investigation and its refusal to follow obvious leads that could produce disastrous news for Trump. Rather than focus on the message, congressional Republicans have directed their fire at the messenger. (Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) just released the 300-page transcript of Simpson’s Senate Judiciary Committee staff interview; more about that in the next update.)

— Jan. 3: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) sided with a former Trump transition team member, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), and against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Ryan allowed Nunes to continue diverting attention away from the Trump-Russia story and toward questions about the integrity of the FBI itself. (To understand Nunes’ ongoing role as a Trump enabler, go to the Timeline and click on “Devin Nunes.”)

— Jan. 4-5: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in a letter to Rosenstein and Wray. Their missive completed a circle: It referred Christopher Steele to the Justice Department for criminal investigation based on alleged misstatements to the FBI as supposedly revealed in FBI documents that the Senate had received from the FBI!

Consulting the Timeline and clicking on “Christopher Steele” reveals, among other notable entries, December 2016: Graham’s closest ally in the Senate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), personally delivered Steele’s material to the FBI. Only a year ago, Graham sat with McCain on national television and said that Congress should follow the Trump-Russia investigation “wherever it leads.” Reporters should be asking Graham what happened. In fact, it’s the only question reporters should be asking Sen. Graham.

Meanwhile, we’ve also learned that the Justice Department has been looking at the Clinton Foundation and the Hillary Clinton email server issues, again. Cynics might conclude that the GOP is setting up a Trump-friendly deal: If Democrats back away from Trump-Russia, Republicans will back away from Fusion FPS, Steele, interviews of FBI employees, the Clintons, and any other sand that congressional Republicans can throw in the public’s face.

In short, the GOP’s eagerness to help Trump undermine the Trump-Russia investigation with diversions, distractions, and attacks should be front page news. It’s not.

One More Thing

Finally, Brad Pascale, digital media director of Trump’s 2016 campaign, issued a tweet last week that put Jared Kushner and Eric Trump on the hot seat: “Not one person made a decision without their approval.” Go to the Timeline and click on Brad Pascale and Cambridge Analytica for more context on the significance of that bombshell.

Kushner also got unpleasant shout-outs from Steve Bannon — first in Fire and Fury, and then in Bannon’s subsequent apology to Don Jr., which notably omitted Kushner and nailed Manafort.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s new Timeline entries:

JULY 30, 2014: Manafort Meets With DOJ

APRIL 27, 2016: Sessions, Kushner and Kislyak at the Mayflower Hotel (revision of previous entry)

JUNE 9, 2016: Don Jr., Manafort, Kushner Meet With Russian Lawyer (revision of previous entry)

LATE FEBRUARY 2017: Attorney General Sessions Decides To Recuse Himself

AROUND MARCH 1, 2017: White House Lobbies Sessions Not To Recuse Himself

MARCH 20, 2017: Trump Tweets; Comey Testifies; Trump Is Infuriated (revision of previous entry)

MAY 3, 2017: Comey Testifies Again; Trump Erupts

MAY 5, 2017: Sessions Aide Looking For “Dirt” On Comey

MAY 6-7, 2017: Trump Decides to Fire FBI Director Comey (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 2, 2018: Fusion GPS Owners Blast GOP Congressional Cover-up

JAN. 3, 2018: Wolff Book: Bannon Bashes Kushner and Don Jr.

JAN. 3, 2018: Trump Breaks With Bannon

JAN. 3, 2018: Manafort Sues Mueller

JAN. 3, 2018: Rosenstein And Nunes Meet with Ryan And Wray

JAN. 3-4, 2018: Trump’s Attorney Seeks To Block Publication  Of Fire and Fury

JAN. 4, 2018: The Daily Beast: DOJ Looking At Clinton Private E-Mail Server, Again

JAN. 4, 2018: GOP Lawmakers Call On Sessions To Resign

JAN. 4, 2018: Rebekah Mercer Distances Herself From Bannon

JAN. 4, 2018: Trump Tweets

JAN. 5, 2018: Grassley and Graham Ask DOJ To Investigate Steele

JAN. 5, 2018: Trump Tweets

JAN. 5, 2018: DOJ Reopens Clinton Foundation Investigation

JAN. 5, 2018: Brad Parscale Tweets

JAN. 5, 2018: Dowd Calls NYT Report Another “Nothing Burger”

JAN. 6, 2018: Trump Tweets

JAN. 6, 2018: WSJ: Feds Investigating Kushner Cos.

JAN. 7, 2018: Bannon Apologizes To Don Jr.

Many thanks to readers who made the Trump-Russia Timeline on BillMoyers.com the site’s #1 most popular post in 2017. It’s reassuring to know that so many people still care about facts. Without an informed electorate, democracy cannot survive.

Next week’s update will include the Bannon-Trump falling out and the breaking news about Trump’s previously unreported efforts to obstruct the Russia investigation.

The theme for this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline update comes from Trump himself:

“I Hire Only The Best People”

One of Trump’s best people — George Papadopoulos — has achieved an important new prominence in the scandal. Previously, The New York Times had reported that Papadopoulos helped Trump draft his first major foreign policy address. Here are the newest bombshells about Papadopoulos from the Times.

1) The April 27, 2016 speech was Trump’s “signal” to Russia.

2) In May, Papadopoulos boasted about Russia’s “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

3) In July, after the release of Clinton’s emails, Australian officials “passed the information about Mr. Papadopoulos to their American counterparts,” alerting the US that a member of the Trump campaign may have had inside information from a Russian source.

The Larger Context

Now follow these 15 steps to the finish line:

#1: In March 2016, Papadopoulos is 28 years old and has no foreign policy experience. Nevertheless, he lands a spot on Trump’s national security team and learns that Trump wants improved relations with Russia. A week later, he’s having conversations with a Russian intermediary. Ten days after that, he meets with a Russian who says she’s Putin’s niece.

#2: At a meeting with Trump and the national security team on March 31, 2016, Papadopoulos tells the group about his Russian contacts and says that he can arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin or their representatives. Reportedly, Trump hears him out, telling the team that he “doesn’t want to go to war over Ukraine.”

#3: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who chaired the meeting, later testifies that he knew of no contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Trump campaign’s lies about “no contacts with Russia” become pervasive.

#4: In April, Papadopoulos’ contact says the Russians had obtained “dirt” on Clinton, specifically thousands of emails that could help Trump win the election.

#5: Meanwhile, Papadopoulos helps Trump draft his first major foreign policy address — the “signal” that he’d get tougher with NATO allies while seeking “an easing of tensions, and improved relations with Russia.” Attending a VIP reception before that April 27 speech are Jared Kushner, Jeff Sessions, and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

#6: In May, while drinking at a London bar with an Australian diplomat, Papadopoulos spills the beans on Russia’s “dirt.”

#7: During the summer, Papadopoulos hears from Sergei Millian, founder of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. Millian has boasted about his importance in bringing wealthy Russians into a Trump real estate project in Florida and about his efforts to develop business opportunities for Trump in Russia. Continuing into the fall, Millian and Papadopoulos exchange messages and meet in Manhattan. Some of their email communications go to Jared Kushner — who later fails to produce those messages in response to a Senate Judiciary Committee request.

#8: In early June 2016, Donald Trump Jr. embraces the prospect of a meeting with Russians who promise “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government. “I love it,” he declares in an email.

#9: At about the same time, Jared Kushner assumes control of Trump’s digital campaign and retains Cambridge Analytica, whose CEO contacts WikiLeaks about sharing Clinton-related emails. Later in June, the Kremlin-linked online persona Guccifer 2.0 releases the first batch of hacked DNC documents. At the end of July, WikiLeaks disseminates 20,000 hacked documents.

#10: After the WikiLeaks release of Clinton’s emails, Australia’s ambassador to the US directs Papadopoulos’ May revelation to the FBI. (So much for the GOP red-herring talking point about the origins of the FBI investigation. It wasn’t the infamous Steele dossier after all; it was intelligence from Australia and other concerned US allies.)

#11: At the Republican convention in July, Trump campaign aides defeat a platform plank that would have toughened the US position supporting rebel forces in Ukraine.

#12: After Trump wins the election, Papadopoulos exchanges messages with Millian, who says he knows a billionaire interested in developing a Trump Tower in Moscow: “I know the president will distance himself from business, but his children might be interested,” Millian reportedly writes.

#13: According to a whistleblower, on Inauguration Day, national security adviser Mike Flynn promises that Trump will “rip up” US sanctions on Russia. During his first week as president, Trump turns to the task of doing exactly that.

#14: Meanwhile, at a Manhattan hotel in late January 2017, pro-Putin lawmaker Andrii Artemenko and Trump’s longtime business associate Felix Sater give Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen a proposed plan for Ukraine that would eliminate US sanctions. Cohen is tasked with delivering the plan to Flynn.

#15: On Feb. 14, Flynn — another of Trump’s “best people” — resigns. Since then, he has pled guilty to lying about his Russian contacts and has become a cooperating witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Reportedly, Trump’s lawyers are preparing to attack Flynn’s credibility, as they already have Papadopoulos’. That’s a standard defense tactic, but when the defendant himself is a notorious serial liar, it becomes a suicide mission.

Here’s the list of this week’s new entries in the Timeline:

• June 15, 2013: The Agalarovs — and Ike Kaveladze — Meet With Trump in Las Vegas [revision of previous entry]
• Nov. 8-10, 2013: The Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow [revision of previous entry]
• April 27, 2016: Trump Delivers First Major Foreign Policy Speech [revision of previous entry]
• Mid-May 2016: Papadopoulos Tells Australian Diplomat That Russians Have “Dirt” On Hillary Clinton
• Summer 2016: Millian Contacts Papadopoulos
• November-December 2016: Millian Business Proposal to Papadopoulos
• Early December 2016: Russians Arrest Cybersecurity Expert[revision of previous entry]
• Jan. 20, 2017: Millian Attends VIP Events At Inaugural
• Dec. 26, 2017: Flynn’s Brother Asks Trump to Pardon Mike Flynn
• Dec. 27, 2017: Trump Lawyers Plan To Attack Flynn’s Credibility
• Dec. 27, 2017: Mueller Reportedly Focusing On Trump Campaign Data Operation
• Dec. 28, 2017: Another Trump Interview with The New York Times
• Dec. 31, 2017: Nunes Readies For Fight Against Mueller
• Jan. 2, 2017: Trump Tweets

Enjoy the holiday season!

Meanwhile, the Trump-Russia scandal marches onward.

The theme of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline Update: Obstruction of justice is a team sport.

The Republican party has become the Trump Team, and it is working diligently to save him.

Ever since special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment in May, the White House has paid lip-service to cooperation while systematically undermining his investigation. At first, GOP members of Congress embraced Mueller. The decorated Vietnam War veteran and former US attorney received unanimous consent from the Senate to serve as President George W. Bush’s FBI director. President Obama then reappointed Mueller — with the Senate’s unanimous consent — to extend his 10-year term.

Mueller’s fellow Republicans hailed him as above reproach, fair-minded, and possessing unquestionable integrity. They declared that Mueller’s conclusions about the Trump-Russia issue would satisfy skeptics on both sides of the political aisle.

Mueller is still who he was. But now that he is generating results — including two quick guilty pleas from cooperating witnesses and an indictment of Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort (and deputy Rick Gates) — congressional Republicans have reversed course. No longer seeking the truth, they are soldiers in Trump’s war to impede the investigation that imperils the Trump presidency.

Last week, congressional Republicans pursued a flanking maneuver — an attack from the rear aimed at discrediting witnesses whose testimony bolsters Mueller’s obstruction of justice case — while Trump launched a frontal assault.

The Trump Team’s Targets

In June 2017, Vox reported that shortly after Trump had asked then-FBI Director James Comey to “let Flynn go” at a time when Flynn was under FBI investigation, Comey recounted those conversations to three FBI senior leaders:

Deputy Director Andrew McCabe

Chief of Staff Jim Rybicki, and

General Counsel James Baker.

That meant Comey had at least three formidable corroborating witnesses to supplement his contemporaneous memoranda about Trump’s efforts to obstruct justice. The evidence provided a powerful rebuttal to Trump’s accusation that Comey had committed perjury in testifying before Congress on June 8. Trump was the liar.

Take a look at what happened to those three wise FBI-men during the week before Christmas.

The Complicit GOP

— Dec. 18: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reiterates his call that FBI Director Christopher Wray should remove McCabe.

— On Dec. 19: According to CNN, McCabe tells the House Intelligence Committee that Comey had, indeed, informed him of his conversations with Trump.

— Also on Dec. 19: The GOP chairmen of the House Committees on the Judiciary (Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)) and Oversight and Government Reform (Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC)) request that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein produce McCabe, Chief of Staff Jim Rybicki, and FBI counsel Lisa Page for interviews. The topics of interest include “among other things,” the FBI’s handling of its investigation into Secretary Hillary Clinton.

— Dec. 20: Politico reports that, for weeks, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) (a former Trump transition team member) has been leading a secret effort to “build a case that senior leaders of the Justice Department and the FBI improperly — and perhaps criminally — mishandled the contents” of the Steele dossier, which describes alleged ties between Trump and Russia.

— Dec. 22: Politico publishes a story based on “GOP sources” that, during the weeks before the election, FBI General Counsel James Baker had communicated with David Corn of Mother Jones. On Oct. 31, 2016, Corn first reported on what would become known as the Steele dossier. Corn denies that Baker was a source for his story.

— Two hours later, former FBI Director Comey reacts to the hit job on Baker:

The Trump Team’s MVP

Obstruction of justice may be a team effort, but a star player can have an impact. Trump is distinguishing himself by compounding his efforts to obstruct justice with what sure looks like witness tampering — another federal offense.

On Dec. 23, he tweeted:

As CBS reported that McCabe, 49, was now expected to retire from the FBI by March, Trump remained relentless:

Then he turned to another of Comey’s corroborating witnesses:  And he continued his McCabe rant on Christmas Eve:

This Is Not A Drill

On Dec. 26, Trump joined the GOP’s broader offensive directed at the entire FBI:

In Trump’s FBI, personal loyalty to Trump has become a litmus test surpassing loyalty to the country’s fundamental principles. That is dangerous terrain.

Intimidating witnesses, destroying their reputations, and attacking the world’s leading law enforcement agency comprise only one battle in the ongoing war against special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Make no mistake: the forces attacking democracy and the rule of law are formidable, and they are playing for keeps. The historical precedents are alarming, and the final outcome for America remains uncertain.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) described the recent assault on special counsel Robert Mueller as “reckless, inappropriate,” and “extremely worrying.”

“Beyond being irresponsible,” Warner continued, “the seemingly coordinated nature of these claims should alarm us all. Particularly since, in recent days, these baseless accusations have been repeated by several members of the House of Representatives.”

The following day, Warner said that based on what he has seen and heard behind closed doors, the Russia investigation is “the most important thing I will ever work on.”

Running a fool’s errand, GOP members of Congress are aiding and abetting Trump’s destruction of the Republican brand. Hopefully, Trump’s reverse-King Midas touch will catch up with all of them. That’s what happens when you play for keeps and lose. Just ask Mike Flynn.

Happy New Year!

Here is list of this week’s Timeline updates:

Late July or Early August 2016: FBI Warns Trump About Russian Election Interference

JAN. 26, 2017: DOJ Says Flynn Lied; McGahn Informs Trump (revision of earlier entry)

JUNE 7, 2017: Vox: Comey Has Corroborating Witnesses

JUNE 8, 2017: Comey Testifies Before Senate Intelligence Committee (revision of earlier entry)

MID-NOVEMBER 2017: Prosecutors Seeks Documents On Deutsche Bank-Kushner Cos. Loan

DEC. 12, 2017: Trump Wins PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year”

DEC. 18, 2017: Trump’s National Security Speech Glides Past Russia

DEC. 19, 2017: McCabe Corroborates Comey; GOP Responds

DEC. 20, 2017: Warner Issues Warning To Trump

DEC. 20, 2017: Politico: Nunes Leading Effort To Discredit FBI and DOJ

DEC. 20, 2017: Congressman Talks To White House About Mueller Investigation

DEC. 20, 2017: FBI General Counsel Baker Reassigned

DEC. 21, 2017: Sessions Orders DOJ To Look Again At Uranium One Deal

DEC. 21, 2017: Sarah Sanders Hopes Mueller’s “Hoax” Investigation Wraps Up Soon

DEC. 22, 2017: Politico Publishes Dubious Story

DEC. 22, 2017: Comey Responds to Politico Story About Baker

DEC. 23, 2017: Trump Tweets

DEC. 23, 2017:McCabe To Retire

DEC. 24, 2017: Trump Tweets

DEC. 24, 2017: The Guardian: Mueller Seeking Info About Defunct Bank

DEC. 26, 2017: Trump Tweets

For context, see how they fit in the complete Trump-Russia Timeline..

After signing the new new tax bill and listening to his pandering cabinet, culminating in Pence’s benediction, Trump probably thought he was having a good day.

Not after he sees this:

Hold on to your Twitter!

The Alabama Senate race dominated the news. But important things were happening in the Trump-Russia story. For fun — and context — see how the newest entries fit into the overall saga.

Here’s a list of what we added with our Dec. 12 update:

• June 2005: Manafort Pitches Himself to Russian Oligarch
• Nov. 10, 2008: Trump Sues Deutsche Bank, But Bank Keeps Lending To Him Anyway
• June 9, 2016: Don Jr., Manafort, Kushner Meet With Russian Lawyer
• June 14, 2016: Goldstone Emails Emin Agalarov and Ike Kaveladz
• July 14, 2016: Trump Campaign Successfully Changes GOP Platform on Ukraine
• Nov. 5, 2016: Russian Social Media Exec Offers to Promote Trump
• Dec. 12, 2016: Former Trump Campaign Surrogate Discusses Sanctions With Russian Businessmen
• On or around Jan. 11, 2017: DeVos’ Brother Meets With Putin Associate
• Jan. 20, 2017: Flynn Says Trump Will ‘Rip Up’ Russian Sanctions
• Jan 26, 2017: DOJ Says Flynn Lied; McGahn Informs Trump
• February 2017: FBI Warns Hope Hicks About Russians
• April 9, 2017: McFarland Is Asked To Resign
• Sometime after May 31, 2017: Nunes and White House Contact Erik Prince
• July 8, 2017: Don Jr.’s June 9 Meeting Becomes Public
• Oct. 5, 2017: Papadopoulos Pleads Guilty
• Dec. 4, 2017: Trump Tweets
• Dec. 4, 2017: Trump’s Lawyer Says A President Cannot Be Guilty Of Obstruction Of Justice
• Dec. 4, 2017: Mueller Withdraws Support For Manafort’s Bail Agreement
• Dec. 5, 2017: Mueller Has Subpoenaed Deutsche Bank
• Dec. 7-8, 2017: Mueller Meets With Hope Hicks