FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration named Russia on Monday [12-18-17] as a bad actor on the world stage in a policy document that offers a sober analysis of Moscow as a rival despite Trump’s own bid for warmer ties with President Vladimir Putin. The criticism of Russia, laid out in a […]
Category: Russia
12/17/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A lawyer for the Trump transition team said Robert Mueller’s investigators improperly reviewed some emails from transition officials, an allegation that comes amid charges of bias by the special counsel’s probe. The lawyer told Congress in a letter dated Saturday that the government agency that held emails from the transition […]
12/17/2017
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked U.S. President Donald Trump by telephone for intelligence that the Kremlin said had helped prevent a series of terrorist bombings in St. Petersburg, Mr. Putin’s office said Sunday [12-17-17]. The Kremlin said Mr. Putin had asked Mr. Trump to convey his appreciation to the Central Intelligence Agency […]
12/15/2017
CAMPAIGN/FBI/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump escalated his criticism of the F.B.I. on Friday [12-15-17] over its investigation of possible links between Russia and his campaign, calling the inquiry a ‘very sad thing to watch.’ ‘It’s a shame what’s happened with the F.B.I.,’ the president told reporters before departing for an event at the F.B.I. […]
12/15/2017
2016 ELECTION/FBI/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/MICHAEL FLYNN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “On his way to Quantico, Va., to speak at the FBI’s National Academy, President Trump stopped to tell reporters, ‘It’s a shame what’s happened with the FBI,’ and ‘you have a lot of very angry people that are seeing it.’ Trump asserted that ‘we’re going to rebuild the FBI’ […]
12/14/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested that Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that worked for President Donald Trump’s campaign, turn over documents as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Mueller asked the firm in the fall […]
12/13/2017
FBI/HILLARY CLINTON/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “A top FBI agent and an FBI lawyer, who were involved in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email arrangement and the probe into Russian electoral meddling, exchanged texts disparaging then-candidate Donald Trump, including calling him an ‘idiot’ and a ‘menace,’ according to copies of the messages the Justice Department provided Congress. Peter […]
12/12/2017
2016 ELECTION/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA: “A career Justice Department lawyer who has specialized in organized-crime issues was recently transferred from the deputy attorney general’s office to another division because he failed to inform officials of a September 2016 meeting with the author of a controversial dossier on then-candidate Donald Trump, people familiar with the matter said. Bruce […]
12/12/2017
DEMS/FAKE NEWS/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia – so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, […]
12/11/2017
ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/SALLY YATES: “Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates has been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators about her meetings with White House officials, and she recounted concerns she had shared with the Trump administration about former national security adviser Mike Flynn, according to people familiar with the matter. The interview in July suggests […]
12/11/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/SYRIA: “Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a surprise visit to a military air base in Syria, marking a mission-accomplished moment for the leader months ahead of a presidential election. Mr. Putin landed Monday [12-11-17] at Hmeimim air base, a military outpost in Syria’s Latakia province that has been the main launching point for Russian […]
12/11/2017
CYBERWAR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA: “A telecom software company has agreed to resolve a criminal investigation of its use of uncleared Russian nationals working in Russia on a U.S. defense project by implementing a security plan that American officials hope will serve as a new industry model. The Justice Department said Monday [12-11-17] it had agreed not to […]
12/7/2017
LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “President Donald Trump’s eldest son on Wednesday [12-6-17] refused to discuss with congressional investigators a father-son conversation earlier this year about how to handle fallout from revelations that he met with a Russian attorney during the 2016 campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. During the more than seven-hour […]
12/6/2017
FBI/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Two U.S. senators wrote to the Justice Department’s inspector general on Wednesday [12-6-17] requesting more information about the FBI agent who was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team over private text messages he allegedly sent during the election that were critical of President Donald Trump. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron […]
12/6/2017
REX TILLERSON/RUSSIA/STATE/UKRAINE: “U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday [12-6-17] he is hopeful that Moscow and Washington can bridge differences and agree on a peacekeeping force for Ukraine. U.S. and Russian negotiators have been trying to reach a deal on a peacekeeping force in Eastern Ukraine that could help stop the fighting between the […]
12/6/2017
FBI/MICHAEL FLYNN/MIKE PENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “New revelations about Michael Flynn’s lies to the FBI are laying bare Vice President Mike Pence’s in-the-dark strategy when it comes to Russia’s election meddling, raising new questions about whether he could have been left in the dark as he has argued for nearly a year. Advisers have long insisted that […]
12/6/2017
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., returned to Congress on Wednesday [12-6-17] to face questions from lawmakers about alleged Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion with Moscow by his father’s presidential campaign. Trump arrived shortly before 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) for what was […]
12/6/2017
INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Congressional investigators are scrutinizing trips to Europe taken last year by several associates of President Donald Trump, amid concern they may have met with Kremlin-linked operatives as part of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Several people close to then-candidate Trump visited Europe during and after the campaign, including his […]
12/5/2017
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/MEDIA/RUSSIA: “The Russian government declared the broadcasters Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ‘foreign agents’ on Tuesday [12-5-17], in retaliation for a similar action against Russian state-run news outlets in the United States. The Kremlin-financed television station RT America and its affiliated news agency, Sputnik, complied last month with an order from […]
12/5/2017
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “The federal government spent nearly $7 million investigating Russian meddling in the presidential election between May and September, the Justice Department announced Tuesday [12-5-17]. Special counsel Robert Mueller spent $3.2 million over that time. Another $3.5 million has separately been spent by law enforcement personnel working on the investigation but who do […]
12/5/2017
LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Deutsche Bank AG received a subpoena earlier in the fall from U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller’s office related to the lender’s business with President Donald Trump, according to a person briefed on the matter. The subpoena requested documents and data about accounts and other dealings tied to client relationships with Mr. Trump […]
12/4/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and an associate with ties to Russian intelligence drafted an op-ed article last week about Mr. Manafort’s work for Russia-aligned interests in Ukraine, according to a court document filed Monday [12-4-17] by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. The filing seeks tougher […]
12/4/2017
FBI/LEGAL/MICHAEL FLYNN/MIKE PENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “The White House’s chief lawyer told President Donald Trump in January he believed then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled the FBI and lied to Vice President Mike Pence and should be fired, a source familiar with the matter said Monday [12-4-17]. The description of the conversation […]
12/4/2017
LEGAL/MICHAEL FLYNN/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The guilty plea by President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser inspired dueling narratives over the weekend. To Mr. Trump’s supporters, the charge against Mike Flynn for making false statements was evidence that investigators were nowhere near proving collusion with Russians to interfere in the 2016 president election, the matter […]
12/3/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A conservative operative trumpeting his close ties to the National Rifle Association and Russia told a Trump campaign adviser last year that he could arrange a back-channel meeting between Donald J. Trump and Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, according to an email sent to the Trump campaign. A May 2016 […]
12/3/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ that KT McFarland, a former Trump transition official and deputy national security adviser, needs to provide testimony to Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller… The comments from Warner, as well as his colleague, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, indicate […]
12/2/2017
MICHAEL FLYNN/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSHNER: “Jared Kushner is the ‘very senior member’ of President Donald Trump’s transition team who directed incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn to contact the Russian ambassador to the United States and other countries about a UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. The filings […]
12/1/2017
LEGAL/MICHAEL FLYNN/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “Mike Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, pleaded guilty Friday [12-1-17] morning to lying to the FBI about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. in December 2016, before Mr. Trump took office. Mr. Flynn is the most senior Trump aide or associate to face criminal charges in […]
12/1/2017
LEGAL/MICHAEL FLYNN/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “Mike Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, is expected to plead guilty Friday [12-1-17] morning to lying to the FBI about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. in December 2016, before Mr. Trump took office. In an interview with the FBI in January, Mr. Flynn said he […]
11/30/2017
2016 ELECTION/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump over the summer repeatedly urged senior Senate Republicans, including the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to end the panel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, according to a half dozen lawmakers and aides. Mr. Trump’s requests were a highly unusual intervention from a president into a […]
11/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/TRADE DEALS: “Relations between Russia and the United States are in a deep freeze, but they share a looming common problem north of their Arctic coastlines — the prospect that commercial trawling fleets might overfish the thawing Arctic Ocean. Out on the sea, the polar ice cap has been melting so quickly as global […]
11/30/2017
2016 ELECTION/HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/JEFF SESSIONS/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions met behind closed doors on Thursday [11-30-17] with members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee as it investigates possible Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He was expected to spend at least two hours in the interview. The panel is among […]
11/29/2017
ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSHNER: “President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, met this month with investigators working for Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, and answered questions about a meeting with a Russian ambassador during the presidential transition, according to a person briefed on the investigation. The questions focused on a meeting in December […]
11/29/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA: “The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked four foreign policy advisers to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for documents about their contacts with Russians and discussions about Russia. Senator Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday sent letters to former Trump campaign advisers Carter Page, Sam Clovis, J.D. Gordon, and Walid Phares […]
11/28/2017
POLITICS/RUSSIA: “New legislation championed by two DC Council members would symbolically change the name of a small stretch of road outside the Russian Embassy to that of Boris Nemtsov, a pro-democracy Russian dissident who was assassinated in Moscow in 2015. The honorary renaming is meant to send a message to Russia and the rest of […]
11/26/2017
2016 ELECTION/DEMS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Since the first day I took office, all you hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia, Russia,Russia. Despite this I have the economy booming and have possibly done more than any 10 month President. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. 26, 2017 04:29pm […]
11/24/2017
LEGAL/MICHAEL FLYNN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn’s work on an unfinished film financed by Turkish interests as part of its wider probe into whether Mr. Flynn improperly concealed financial ties to Turkey and to Russia, according to people familiar with the matter. The focus on […]
11/22/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Here is a look, by the numbers, at all the known contacts between Trump associates and Russians. From meetings to emails, to text messages and Skype sessions, these lists have been growing throughout the year as more details drip out in the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US […]
11/21/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSHNER/UN: “Robert Mueller’s investigators are asking questions about Jared Kushner’s interactions with foreign leaders during the presidential transition, including his involvement in a dispute at the United Nations in December, in a sign of the expansive nature of the special counsel’s probe of Russia’s alleged meddling in the election, according to […]
11/16/2017
MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. is laying the groundwork to build a type of missile banned by a Cold War-era pact unless Russia abandons its own pursuit of the weapons, U.S. officials said. The U.S. military’s preliminary research and development, previously undisclosed, is aimed at potentially reviving an arsenal of prohibited ground-based, intermediate-range missiles […]
11/16/2017
2016 ELECTION/CARTER PAGE/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA: “Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page on Thursday [11-16-17] delivered subpoenaed documents he described as ‘irrelevant and unnecessary’ to two congressional committees investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Page, an oil industry consultant with numerous contacts in Russia, told Reuters in a text message that he delivered the documents […]
11/16/2017
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is preparing to interview the woman who’s seen it all: Hope Hicks. She’s been part of Donald Trump’s inner circle for years, first at Trump Tower and then as an omnipresent gatekeeper and fixer who could get emails or other communications directly to the boss during […]
11/15/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee rejected Republican efforts to discredit a raw-intelligence document compiled on Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, saying that its allegations that Russia sought to help elect Mr. Trump ‘turned out to be true.’ In a Wall Street Journal interview Wednesday [11-15-17], Rep. Adam […]
11/15/2017
LEGAL/MEDIA/RUSSIA: “Russian lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow the government to designate international media outlets as ‘foreign agents,’ a retaliatory move after Kremlin-backed network RT was required to register as a foreign agent in the U.S. this week. Legislators in the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, voted unanimously Wednesday [11-15-17] to amend […]
11/14/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/JEFF SESSIONS/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday [11-14-17] that he now recalls a 2016 meeting with a Trump campaign adviser at which the aide spoke about contacts with Russians, after earlier saying he knew of no such contacts. Mr. Sessions’ comments, in an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, highlighted the challenges facing […]
11/14/2017
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said Tuesday [11-14-17] that he is still deciding whether to hold a public hearing with Donald Trump Jr. as part of the panel’s probe into whether any associates of the president colluded with Russians in the 2016 election… Hearing from President Donald Trump’s eldest […]
11/14/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/JEFF SESSIONS/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced a fresh round of lawmaker questions on Tuesday [11-14-17] about the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russian officials, as well as about Republican lawmakers’ earlier inquiries about Hillary Clinton. The morning oversight hearing of the Justice Department by the House Judiciary Committee touched on several topics including questions […]
11/14/201
2016 ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “One year after helping President Donald Trump win the election and earning more than $15 million from a dozen political candidates and committees, the data firm Cambridge Analytica doesn’t have any U.S. political clients, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission records. Research firms that work with winning campaigns usually […]
11/12/2017
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A day after he called three former heads of U.S. intelligence agencies ‘political hacks,’ President Donald Trump said he had full confidence in the agencies and indicated he believed their report that concluded Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. But the president’s shift in tone failed to mollify the targets […]
11/11/2017
FAKE NEWS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Does the Fake News Media remember when Crooked Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, was begging Russia to be our friend with the misspelled reset button? Obama tried also, but he had zero chemistry with Putin.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. 11, 2017 07:43pm […]
11/11/2017
RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When will all the haters and fools out there realize that having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. There always playing politics – bad for our country. I want to solve North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly help!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. […]
11/11/2017
RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Met with President Putin of Russia who was at #APEC meetings. Good discussions on Syria. Hope for his help to solve, along with China the dangerous North Korea crisis. Progress being made.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Nov. 11, 2017 07:16pm […]
11/10/2017
INTELLIGENCE/MICHAEL FLYNN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating an alleged plan involving former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric living in the U.S. and deliver him to Turkey in return for millions of dollars, according to people familiar with the investigation. Under the alleged proposal, Mr. Flynn […]
11/9/2017
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “The Russian state-funded foreign television network RT said Thursday that it would comply with a U.S. Department of Justice request that the channel register as a foreign agent, but announced its intention to fight the designation in court. RT editor in chief Margarita Simonyan said in an article posted on the network’s […]
11/9/2017
RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s long-time confidant Keith Schiller privately testified that he rejected a Russian offer to send five women to then private-citizen Trump’s hotel room during their 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant, according to multiple sources from both political parties with direct knowledge of the testimony. Schiller, Trump’s former […]
11/7/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A former Trump campaign adviser told Congress he had a private conversation with a Russian deputy prime minister during the 2016 presidential campaign and that at least two members of the president’s team were aware, providing more details to what is publicly known about Moscow’s access to President Trump’s circle, […]
11/7/2017
2016 ELECTION/ATTORNEY GENERAL/JEFF SESSIONS/RUSSIA: “U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about issues facing the Justice Department on Nov. 14, the committee confirmed on Tuesday [11-6-17]. The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT), it said in a statement. Reuters reported on Monday that the committee would hold […]
11/7/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/CARTER PAGE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s campaign team was briefed before and after foreign-policy adviser Carter Page’s trip to Moscow last year, with Mr. Page saying upon his return that he had gotten ‘incredible insights and outreach’ from senior members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration, newly released testimony reveals. Mr. Page, […]
11/6/2017
COMMERCE/CONFLICT OF INTEREST/RUSSIA/WILBUR ROSS: “The commerce secretary, Wilbur L. Ross Jr., indicated on Monday [11-6-17] that he would probably sell his stake in a shipping company with business ties to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s inner circle, amid fallout from publication of a vast leak of offshore files that documented the connection. Mr. Ross retained […]
11/6/2017
2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “The Russian lawyer who met last year with senior members of the Trump campaign said Donald Trump Jr. told her at the meeting that a Trump administration would be willing to review a 2012 sanctions law. Natalia Veselnitskaya, the lawyer who attended the meeting, made her comments from Moscow in an […]
11/6/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A U.S. District judge again declined to ease bail conditions for President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate Richard Gates on Monday [11-6-17], saying they still needed to provide more financial information. Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she was concerned about some of the $12 million […]
11/6/2017
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/LOBBYING/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Two prominent Washington lobbying firms are in the crosshairs of the Justice Department’s special counsel investigation as new details of their relationship with Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates were revealed in court filings. In the indictment of Manafort and Gates unsealed this week, the lobbying firms were described only as […]
11/6/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Kremlin-backed support for Donald Trump’s candidacy over social media began much earlier than previously known, a new analysis of Twitter data shows. Russian Twitter accounts posing as Americans began lavishing praise on Mr. Trump and attacking his rivals within weeks after he announced his bid for the presidency in June 2015, […]
11/5/2017
COMMERCE/ETHICS/RUSSIA/WILBUR ROSS: “Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross failed to disclose business connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s family and inner circle on a required personal financial-disclosure form earlier this year, according to documents released over the weekend. Mr. Ross said earlier this year that he would retain stakes owned by his private-equity firm in a gas-shipping […]
11/5/2017
RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The group behind the release of last year’s Panama Papers has published a new collection of documents about offshore finance that touches the Trump administration. The so-called Paradise Papers show financial connections between wealthy Russians and two members of President Donald Trump’s administration, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House adviser […]
11/3/2017
HOUSE OF REPS/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Three House Republicans on Friday [11-3-17] moved to pressure special counsel Robert Mueller to resign over what they contend are ‘obvious conflicts of interest,’ the latest instance of rising GOP resistance to his Russia probe. Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), introduced a measure that, while […]
11/2/2017
LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “US prosecutors have objected to an entry request for Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who became known for attending the June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower. Veselnitskaya, an attorney for Cyprus-based company Prevezon Holdings and its Russian owner, Denis Katsyv, asked for immigration parole, an alternative to […]
11/2/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/FOREIGN POLICY/JEFF SESSIONS/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions is once again under scrutiny on Capitol Hill regarding his candor about Russia and the Trump campaign amid revelations that he rejected a suggestion to convene a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump last year. According to court filings unsealed this week, […]
11/2/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “The Justice Department has identified more than six members of the Russian government involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee’s computers and swiping sensitive information that became public during the 2016 presidential election, according to people familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors and agents have assembled evidence to charge the Russian officials and […]
11/2/2017
2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “A longtime associate of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has hired a new team of lawyers to defend himself against charges brought in a probe looking at alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election, a spokesman said on Thursday [11-2-17]. Richard Gates and Manafort were charged with money laundering, conspiracy against the […]
11/1/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Russian operatives targeted users on Facebook Inc. by race, religion and interests such as gun ownership, the Confederate flag and Ivanka Trump’s jewelry line, according to advertising data released by lawmakers Wednesday as part of congressional investigations into Russian manipulation on social media around the U.S. election. The ads targeted groups on opposite […]
11/1/2017
CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, had three U.S. passports, millions in assets and ties to Russian oligarchs, according to federal court documents after his indictment on tax fraud and money laundering charges… Manafort, 68, and Gates, who also worked on Trump’s campaign, pleaded not guilty on Monday in a […]
11/1/2017
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s options are limited for ending the Russia probe he so wants to see over… Despite Trump’s desire to cut the Russia investigations short — and pressure from some allies to do so — the president and his advisers are quickly coming to the realization there isn’t much […]
10/31/2017
LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “The charges against Paul J. Manafort and an associate involve allegations of tax fraud in the United States, but anticorruption groups in Kiev say that Mr. Manafort profited from financial wrongdoing in their country and that it cost the Ukrainian people dearly… The indictment, unsealed in Washington, on Monday [10-30-17] accused Mr. Manafort […]
10/31/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/POLITICS/RUSSIA: “Senators pressed representatives from three technology giants to explain why they didn’t recognize Russia-linked accounts earlier, as the officials struck a contrite tone about the role their services played in stoking political tensions during the 2016 campaign… The officials also faced questions about voter-suppression efforts and whether Silicon Valley can or should police […]
10/31/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/DONALD JR: “Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, wants permission to return to the United States to defend a claim by prosecutors that her client’s company has failed to pay a $6 million settlement in an international money laundering case. Veselnitskaya represented Prevezon […]
10/31/2017
ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s longtime aide and current communications director, Hope Hicks, is scheduled to speak with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team in mid-November, following the president’s trip to Asia, multiple people familiar with the schedule told POLITICO. Mueller’s team is also expected to interview three or four other current White House officials […]
10/31/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House on Tuesday [10-31-17] sought to take credit for the arrest of a former Trump campaign aide who had repeated contacts with Russia-linked officials offering ‘dirt’ on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — marking the latest damage control move as the Russia probe intensifies. President Donald Trump and other […]
10/31/2017
2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A former senior adviser on President Donald Trump’s campaign team, Sam Clovis, sought to distance himself on Tuesday [10-31-17] from George Papadopoulos, an ex-campaign aide who has pleaded guilty in the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to Federal […]
10/31/2017
CAMPAIGN/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday [10-31-17] described a former campaign adviser who pleaded guilty in connection with an investigation into Russian activity in the 2016 election as a young, little-known, low-level volunteer and proven liar. The adviser, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to the Federal Bureau of […]
10/31/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LOBBYING/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “An industry group for lobbyists on Tuesday [10-31-17] called on Congress to overhaul the transparency laws that govern their activity in the wake of indictments of two lobbyists, including Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump. Charges filed by Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller alleged Manafort […]
10/31/2017
CAMPAIGN/FAKE NEWS/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “The Fake News is working overtime. As Paul Manaforts lawyer said, there was ‘no collusion’ and events mentioned took place long before he… came to the campaign. Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October […]
10/30/2017
INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “With Monday’s [10-30-17] unsealing of a 12-count indictment and a guilty plea, Special Counsel Robert Mueller signaled that his probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has taken him far beyond the campaign, former prosecutors and legal experts said. The sweep of the tax and money-laundering charges against former Trump […]
10/30/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The indictment Monday [10-30-17] of Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, and his associate, Rick Gates, begins a new phase in special counsel Robert Mueller’s sprawling investigation whose ultimate outcome remains unknown but that will consume the White House for months to come. True, Mueller’s 12-count indictment of Paul Manafort […]
10/30/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The indictments of two former Trump campaign officials and emergence of a third ex-Trump adviser who appears to be cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election could throw a wrench into Congress’ parallel Russia probes. That’s in part because neither of Congress’ intelligence committees […]
10/30/2017
2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Special counsel Robert Mueller unveiled the first charges Monday [10-30-17] connected to his probe into Moscow’s influence in the 2016 election, accusing two Trump campaign officials of not paying taxes on millions earned working for Ukrainian politicians and obtaining a guilty plea from a third who admitted lying about his contacts with […]
10/30/2017
PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was taken into custody Monday [10-30-17] on charges that he laundered more than $18 million in funds from his work for a pro-Russia party in Ukraine through offshore accounts. In a separate plea deal in court documents that were unsealed Monday, George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy […]
10/30/2017
FBI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A foreign-policy adviser to the Trump campaign pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a professor connected to Russian government officials, according to court documents unsealed on Monday [10-30-17]. George Papadopoulos admitted he misled the FBI in a January interview by telling agents that he had only […]
10/30/2017
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Workers behind Russian-linked Facebook Inc. accounts helped organize or finance real-life events before and after the 2016 election, often working directly with U.S. activists and playing both sides of the same hot-button issue—even on the same day. In July 2016, as outrage swelled over fatal shootings in Dallas and Minneapolis, alleged social-media agitators tied […]
10/29/2017
RUSSIA/TAXES: “All of this ‘Russia’ talk right when the Republicans are making their big push for historic Tax Cuts & Reform. Is this coincidental? NOT!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 29, 2017 09:48am […]
10/29/2017
GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Never seen such Republican ANGER & UNITY as I have concerning the lack of investigation on Clinton made Fake Dossier (now $12,000,000?),… the Uranium to Russia deal, the 33,000 plus deleted Emails, the Comey fix and so much more. Instead they look at phony Trump/Russia,… ‘collusion,’ which doesn’t exist. The Dems are […]
10/27/2017
HILLARY CLINTON/RUSSIA: ” ‘WHAT HAPPENED’ ‘How Team Hillary played the press for fools on Russia’ ➡️https://t.co/GqpIidk017 NOW WE KNOW! https://t.co/SgWL1HZmkI” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 27, 2017 09:13pm […]
10/27/2017
DEMS/GOP/RUSSIA: “.@FoxNews Chris Wallace: ‘More evidence of Dem collusion with Russia than GOP’ https://t.co/nACQerJSiu” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 27, 2017 03:33pm […]
10/27/2017
2016 ELECTION/RUSSIA: “It is now commonly agreed, after many months of COSTLY looking, that there was NO collusion between Russia and Trump. Was collusion with HC!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 27, 2017 08:33am […]
10/27/2017
2016 ELECTION/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republican lawmakers say they’re approaching the end of their investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election even though the most politically explosive issue — whether associates of President Donald Trump colluded with the Kremlin — remains unresolved. That will present Democrats who have spent a year amplifying suspicions about […]
10/26/2017
2016 ELECTION/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation is expected to hand over to Congress documents related to a controversial and unverified dossier on President Donald Trump by next week, ending a long-running impasse between lawmakers and federal law enforcement. Speaking to reporters, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that the FBI had agreed to […]
10/25/2017
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/POLITICS/RUSSIA: “The Senate Judiciary Committee’s GOP chairman and top Democrat are splitting off in different directions when it comes to investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, risking a collapse of their once bipartisan probe… Feinstein is working with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on the foreign-influence bill, a spokesman said. The legislation gives Feinstein, […]
10/25/2017
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/HILLARY CLINTON/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA: “Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee were among those who paid a firm for research that led to a dossier of unverified allegations about President Donald Trump’s activities and connections in Russia, according to a person familiar with the matter. Marc Elias, a partner at law firm Perkins Coie […]
10/24/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATO/RUSSIA: “NATO is poised to approve the creation of two new commands to improve allied logistics and protect supply lines, aiming to shore up weaknesses in any potential conflict with Russia, allied officials said. North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense ministers will review a new command structure at their quarterly meeting next month, the officials […]
10/23/2017
INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States effectively rejected a Russian criminal complaint against a prominent critic of the Kremlin on Monday [10-23-17] and decided to allow him into the country, reversing an initial decision to bar his entry in response to the complaint after congressional leaders protested. The critic, William F. Browder, a prominent investor […]