6/19/2019

HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP BUSINESS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Felix Sater, the Russian-born business associate of President Donald Trump who worked on the Moscow Trump Tower project, told CNN Wednesday [6-19-19] he will testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Friday [6-21-19]. Sater’s testimony, which will be behind closed doors, is a sign that the House Intelligence Committee is […]

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6/17/2019

MEDIA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The story in the @nytimes about the U.S. escalating attacks on Russia’s power grid is Fake News, and the Failing New York Times knows it. They should immediately release their sources which, if they exist at all, which I doubt, are phony. Times must be held fully accountable!”  –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June […]

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6/15/2019

CYBERWAR/MEDIA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Do you believe that the Failing New York Times just did a story stating that the United States is substantially increasing Cyber Attacks on Russia. This is a virtual act of Treason by a once great paper so desperate for a story, any story, even if bad for our Country…..” –Donald Trump, […]

Read More… from 6/15/2019

6/13/2019

FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump unloaded a baffling cargo of words Wednesday [6-12-19] after George Stephanopoulos asked him whether his son Donald Jr. should have contacted the FBI in June 2016 when a gang of Russians offered him ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton. Not necessarily, Trump implied in his first answer. Asked about his own […]

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6/13/2019

DEMS/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “For President Trump, the special counsel report was supposed to put Russia in his rearview mirror. But with some off-the-cuff remarks in the Oval Office, he has thrust his relationship with Moscow back into the debate over the future of his presidency. Mr. Trump’s defiant declaration that ‘I’d take it’ if Russia again […]

Read More… from 6/13/2019

6/13/2019

ELECTION/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Nearly two years ago, FBI Director Chris Wray set up an office tasked solely with stopping the type of Russian interference efforts that infected the 2016 campaign. On Wednesday [6-12-19] night, President Donald Trump undercut the whole operation in a matter of seconds. In an ABC News interview, the president first proclaimed […]

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6/12/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday [6-12-19] renewed his assertion that Russia had pulled personnel out of Venezuela, pushing back on Moscow’s denials that it had any plans to do so. Trump last week tweeted that Russia ‘has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela,’ where it’s backed […]

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6/12/2019

CHINA/ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump threw up a smokescreen of deflection and confusing counter attacks Thursday [6-13-19] as a furor mounted over his staggering comment that he would be open to dirt dug up on his 2020 opponents by foreign powers such as Russia or China. The President even implied — clearly erroneously — […]

Read More… from 6/12/2019

6/7/2019

CHINA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Chinese President Xi Jinping had the ultimate tour guide on his visit to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this week: His ‘bosom friend,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin released photos late Thursday [6-6-19] of Putin showing Xi around his hometown, the former imperial capital of tsarist Russia. The Chinese leader saw […]

Read More… from 6/7/2019

6/6/2019

2016 ELECTION/COURTS/DEMS/INVESTIGATIONS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. congressional Democrats moved closer on Thursday [6-6-19] to suing in federal court for access to the unredacted Mueller report on Russian election meddling, and its underlying evidence, taking a step bound to intensify their clash with President Donald Trump. After months of stonewalling by Trump of their many investigations of […]

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5/30/2019

2016 ELECTION/OBAMA/RUSSIA: “President Obama was told, in 2016, just before the election in September, that Russia may try and interfere with the election. He did nothing. And the reason he did nothing is he thought Hillary was going to win.” -Donald Trump, “Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure,” whitehouse.gov, May 30, 2019 […]

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5/23/2019

REX TILLERSON/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Rex Tillerson, a man who is ‘dumb as a rock’ and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany. I don’t think Putin would agree. Look how the […]

Read More… from 5/23/2019

5/21/2019

FOREIGN POLICY/HOUSE OF REPS/REX TILLERSON/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with a handful of House members and staffers for seven hours Tuesday [5-21-19] to discuss President Donald Trump’s foreign policy decision-making, including on issues related to Russia. Tillerson served roughly a year as America’s chief diplomat before the president fired him […]

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5/9/2019

CHINA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “I want to get along with Russia and I want to get along with China, because I’m smart. Stupid people don’t want to get along. Because I’m smart.” -Donald Trump, “Remarks by President Trump on Ending Surprise Medical Billing,” whitehouse.gov, May 9, 2019 […]

Read More… from 5/9/2019

5/6/2019

DEMS/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees are accusing the Trump administration of violating a law requiring a report on human rights abuses in Russia. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs panel, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the Financial Services chairwoman, on Monday [5-6-19] […]

Read More… from 5/6/2019

5/4/2019

MEDIA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia. Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. Look how they have misled you on ‘Russia Collusion.’ The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!”  –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 4, […]

Read More… from 5/4/2019

5/3/2019

MEDIA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “‘They wanted to know what Trump was up to with the Russians – which of course is nonsense. This whole thing was a complete setup.’ George Papadopoulos to @seanhannity” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 3, 2019 8:52 pm […]

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5/3/2019

CHINA/ECONOMY/EU/NATO/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump and the prime minister of Slovakia congratulated each other Friday [5-3-19] on the respective strength of their nations’ economies as the two leaders met at the White House. Peter Pellegrini is the latest central European leader to visit the White House as the U.S. works to curry favor in […]

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5/3/2019

2016 ELECTION/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump telephoned President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday [5-3-19] for what both men described as a lengthy, positive conversation, in which they dismissed two years of investigations into Russia’s intervention in the 2016 presidential campaign as a ‘Russian Hoax’ and a mountain that ‘ended up being […]

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5/3/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin of Russia. As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing….” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 3, 2019 12:06 pm […]

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5/1/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “The Trump administration is tumbling into a proxy battle with Russia over Venezuela, the latest international standoff that threatens a return to the tense Cold War years. The two sides traded barbed accusations this week after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó called on the public and the military to rise up and […]

Read More… from 5/1/2019

5/1/2019

FBI/OBAMA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Why didn’t President Obama do something about Russia in September (before November Election) when told by the FBI? He did NOTHING, and had no intention of doing anything!” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 1, 2019 7:28 am […]

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4/25/2019

NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/RUSSIA/SUMMIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia made a public show of support for North Korea on nuclear disarmament, seeming to undermine President Trump’s approach to nuclear diplomacy, as Mr. Putin and Kim Jong-un on Thursday [4-25-19] wrapped up their first summit meeting. Russian officials have long insisted they wanted to support […]

Read More… from 4/25/2019

4/24/2019

DHS/ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In the months before Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to resign, she tried to focus the White House on one of her highest priorities as homeland security secretary: preparing for new and different Russian forms of interference in the 2020 election. President Trump’s chief of staff told her not to bring it up […]

Read More… from 4/24/2019

4/24/2019

DHS/ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Attempted Russian interference in US public affairs has continued as Department of Homeland Security officials and senior leaders have alerted the White House about the risks ahead of the 2020 presidential election — but it was ‘like pulling teeth’ to get the White House to pay attention, a US government official […]

Read More… from 4/24/2019

ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A top White House official said Wednesday [4-24-19] he doesn’t recall keeping discussions of election security from President Donald Trump and defended the administration’s effort to confront election meddling by Russia and others. The response, from acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, followed a report this week that former […]

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4/18/2019

ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In December 2016, a few weeks after Donald Trump’s surprise election victory, Russian president Vladimir Putin convened what a Russian oligarch described as an ‘all-hands’ meeting with some of his country’s top businessmen. A main topic of discussion: U.S. sanctions against Russia. One of the oligarchs present was Petr Aven, co-founder […]

Read More… from 4/18/2019

4/18/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Fiona Hill, an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, visited Moscow this week and discussed bilateral relations with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday [4-18-19]. Ties between Washington and Moscow are at post-Cold War lows and later on Thursday a long-awaited report on Russia’s role in the […]

Read More… from 4/18/2019

4/18/2019

ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. Mueller said in his report released on Thursday [4-18-19] that he found ‘numerous […]

Read More… from 4/18/2019

4/1/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “During his presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump often complained about how President Barack Obama drew red lines that he never enforced, and how a diminished America let Russia walk into Syria unchallenged, something he said would not happen if the Russian leader respected the United States president. Now, in Venezuela, President Trump […]

Read More… from 4/1/2019

3/29/2019

RALLY/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “At his first political rally since the end of the Russia collusion probe, President Donald Trump on Thursday accused backers of the investigation of trying to overturn the 2016 election and attempting ‘illegally’ to claim power. Declaring the country ‘hurt’ by the probe, Trump called his opponents ‘losers’ and celebrated the […]

Read More… from 3/29/2019

3/29/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday [3-29-19] he will probably talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the crisis in Venezuela. ‘We will probably be talking at some point,’ Trump told reporters after the White House warned Russia and other countries backing President Nicolas Maduro against […]

Read More… from 3/29/2019

3/27/2019

HILLARY CLINTON/MEDIA/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump, in his first interview since the end of Robert Mueller’s investigation, reiterated on Wednesday [3–27-19] that the special counsel’s inquiry was unnecessary and that the focus of public suspicion should have been on the other side. Speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump attacked Mueller’s team […]

Read More… from 3/27/2019

3/27/2019

MILITARY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday [3-27-19] that Russian soldiers needed to leave Venezuela, days after a Russian military contingent arrived just outside of Caracas, saying ‘all options’ were open to make that happen. ‘Russia has to get out,’ Trump told reporters during a meeting with the wife of Venezuelan opposition […]

Read More… from 3/27/2019

3/26/2019

2016 ELECTION/LAWSUIT/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Soviet-born convicted felon who worked on real estate deals with President Donald Trump was accused in a lawsuit Monday [3-25-19] of plotting to use Trump-branded skyscrapers to launder money allegedly stolen from a Kazakhstan bank. BTA Bank and the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan, allege Felix Sater conspired with the […]

Read More… from 3/26/2019

3/25/2019

RUSSIA/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “There was crowing in Russia on Monday [3-25-19] that the special counsel’s investigation did not find coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign in 2016, but optimism about improved relations was tempered by the report’s extensive focus on Russian meddling in the presidential election. Official reaction to a summary of Robert […]

Read More… from 3/25/2019

3/25/2019

RUSSIA/SPORTS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A day after President Trump reveled in the apparent fizzling of a two-year effort to prosecute him for possible illicit coordination with Russia during the 2016 campaign, Washington’s most prominent Moscow native arrived at the White House on Monday [3-25-19] to celebrate. The milestone? A hockey championship. Some members of the Washington […]

Read More… from 3/25/2019

3/14/2019

2016 ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Aleksej Gubarev is a Russian technology entrepreneur who runs companies in Europe and the United States that provide cut-rate internet service. But he is best known for his appearance in 2016 in a dossier that purported to detail Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election — and the Trump campaign’s complicity. […]

Read More… from 3/14/2019

3/12/2019

MILITARY/NUCLEAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Pentagon is taking steps to develop new missiles, following the Trump administration’s decision to suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a 1987 arms-control agreement that the Trump administration has said it plans to exit due to Russian violations…She added that these activities ‘would have been inconsistent with our obligations under the […]

Read More… from 3/12/2019

3/8/2019

DEVIN NUNES/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “I feel very badly for Paul Manafort. I think it’s been a very, very tough time for him. But if you notice, both his lawyer — a highly respected man and a very highly respected judge — the judge said there was no collusion with Russia. It’s had nothing to do with […]

Read More… from 3/8/2019

3/5/2019

DONALD JR/HILLARY CLINTON/RUSSIA: “RT @DonaldJTrumpJr: Jim Jordan: No evidence of Trump colluding with Russia, but ‘all kinds’ showing Clinton campaign did https://t.co/XR2hU…” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, March 5, 2019 11:54 pm […]

Read More… from 3/5/2019

3/3/2019

2016 ELECTION/FAKE NEWS/RUSSIA: “Because with the fake news if you tell a joke, if you’re sarcastic, if you’re having fun with the audience, if you’re on live television with millions of people and 25,000 people in an arena, and if you say something like, ‘Russia, please, if you can, get us Hillary Clinton’s emails. Please, […]

Read More… from 3/3/2019

3/1/2019

NORTH KOREA/RUSSIA/SUMMIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Nothing in his summit with Kim Jong Un became President Donald Trump like the leaving it (to paraphrase Macbeth). ‘Sometimes you have to walk,’ Trump said at a closing news conference in Hanoi, after his abortive talks with the North Korean dictator. At least he had a closing news conference. The […]

Read More… from 3/1/2019

2/27/2019

2016 ELECTION/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen said under oath Wednesday [2-27-19] that he had never traveled to Prague to collude with Russian officials in 2016, denying a key claim of the infamous ‘dossier’ that alleged a conspiracy between Trump and the Kremlin. His comments during a […]

Read More… from 2/27/2019

2/26/2019

DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House Oversight Committee has instructed its Democratic members not to deviate from agreed upon lines of questioning at Michael Cohen’s public hearing Wednesday [2-27-19], prompting grumbling from several Democrats on the panel who want to press President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney about a range of matters related […]

Read More… from 2/26/2019

2/26/2019

CONGRESS/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen plans to tell U.S. lawmakers this week that Trump asked him several times about a proposed skyscraper project in Moscow long after he secured the Republican presidential nomination, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Cohen’s assertion that Trump was inquiring […]

Read More… from 2/26/2019

2/24/2019

CHINA/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Xi of China has been very helpful in his support of my meeting with Kim Jong Un. The last thing China wants are large scale nuclear weapons right next door. Sanctions placed on the border by China and Russia have been very helpful. Great relationship with Chairman Kim!” –Donald Trump, […]

Read More… from 2/24/2019

2/20/2019

DEMS/FBI/JAMES COMEY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “’If thinking that James Comey is not a good FBI Director is tantamount to being an agent of Russia, than just list all the people that are agents of Russia – Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Rod Rosenstein who wrote the memo to get rid of Comey, the Inspector General….’ Trey Gowdy” […]

Read More… from 2/20/2019

2/9/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “RT @seanhannity: TRUMP: ‘Not only did Senator Burr’s Committee find No Collusion by the Trump Campaign and Russia, it’s important because t…” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 9, 2019 9:51 am […]

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2/7/2019

CONGRESS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “So now Congressman Adam Schiff announces, after having found zero Russian Collusion, that he is going to be looking at every aspect of my life, both financial and personal, even though there is no reason to be doing so. Never happened before! Unlimited Presidential Harassment….” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 7, 2019 6:13 […]

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2/6/2019

DEMS/NANCY PELOSI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday [2-6-19] began a broad inquiry into whether Russia and other foreign powers may be exercising influence over President Trump, acting only hours after a defiant Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that the House would not be cowed by the president’s ‘all-out threat’ to drop its investigations […]

Read More… from 2/6/2019

2/1/2019

EU/MIKE POMPEO/NUCLEAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday [2-1-19] that the US is suspending the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a key pact with Russia that has been a centerpiece of European security since the Cold War…The long-expected suspension, which has raised concerns about a renewed arms race with Moscow and put European […]

Read More… from 2/1/2019

1/31/2019

DEMS/ HILLARY CLINTON/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democrats have long stoked suspicions about whether President Trump knew his son met with Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign, pointing to phone calls that Donald Trump Jr. received from a blocked number around the time of the meeting. New evidence obtained by Senate investigators appears […]

Read More… from 1/31/2019

1/26/2019

2016 ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “During the 2016 presidential campaign and transition, Donald J. Trump and at least 17 campaign officials and advisers had contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, a New York Times analysis has found. At least 10 other associates were told about interactions but did not have any themselves. Knowledge […]

Read More… from 1/26/2019

1/25/2019

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The indictment unsealed this month charging Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Trump campaign officials in June 2016, with obstruction of justice in another case raises an interesting question: Why would the Justice Department pursue a case in which there is little likelihood of ever getting the defendant […]

Read More… from 1/25/2019

1/24/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday [1-24-19] warned against ‘destructive interference’ in Venezuela from outside forces and called President Nicolas Maduro to reaffirm Moscow’s support for the embattled leader – one day after the Trump administration declared Maduro’s presidency illegitimate. Putin’s phone call to Maduro was a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s […]

Read More… from 1/24/2019

1/23/2019

GOVERNMENT/POLLS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating is at an all-time high amid a historically long partial government shutdown and concerns about the president’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Nearly 6-in-10 voters — 57 percent — disapprove of Trump’s job performance, compared to the 40 percent […]

Read More… from 1/23/2019

1/21/2019

2016 ELECTION/MICHAEL COHEN/ RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Rudy Giuliani on Monday [1-21-19] walked back statements he made this weekend concerning potential conversations between then-candidate Donald Trump and Michael Cohen about plans to construct a Trump Tower in Moscow ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and current attorney for the […]

Read More… from 1/21/2019

1/20/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “After Russian forces seized three Ukrainian ships in November and threatened to turn the Sea of Azov into a Russian lake, Trump administration officials outlined possible responses like imposing additional sanctions, sending ships to make port calls or deploying monitors. Two months later, President Trump has not taken significant action despite […]

Read More… from 1/20/2019

1/20/2019

2016 ELECTION/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump was involved in discussions to build a skyscraper in Moscow throughout the entire 2016 presidential campaign, his personal lawyer said on Sunday [1-20-19], a longer and more significant role for Mr. Trump than he had previously acknowledged. The comments by his lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani indicated that Mr. […]

Read More… from 1/20/2019

1/18/2019

2016 ELECTION/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “For much of the past 20 months, President Donald Trump and his administration have insisted that, for all of the smoke surrounding his 2016 campaign, there was no fire. A lot of people in Trump’s orbit engaging in conversations and relationships with Russian officials, but no evidence of collusion […]

Read More… from 1/18/2019

1/18/2019

MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier, two reporters for BuzzFeed News, may have just scored the scoop that, if it is ultimately confirmed, irrevocably changes the course of the Trump presidency. If so, it will represent for Leopold the apex of a comeback from a troubled personal and professional past. On […]

Read More… from 1/18/2019

1/18/2019

DEMS/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A pair of House Democratic committee chairmen vowed Friday [1-18-19] to investigate allegations in a published report that President Donald Trump personally ordered his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a potential real-estate development in Moscow. Trump and his attorney said Cohen is untruthful..The report, published […]

Read More… from 1/18/2019

1/18/2019

2016 ELECTION/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election disputed on Friday [1-18-19] a report that said President Trump had directed Michael D. Cohen, his longtime lawyer and fixer, to lie to Congress about his role in negotiations to build a skyscraper in Moscow. The rare public statement […]

Read More… from 1/18/2019

1/17/2019

HOUSE OF REPS/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Thursday [1-17-19] to block the Trump administration from lifting sanctions on a Russian oligarch with deep ties to Vladimir Putin. The effort, a joint resolution of disapproval, would overturn the Treasury Department’s December decision to ease sanctions on companies tied to Oleg Deripaska, […]

Read More… from 1/17/2019

1/17/2019

2016 ELECTION/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In a stunning interview on CNN Wednesday [1-16-19] evening, President Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said there may have been ‘collusion’ between members of the Trump campaign and Russia – but the president wasn’t involved. ‘I never said there was no collusion between the campaign. Or between people in […]

Read More… from 1/17/2019

1/17/2019

DEMS/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In what was most likely a largely symbolic vote, 136 House Republicans joined with Democrats on Thursday [1-17-19] in an overwhelming show of disapproval of the Trump administration’s policy toward three Kremlin-aligned companies. The House voted 362 to 53 to block the Treasury Department from lifting sanctions against the companies, […]

Read More… from 1/17/2019

1/17/2019

CHINA/NUCLEAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Trump vowed on Thursday [1-17-19] to reinvigorate and reinvent American missile defenses in a speech that recalled Cold War-era visions of nuclear adversaries — though he never once mentioned Russia or China, the two great-power threats to the United States. While the president infused the new missile efforts with his ambitions […]

Read More… from 1/17/2019

1/16/2019

2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday [1-16-19] that he never denied President Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign, only that the President himself was not involved in collusion. In an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo on ‘Cuomo Prime Time,’ Giuliani, a former New York mayor […]

Read More… from 1/16/2019

1/16/2019

MEDIA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top Kremlin officials are scoffing at the idea that President Donald Trump is working as a Russian agent, dismissing the notion as ‘nonsense’ and blasting U.S. journalists for their attention to the issue…The White House was hit with a pair of bombshell reports over the weekend that involve Trump and Putin, including […]

Read More… from 1/16/2019

1/16/2019

FBI/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Every day, it seems, brings another load of disturbing information about President Donald Trump’s interactions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A few days ago, we learned that Trump’s behavior was so troubling that the FBI opened a counter-intelligence investigation to find out if Trump was working, ‘on behalf of Russia against […]

Read More… from 1/16/2019

1/16/2019

DEMS/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senate Republicans on Wednesday [1-16-19] narrowly staved off an effort by Democrats to deal the Trump administration’s Russia sanctions policy an embarrassing rebuke. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in a vote to enforce sanctions against the corporate empire of an influential ally of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but the effort fell […]

Read More… from 1/16/2019

1/15/2019

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort spoke to a federal grand jury last fall about his communications with Konstantin Kilimnik, including regarding an in-person meeting with the Russian associate and an email with him, special counsel Robert Mueller revealed Tuesday [1-15-19]. The 31-page filing gives an unprecedented window into Mueller’s […]

Read More… from 1/15/2019

1/15/2019

DEMS/GOP/LEGISLATION/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “At least one Republican senator will join with Democrats on a bill that would reverse the Trump administration’s plan to ease sanctions on three companies with ties to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close Kremlin ally…A key vote on the measure, which Minority Leader Chuck Schumer can force under the 2017 Russia […]

Read More… from 1/15/2019

1/15/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The first time they met was in Germany. President Trump took his interpreter’s notes afterward and ordered him not to disclose what he heard to anyone. Later that night, at a dinner, Mr. Trump pulled up a seat next to President Vladimir V. Putin to talk without any American witnesses at all. […]

Read More… from 1/15/2019

1/17/2019

2016 ELECTION/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “If you know anything about the White House’s reaction to the ongoing special counsel probe into Russia interference in the 2016 election, it’s these two words: ‘No collusion.’ Trump, as well as his top aides — everyone from senior counselor Kellyanne Conway to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders […]

Read More… from 1/17/2019

1/14/2019

FBI/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Monday [1-14-19] denied any ties to the Russian government, labeling a question on the subject ‘a disgrace’ after a flurry of reports over the weekend suggested the president had confiscated notes from a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was suspected by the FBI of being […]

Read More… from 1/14/2019

1/14/2019

ENERGY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump shot back at reports that he has secretly acted as a Russian asset, bragging sarcastically on Twitter about an increase in U.S. domestic oil production that he indicated had hurt Russia’s energy industry, a main driver of its economy. Trump cited a segment on Fox News’ ‘Fox & Friends’ […]

Read More… from 1/14/2019

1/14/2019

ENERGY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “’Gas prices drop across the United States because President Trump has deregulated Energy and we are now producing a great deal more oil than ever before.’ @foxandfriends But this is bad news for Russia, why would President Trump do such a thing? Thought he worked for Kremlin?” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, January 14, […]

Read More… from 1/14/2019

1/14/2019

NATO/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “There are few things that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia desires more than the weakening of NATO, the military alliance among the United States, Europe and Canada that has deterred Soviet and Russian aggression for 70 years. Last year, President Trump suggested a move tantamount to destroying NATO: the withdrawal of […]

Read More… from 1/14/2019

1/13/2019

IRAN/ISIS/RUSSIA/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TURKEY: “….Likewise, do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey. Russia, Iran and Syria have been the biggest beneficiaries of the long term U.S. policy of destroying ISIS in Syria – natural enemies. We also benefit but it is now time to bring our troops back home. Stop the ENDLESS WARS!” -Donald Trump, […]

Read More… from 1/13/2019

1/12/2019

DEMS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Saturday [1-12-19] said he would be willing to release the details of his private conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last summer…The president’s remarks came hours after a report by The Washington Post stating that Trump ‘has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details’ of his […]

Read More… from 1/12/2019

1/12/2019

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “I have been FAR tougher on Russia than Obama, Bush or Clinton. Maybe tougher than any other President. At the same time, & as I have often said, getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. I fully expect that someday we will have good relations with Russia […]

Read More… from 1/12/2019

1/12/2019

FBI/JAMES COMEY/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Saturday [1-12-19] unleashed an extended assault on the F.B.I. and the special counsel’s investigation, knitting together a comprehensive alternative story in which he had been framed by disgraced ‘losers’ at the bureau’s highest levels. In a two-hour span starting at 7 a.m., the president made a series […]

Read More… from 1/12/2019

1/11/2019

FBI/JAMES COMEY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Federal counterintelligence agents began an investigation of Donald Trump last year that aimed to find out whether the president had a clandestine agenda to help Russia, the New York Times and CNN reported Friday [1-11-19]. The revelation, which the White House called ‘absurd’ in a late-evening statement, suggests that the FBI […]

Read More… from 1/11/2019

1/11/2019

FBI/JAMES COMEY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president’s behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests, according to former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation. […]

Read More… from 1/11/2019

1/10/2019

2016 ELECTION/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Hours after he was sworn in as America’s 45th president, Donald J. Trump and his wife, Melania, swayed together to a rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic ‘My Way,’ as hundreds of their wealthiest and most influential supporters held aloft smartphones to capture the Trumps’ first dance following the inauguration. […]

Read More… from 1/10/2019

1/8/2019

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who in 2016 met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower, was charged on Tuesday [1-8-19] in a separate case that showed her close ties to the Kremlin. Ms. Veselnitskaya, a pivotal figure in the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, was charged […]

Read More… from 1/8/2019

1/8/2019

2016 ELECTION/DONALD JR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP BUSINESS: “The Russian lawyer who attended a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with members of the Trump campaign was charged by federal prosecutors in New York with obstruction of justice in connection with a money-laundering case, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday that highlighted her ties to the Russian government. […]

Read More… from 1/8/2019

12/21/2018

CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/JAMES MATTIS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In an extraordinary public battle between a commander-in-chief and defense secretary, President Donald Trump appeared to push back Friday [12-21-18] on Pentagon chief Jim Mattis over policy toward Russia and China. ‘There has never been a president who has been tougher (but fair) on China or Russia,’ Trump said on […]

Read More… from 12/21/2018

12/21/2018

CHINA/NATO/RUSSIA/SERBIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Serbia’s president said Friday [12-21-18] he doesn’t share U.S. President Donald Trump’s optimism that an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is ‘within reach,’ two decades after their war. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that a letter sent by Trump expressing that opinion is ‘rational’ and welcome, but also added: ‘We are far […]

Read More… from 12/21/2018

12/21/2018

CHINA/MEDIA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “There has never been a president who has been tougher (but fair) on China or Russia – Never, just look at the facts. The Fake News tries so hard to paint the opposite picture.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 21, 2018 9:41 am […]

Read More… from 12/21/2018

12/19/2018

2016 ELECTION/AFRICAN AMERICANS/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When Vladimir Putin focused on black voter depression and sowing racial divisions in the 2016 election to help propel Donald Trump into the White House, he engaged in what is, unfortunately, a longstanding and time-tested American practice. Two reports commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee found that a Russian […]

Read More… from 12/19/2018

12/19/2018

RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP BUSINESS: “President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent in the effort to land a deal for a Trump property in Moscow, according to a document published Tuesday [12-18-18] by CNN, after Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani denied Sunday [12-16-18] that anyone had signed such a document. The agreement – dated Oct. 28, 2015, […]

Read More… from 12/19/2018

12/19/2018

2016 ELECTION/LAWSUIT/RUSSIA/TECHNOLOGY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal judge ruled in favor of BuzzFeed on Wednesday [12-19-18], bringing to a close a defamation lawsuit filed by a Russian technology executive over the website’s publication of a dossier containing unverified reports of connections between Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government. In her ruling, Judge Ursula […]

Read More… from 12/19/2018