A Timeline Showing the Full Scale of Russia’s Unprecedented Interference in the 2016 Election, and Its Aftermath – The New York Times

A Timeline Showing the Full Scale of Russia’s Unprecedented Interference in the 2016 Election, and Its Aftermath – The New York Times

It’s easy to lose the larger narrative of the Trump-Russia story given the relentless pace and complexity of the news. Stepping back to view the timeline from beginning to end reveals how these parallel threads — contacts, hacking and social media fraud — often crossed during the election. Campaign aides who denied knowledge of Russian contacts were later revealed to have either known about them or pursued them, though none ever told the F.B.I.

Each line below represents a single event, action or statement.

JUNE 2015

Trump

announces

candidacy

Direct contacts

with Russians

Russian

social media

fraud

Russian

hacking

MAY 2016

Trump clinches

nomination

Federal

investigation

Denials of

wrongdoing by

Trump and associates

This timeline organizes the complex web of events into parallel threads to show a more complete picture, from the moment Donald J. Trump entered the presidential race to his nearly daily attacks on the Russia investigation as members of his inner circle were charged with crimes.

A glossary of the people, groups and organizations in the timeline appears at the bottom of this article.

June 2015 to February 2016

Soon After Trump
Announces Campaign, His
Russian Business Ties Resurface

About a month after Donald J. Trump formally announced his presidential campaign, he received an invitation to go to Moscow for the 60th birthday of Aras Agalarov, a Russian billionaire who co-hosted the Miss Universe pageant with him in 2013. Later that fall, the Trump Organization began to actively pursue a real estate project in Moscow.

START OF

CAMPAIGN

Contacts

with Russians

Social

media fraud

Russian

hacking

END OF

FEB. 2016

KEY: CHART AND TIMELINE

Lines correspond to text below: direct contacts with Russians by Trump officials, such as the Trump Tower meeting on June 9, 2016, social media fraud, Russian hacking, denials of wrongdoing by Trump and his associates and

the federal investigation of Russian meddling.

June 2015

June16 Trump formally announces his presidential campaign. »

July 2015

July22 About a month later, he is invited to Moscow to celebrate the 60th birthday of Aras Agalarov, a Russian billionaire who co-hosted the 2013 Miss Universe pageant with Trump in Russia.

July24 Trump’s personal assistant says it is unlikely Trump will be able to make it to the party because of the campaign. Rob Goldstone, the publicist who forwards the invitation, says Agalarov’s son Emin might be able to set up a meeting with Putin if Trump decides to come.

October 2015

Oct.12 Michael D. Cohen, Trump’s longtime lawyer, has a series of email exchanges with Felix Sater, a Russian-born businessman and Trump associate, about developing a Trump property in Moscow.

Oct.28 Trump signs a “letter of intent” for a Trump hotel to be built in Moscow. »

For more than 30 years, Mr. Trump has sought to launch a real estate project in Russia. Perhaps the closest he came was during the early stages of his presidential campaign.

November 2015

Nov.3 In one of his emails to Cohen, Sater predicts that building a Trump Tower in Moscow will help Trump’s presidential campaign. “I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected.”

December 2015

Dec.19 In another, Sater talks about securing financing from a Russian bank under American sanctions.

January 2016

Jan.14 By January, the Moscow project seems to have stalled. Cohen emails an aide to Putin seeking help to jump-start it.

Jan.19 Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest son, receives an email from Goldstone trumpeting his connection to a Russian social media platform and suggesting the campaign use it to appeal to Russian-American voters. The email is also sent to Trump’s personal assistant, who connects Goldstone with Dan Scavino, who is in charge of social media for the campaign.

Goldstone thanks Trump’s personal assistant and adds: “Emin will be in NYC end of January and I am sure would love to stop by.”

Jan.20 An executive from the Russian social media company emails Scavino, Trump Jr. and Trump’s personal assistant about setting up a page for the Trump campaign.

February 2016

Feb.1 Republican primaries begin.

Feb.10 The Internet Research Agency instructs works to “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them).”

Feb.29 Trump receives a letter from Aras Agalarov expressing “great interest” in his “bright electoral campaign.”

March 2016 to November 2016

Russian Contacts, Hacking and
Fraud Intensify Through the Election

Russians reached out to campaign officials with offers of “dirt” on Hillary Clinton and invitations to back-channel meetings. The top military intelligence service in Russia hacked the Democrats while a network of Russian computer specialists uses stolen identities, false personas and fake social media accounts and ads to sow discord and undermine the election.

Contacts

with

Russians

Social

media fraud

Russian

hacking

Denials of

wrongdoing

KEY

Russian contacts

Social media fraud

Russian hacking

Denials of wrongdoing

Federal investigation

March 2016

March6 George Papadopoulos joins the campaign. He says he was told that a priority of the campaign was a better relationship with Russia.

March14 He meets with a London-based professor who claims to have ties to the Russian government.

March15 Russian hackers begin targeting computer networks of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Clinton campaign.

March19 They send a phishing email to John D. Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman and proceed to steal the entire contents of his account — about 50,000 emails.

March21 Trump names members of his foreign policy team, including Papadopoulos and Carter Page.

March24 The professor introduces Papadopoulos to a Russian woman described as Putin’s niece (she was not) and they all discuss setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin.

Papadopoulos emails campaign officials about his new Russian contacts.

March31 He tells Trump, Sessions and others at a campaign meeting that he can arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin. »

April 2016

April1 Shortly after he joins the campaign, Page is invited to deliver a commencement address at a prestigious economic school in Moscow.

April6 A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee employee opens a link to a fraudulent login page and enters password.

Fake ad: “You know, a great number of black people support us saying that #HillaryClintonIsNotMyPresident.”

Russian hackers send spearphishing emails to the accounts of others on the Clinton campaign.

April7 Fake ad: “I say no to Hillary Clinton / I say no to manipulation.”

April10 Papadopoulos reaches out to the Russian woman.

April11 Manafort emails Konstantin V. Kilimnik, a longtime Russian associate, to make sure Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch close to Putin, knows that he is on the Trump campaign.

Kilimnik confirms Deripaska is aware.

Papadopoulos emails the Russian woman about setting up a trip to Russia. She responds that she is “excited about the possibility of a good relationship” with Trump.

April12 Russian hackers use stolen credentials to infiltrate the D.C.C.C.’s computer network and install malware.

April15 They search the network for “hillary,” “cruz,” and “trump” and copy a folder called “Benghazi Investigations.”

April18 The professor introduces Papadopoulos to Ivan Timofeev, a Russian claiming to connections to the Russian foreign ministry.

Russian hackers break into the D.N.C.’s computers.

Papadopoulos has multiple conversations with Timofeev about setting up a meeting between the campaign and the Russian government.

April19 Fake ad: “JOIN our #HillaryClintonForPrison2016.”

Russian hackers create a fictitious online persona, DCLeaks, to release stolen documents.

April22 Timofeev thanks Papadopoulos “for an extensive talk” and proposes meeting in London or Moscow.

April25 Papadopoulos tells Stephen Miller, a top campaign adviser, that Putin wants to meet Trump.

April26 The professor tells Papadopoulos that the Russians have “dirt” on Clinton in the form of thousands of emails. »

This is the first of two instances when Russians mention “dirt” about Hillary Clinton to a Trump campaign official.

April27 Trump briefly meets Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, at a reception before his first major foreign policy speech.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, also meets Kislyak before the speech.

Papadopoulos emails Miller again.

He also emails Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager, “to discuss Russia’s interest in hosting Mr. Trump.”

May 2016

May1 Papadopoulos tells the Australian ambassador to Britain that Russia has dirt on Clinton. »

This revelation provoked the F.B.I. to open a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign months before the presidential election.

May4 Timofeev says his colleagues from the ministry “are open for cooperation.”

Papadopoulos forwards Timofeev’s email to Lewandowski.

Manafort meets with Kilimnik.

May5 Papadopoulos forwards Timofeev’s email to Sam Clovis, another campaign aide.

May8 Timofeev proposes putting Papadopoulos in touch with another Russian official.

May10 Fake ad: “Donald wants to defeat terrorism … Hillary wants to sponsor it.”

Rick Dearborn, a campaign aide, receives an email about arranging a back-channel meeting between Trump and Putin. The subject line of the email is “Kremlin Connection.” It is sent from a conservative operative who said Russia wanted to use the N.R.A.’s convention to make “first contact.”

May14 Papadopoulos tells Lewandowski that the Russians are interested in hosting Trump.

May16 Page floats the idea with the campaign of Trump going to Russia in his place “to raise the temperature a little bit.”

May16 Dearborn receives a second, similar, proposal, which he forwards to Kushner, Manafort and Gates, a business associate of Manafort’s. Kushner rebuffs the proposal.  »

May19 Fake ad: “Vote Republican, vote Trump, and support the Second Amendment!”

May20 Trump Jr. meets briefly with Alexander Torshin, a key figure in Putin’s political party, and Maria Butina, a Russian later accused of being a covert agent, at an N.R.A.-sponsored dinner.

May21 Papadopoulos forwards email from Timofeev to Manafort, who forwards it to Gates with a note: “We need someone to communicate that DT is not doing these trips.”

May24 Fake ad: “Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote.”

May25 Thousands of D.N.C. emails are stolen.

May26 Trump clinches the Republican nomination.

May27 At a rally the next day, he calls Putin “a strong leader.”

June 2016

June1 Papadopoulos tells Clovis that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked if Trump is interested in visiting Russia.

June3 Aras Agalarov is told that the Russian government wants to give the Trump campaign damaging information about Clinton.

His son, Emin, enlists Goldstone to reach out to Trump Jr. and arrange a meeting.

Trump Jr. replies within minutes: “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.” »

This is the second time a campaign official was told of “dirt” on Mrs. Clinton.

June4 Russian trolls use a fake email account to publicize a June “March for Trump” rally in New York.

June5 They also reach out to the Trump campaign for rally signs.

June6 Clinton becomes the presumptive Democratic nominee.

June6 Goldstone follows up with Trump Jr. about when he can “talk with Emin by phone about this Hillary info.”

Trump Jr. calls Emin.

June7 Trump Jr. calls Emin again. »

Phone records show Trump Jr. called a blocked number before and after calls to Emin.

June7 Goldstone tells Trump Jr. that Emin asked him to schedule a meeting “with you and the Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow for this Thursday.”

June7 Trump Jr. confirms the meeting and says Manafort and Kushner are likely to join him.

Trump promises to deliver a major address detailing Clinton’s “corrupt dealings.” »

This statement comes three hours after Trump Jr. confirms the Trump Tower meeting. The speech never happens.

June7 Fake ad: “Trump is our only hope for a better future!”

June8 DCLeaks.com goes live and posts thousands of stolen emails.

Trump Jr. forwards the entire email chain with Goldstone to Kushner and Manafort. The subject line is “Russia – Clinton – private and confidential.”

June9 Trump Tower Russia meeting. »

The Russians nabbed a meeting at Trump Tower with top campaign officials, including the president’s eldest son, after promising damaging information about Clinton.

June10 Trump receives a birthday gift from the Agalarovs.

June14 The D.N.C. breach becomes public. »

June14 Russian hackers create the Guccifer 2.0 persona to help throw suspicion off Russia.

Goldstone forwards a story about the D.N.C. hacking to Emin and a Russian who attended the meeting, describing the news as “eerily weird” given what they had discussed at Trump Tower.

June15 Guccifer 2.0 announces it is releasing “just a few docs from many thousands I extracted when hacking into DNC’s network.”

June16 Trolls use stolen Social Security numbers to open bank and PayPal accounts.

June17 Trump sends a thank you note to Agalarov for the birthday present.

June19 Page emails Lewandowski and Hope Hicks, Trump’s spokeswoman, about his upcoming Moscow trip. He also mentions it to Sessions during a dinner in Washington. »

June19 Papadopoulos Skypes and emails Timofeev about a campaign official coming to Russia.

Papadopoulos tells Lewandowski he can travel to Russia if Trump cannot.

June20 Guccifer 2.0: “Hi! I’m on Twitter now! this is my official account!”

June22 WikiLeaks asks Guccifer 2.0 for the stolen D.N.C. emails.

June23 Fake Facebook account is used to hire someone to help with a rally.

June24 Manafort says it is “absurd” to think there are any ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

June24 Trump Jr. says it is “disgusting” and “phony” to suggest that Russia is helping Trump.  »

His meeting with Russians two weeks earlier would be reported by The Times in July 2017.

June25 “March for Trump” rally in New York organized by Russians.

June29 Goldstone emails Scavino about the Russian social media platform, saying he mentioned the idea “to Don and Paul Manafort during a meeting recently.”

June30 Fake ad: “#NeverHillary #HillaryForPrison #Hillary4Prison #HillaryForPrison2016 #Trump2016 #Trump #Trump4President”

July 2016

July5 Posters with a sham quote attributed to Clinton ordered for “Save American Muslims” rally.

July6 WikiLeaks asks Guccifer 2.0 to send anything “Hillary related” prior to the Democratic National Convention.

July7 Manafort emails Kilimnik and offers to give private briefings to Deripaska.

Page delivers the commencement speech in Moscow. While there, he speaks with a Russian deputy prime minister, who expresses strong support for Trump. He also speaks with the head of investor relations for a Russian energy firm.

July9 Washington, D.C., rally organized by Russians: “Support Hillary. Save American Muslims.”

July12 Facebook ads bought for “Down With Hillary” rally.

July14 Guccifer 2.0 sends WikiLeaks instructions for accessing the stolen D.N.C. documents.

Papadopoulos tells Timofeev that “our side” has approved a meeting with Russians.

July18 Kislyak is among a small group of diplomats who chat with Sessions after an event at the Republican National Convention (July 18-21).

Several other campaign officials, including Page, also chat with the Russian ambassador during the convention.

July20 Fake ad: “Ohio Wants Hillary 4 Prison.”

July21 Trump accepts the Republican nomination for president.

July21 Papadopoulos tells Timofeev to “keep an eye” on Trump’s acceptance speech. “Should be good.”

July22 Days before the Democratic National Convention, WikiLeaks releases nearly 20,000 stolen emails.

July23 New York rally organized by Russians: “Down with Hillary.”

July26 Fake Facebook group “United Muslims of America” posts that Muslim voters are “between Hillary Clinton and a hard place.”

July27 Trump: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” »

For the first time, Russian hackers attack accounts at a domain used by Clinton’s personal office.

These events happened on the same day, but it is not known whether the Russians’ actions were actually in response to Mr. Trump’s statement.

July29 Kilimnik emails Manafort to set up another meeting.

August 2016

Aug.2 Trolls send message to a real Trump Facebook account about “organizing a YUGE pro-Trump flash mob in every Florida town.”

Trolls use stolen identity to send emails to Florida grassroots groups to organize the Florida rallies.

Manafort has dinner with Kilimnik in New York.

Aug.4 Fake ad: “Hillary Clinton has already committed voter fraud during the Democrat Iowa Caucus.”

Aug.8 Over the next couple of months, Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime Trump adviser, repeatedly claims he is in contact Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, and seems to foreshadow the release of Podesta’s emails. »

Stone later denies any direct contact with Assange or having advance knowledge of the document dumps.

Aug.10 Fake ad: “We cannot trust Hillary to take care of our veterans!”

Aug.11 Fake Twitter account posts accusations of voter fraud in North Carolina.

Aug.14 Stone begins a series of relatively benign private messages on Twitter with Guccifer 2.0, whom he says is not a Russian front.

Aug.15 Clovis encourages Papadopoulos to make the trip to Russia.

Aug.16 Trolls use a fake Instagram account to promote the pro-Trump Florida rallies.

Aug.18 Money is wired to a person who is building a cage large enough to hold a Clinton impersonator at a rally.

Russians pose as Americans and coordinate with Trump campaign staff members to organize Florida rallies.

Aug.19 Manafort is ousted from the campaign days after reports disclosed financial dealings with the pro-Russia party of a former Ukrainian president. »

Aug.19 Fake persona is used to ask a real Tea Party activist to promote the Florida rallies.

Aug.20 Multiple Florida rallies organized by Russians.

Aug.21 Stone tweets: “Trust me, it will soon [be] the Podesta’s time in the barrel. #CrookedHillary.”

Aug.31 Facebook ads are bought for the New York rally.

September 2016

Sept.8 Sessions meets with Kislyak in his Senate office.

Sept.9 A Clinton impersonator is asked to travel to New York for another rally.

Sept.20 WikiLeaks sends a direct Twitter message to Trump Jr. He thanks WikiLeaks for the message and emails several top campaign officials, including Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway and Kushner to let them know.

Sept.21 Trump Jr. thanks WikiLeaks for the message.

October 2016

Oct.2 Pennsylvania rallies organized by Russians: “Miners for Trump”

Oct.3 WikiLeaks sends another private message to Trump Jr., asking him to push a story about Clinton.

Trump Jr. says he’s already pushed the story.

Oct.7 The Obama administration accuses the Russian government of hacking. »
An “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump making lewd remarks about women surfaces. »
WikiLeaks posts the first of thousands of Podesta’s emails. »

These three significant events happened within hours of one another on the afternoon of Oct. 7. WikiLeaks then released a new batch of Podesta’s emails every day until the election.

Oct.10 Trump: “I love WikiLeaks!”

Oct.12 In another private Twitter message, WikiLeaks asks Trump Jr. if he can ask his father to tweet about the Podesta emails. »

Soon after Trump Jr. receives the message, Trump tweets: “Very little pick-up by the dishonest media of incredible information provided by WikiLeaks. So dishonest! Rigged system!”

Mr. Trump seemed to tweet about the emails 15 minutes after WikiLeaks sent its request to Trump Jr.

Oct.14 Fake ad: “Among all the candidates Donald Trump is the one and only who can defend the police from terrorists.”

Oct.16 Instagram account “Woke Blacks” used to encourage people of color not to vote.

Oct.19 Fake ad: “Hillary is a Satan, and her crimes and lies had proved just how evil she is.”

Oct.27 Cohen creates a shell company to pay off Stephanie Clifford, the adult film star known as Stormy Daniels who said she had sexual relations with Trump. »

November 2016

Nov.2 Fake Twitter post: “#VoterFraud by counting tens of thousands of ineligible mail in Hillary votes being reported in Broward County, Florida.”

Nov.3 An ad by Russian operatives encouraging people to vote for Jill Stein is added on Instagram.

Nov.5 The Russian social media executive emails Scavino, Trump Jr. and Trump’s assistant again to follow up on setting up a page for the Trump campaign.

Nov.6 WikiLeaks releases a new trove of emails stolen from the D.N.C. »

On July 13, 2018, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election issued an indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton presidential campaign.

March 2018

March28 Paul Manafort, a veteran Republican strategist, is brought on to the campaign to lead the delegate-wrangling effort.

November 2016 to October 2017

A Head-Spinning Start to
the Trump Administration

Russia largely dominated the national political conversation after Mr. Trump was elected. American intelligence agencies concluded that President Vladimir V. Putin personally ordered the campaign to interfere in the election. Questionable transition contacts and accusations of attempts by Mr. Trump to kill the investigation come to light. Mr. Trump started posting hundreds of tweets that denied wrongdoing and attacked the investigation.

Contacts

with

Russians

Social

media

fraud

Russian

hacking

Federal

investigation

Russian troll activity

on Twitter continued

after the election.

Denials of

wrongdoing

END OF

SEPT. 2017

KEY

Russian contacts

Social media fraud

Russian hacking

Denials of wrongdoing

Federal investigation

November 2016

Nov.8 Trump is elected president.

Nov.11 Hope Hicks, Trump’s spokeswoman: “There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”

Nov.16 Kislyak requests a meeting with Kushner.

December 2016

Dec.1 Kushner meets with Kislyak and seeks a direct line of communication to Putin. Flynn also attends this meeting. »

Kislyak asks if the transition has a secure channel to discuss Syria. Kushner says they don’t and asks if they could use one at the Russian Embassy.

Dec.13 Kushner meets with Sergey N. Gorkov, the head of a Russian state-run bank under American sanctions, who Kislyak said has a direct line to Putin.

Dec.28 President Obama announces sanctions against Russia for interfering in the election. »

Dec.28 Kislyak contacts Flynn about the sanctions.

Dec.29 Flynn calls a senior transition official at Trump’s Florida resort about how to respond to Kislyak. They discuss that “members of the presidential transition team” do not want Russia to escalate. Flynn asks Kislyak not to retaliate.

White House officials tried to portray Michael T. Flynn as a renegade who acted independently in his discussions with the Russian ambassador to the United States. But emails and court documents suggest this was not the case.

Dec.29 K.T. McFarland, the future deputy national security adviser, emails another transition official, Thomas P. Bossert, that Flynn will be speaking with Kislyak as part of an effort reassure Russia.

Bossert forwards McFarland’s email about the sanctions to other top transition officials, including Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer and Bannon.

Dec.30 Putin says Russia will not retaliate. »

Dec.30 Trump tweets: “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!”

Dec.31 Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia chose not to retaliate in response to Flynn’s request.

Flynn tells the Trump transition team that Kislyak said Russia did not retaliate because of Flynn’s request.

January 2017

Jan.5 U.S. intelligence agencies release a report concluding that Putin ordered the cybercampaign to influence the election. »

Jan.9 Cohen meets with a Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, at Trump Tower. They discuss their mutual desire to strengthen U.S.-Russian relations under the Trump administration.

Jan.10 Sessions says he is “not aware” of anyone affilitated with the Trump campaign communicating with the Russian government.

Jan.10 Trump tweets: “FAKE NEWS – A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!”

The first of at least 200 tweets by Mr. Trump in which he calls the investigation a “hoax,” or a “witch hunt,” or disputes any notion of “collusion.” All of these tweets going forward are labeled “Denial tweet.”

Jan.20 Cohen meets again with Russian oligarch during the inauguration. A few days later, a company connected to the oligarch awards Cohen a $1 million consulting contract. The payment is made to the same shell company Cohen used to pay Stormy Daniels.

Jan.24 F.B.I. agents interview Flynn.

Jan.26 Sally Q. Yates, the acting attorney general, tells Donald F. McGahn II, White House counsel, that Flynn might be compromised because he misled the vice president about his conversations with Kislyak.

Jan.27 F.B.I. questions Papadopoulos.

Jan.27 Trump demands loyalty from James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, during a private dinner at the White House. »

Jan.27 Cohen discusses a plan to lift sanctions against Russia with Sater and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament.

February 2017

Feb.4 Cohen delivers the plan to Flynn.

Feb.13 Flynn is fired.

Feb.14 Trump asks Comey if he “can see” his way to “letting Flynn go.” »

Feb.15 Stone: “I have had no contacts from Russians or intermediaries for Russians.”

Feb.16 The F.B.I. questions Papadopoulos again.

Trump: “I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does.”

Feb.17 Papadopoulos shuts down his Facebook account in an attempt to erase messages with foreign contacts.

March 2017

March1 The Washington Post reports that Sessions failed to report at least two contacts with Kislyak during the campaign.

Sessions later in the day: “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign.”

March2 Next day: Sessions recuses himself from any investigation into the 2016 campaign.

Denial tweet.

March27 Denial tweet.

March30 Trump asks Comey if he can “lift the cloud” of the investigation.

March31 Denial tweet.

April 2017

April22 Trump asks Comey what he’s done to “get out” that he is not personally under investigation.

May 2017

May8 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May9 Trump fires Comey. »

May12 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May17 Robert S. Mueller III is appointed special counsel.

May18 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May31 Denial tweet.

June 2017

June15 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June16 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June18 Denial tweet.

June21 Denial tweet.

June22 Denial tweet.

June26 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July 2017

July8 The Times reveals that the Trump Tower Russia meeting happened.

Trump Jr. issues a false statement about the Trump Tower meeting.

July12 Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for the president, says Trump had nothing to do with the false statement. »

More than six months later, Mr. Trump’s lawyers acknowledge that he “dictated” the misleading statement.

July12 Denial tweet.

July15 Denial tweet.

July16 Denial tweet.

July23 Denial tweet.

July25 Denial tweet.

Trump: “There’s nobody on the campaign that saw anybody from Russia.”

July26 F.B.I. raids Manafort’s Virginia home.

July27 Denial tweet.

Papadopoulos is arrested.

July29 Denial tweet.

August 2017

Aug.7 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

September 2017

Sept.22 Denial tweet.

October 2017

Oct.5 Papadopoulos pleads guilty to lying to the F.B.I.

Oct.27 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Oct.29 Denial tweet.

Oct.30 Denial tweet.

Manafort is indicted on charges related to a scheme in which he lobbied for a pro-Russia party in Ukraine and hid proceeds in foreign bank accounts.

Gates is also charged.

Oct.31 Denial tweet.

November 2017 to September 2018

Trump’s Attacks on the
Investigation Escalate
as Federal Charges Pile Up

By mid-September, dozens of people had been charged by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, or because of investigations that stemmed from Mr. Mueller’s inquiry. Mr. Trump denied the validity of the investigation in at least 174 tweets over this period.

Denials of

wrongdoing

Federal

investigation

KEY

Russian contacts

Social media fraud

Russian hacking

Denials of wrongdoing

Federal investigation

November 2017

Nov.2 Denial tweet.

Nov.3 Denial tweet.

Nov.30 Flynn is charged with lying to the F.B.I. about the substance of his conversations with Kislyak during the presidential transition.

December 2017

Dec.1 Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the F.B.I.

Dec.2 Denial tweet.

Dec.4 Denial tweet.

Dec.12 Denial tweet.

Dec.26 Denial tweet.

Dec.28 Denial tweet.

Dec.29 Denial tweet.

January 2018

Jan.5 Denial tweet.

Jan.6 Denial tweet.

Jan.10 Denial tweet.

Jan.16 Denial tweet.

Jan.29 Trump’s lawyers acknowledge that the president “dictated” the misleading statement put out by his son about the 2016 meeting with Russians at Trump Tower. »

February 2018

Feb.3 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Feb.7 Richard Pinedo, a Southern California computer science major, is charged with identity fraud. He served as a middle man, buying accounts in other people’s names and flipping them on the Internet, including for the Russian fraud operation.

Feb.12 Pinedo pleads guilty.

Feb.16 Denial tweet.

Alex van der Zwaan, the son-in-law of a Russian billionaire, is charged with lying to the F.B.I. about his work with Gates and Manafort.

The special counsel charges 13 Russians and three companies with carrying out a massive fraud against the American government and conspiring to obstruct enforcement of federal laws.

Feb.17 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Feb.18 Denial tweet.

Feb.20 Van der Zwaan pleads guilty.

Feb.23 Gates pleads guilty to financial fraud and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate with the special counsel inquiry.

Feb.24 Denial tweet.

Feb.27 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

March 2018

March6 Stone: “I can say with confidence that I know nothing about any Russian collusion or any other inappropriate act.”

March11 Denial tweet.

March12 Denial tweet.

March17 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

March18 Denial tweet.

March19 Denial tweet.

March21 Denial tweet.

March23 Denial tweet.

March25 Denial tweet.

April 2018

April3 Van der Zwaan is sentenced to 30 days in prison.

April9 The F.B.I. raids Cohen’s home, office and hotel room.

April10 Denial tweet.

April11 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

April13 Denial tweet.

April18 Denial tweet.

April19 Denial tweet.

April21 Denial tweet.

April22 Denial tweet.

April27 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

April28 Denial tweet.

May 2018

May1 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May2 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May4 Denial tweet.

May7 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May15 Denial tweet.

May17 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May18 Denial tweet.

May20 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May22 Denial tweet.

May23 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May25 Denial tweet.

May26 Denial tweet.

May27 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May29 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

May30 Denial tweet.

May31 Denial tweet.

June 2018

June1 Denial tweet.

Jason Sullivan, an associate of Stone’s, testifies before a federal grand jury run by the special counsel.

June2 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June4 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June5 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June7 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June8 Denial tweet.

Manafort is charged with obstruction of justice for trying to coach witnesses.

Kilimnik is charged with obstruction of justice for trying to coach witnesses.

June14 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June15 Denial tweet.

June16 Denial tweet.

June17 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

June18 Denial tweet.

June19 Denial tweet.

June20 Denial tweet.

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June23 Denial tweet.

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June25 Denial tweet.

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June28 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July 2018

July3 Denial tweet.

July7 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July10 Denial tweet.

July11 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July13 Twelve Russian intelligence officers are charged with hacking the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton presidential campaign.

July16 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July17 At a news conference after the Helsinki summit, Trump seems to accept Putin’s denial of election interference. »

While President Trump has at times been harshly critical of the closest allies of the United States, he has consistently praised Russia and Mr. Putin.

July21 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July22 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July23 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

July24 Denial tweet.

July26 Denial tweet.

July27 Denial tweet.

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July29 Denial tweet.

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July31 Denial tweet.

August 2018

Aug.1 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Aug.2 Denial tweet.

Aug.3 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Aug.5 Denial tweet.

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Aug.6 Denial tweet.

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Aug.9 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Aug.10 Denial tweet.

Kristin M. Davis, a longtime friend of Stone’s who once ran a prostitution service, testifies before a federal grand jury run by the special counsel.

Aug.11 Denial tweet.

Aug.12 Denial tweet.

Aug.13 Denial tweet.

Aug.14 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

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Aug.15 Denial tweet.

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Aug.16 Denial tweet.

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Aug.18 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Aug.19 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Aug.20 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Aug.21 Manafort is convicted of financial fraud.

Aug.21 Cohen pleads guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

Mr. Cohen says Trump directed him to make payments to two women, including Ms. Clifford, during the campaign to keep them from speaking publicly about affairs they said they had with Mr. Trump.

Aug.22 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Aug.25 Denial tweet.

Aug.29 Denial tweet.

Aug.30 Denial tweet.

Aug.31 A lobbyist linked to Manafort pleads guilty to steering foreign funds to Trump’s inaugural.

September 2018

Sept.1 Denial tweet.

Sept.3 Denial tweet.

Sept.7 Denial tweet.

Papadopoulos is sentenced to 14 days in jail.

Sept.11 Denial tweet.

Sept.12 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Sept.14 Manafort agrees to cooperate with Mueller as part of a plea deal.

Sept.15 Denial tweet.

Sept.16 Denial tweet.

Denial tweet.

Sept.17 Denial tweet.

Glossary of People,
Groups and Organizations

Aras Agalarov

Russian billionaire who co-hosted 2013 Miss Universe pageant with Trump in Moscow

Emin Agalarov

Aras Agalarov’s son, a Russian pop star

Steve Bannon

Former chief strategist to President Trump and campaign chief

Thomas P. Bossert

Trump’s former chief adviser on homeland security

Maria Butina

Russian later accused of being a covert agent

Stephanie Clifford

Adult porn star known as Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with Trump

Sam Clovis

Trump campaign aide

Michael D. Cohen

Trump’s former longtime personal lawyer, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations

James B. Comey

Former F.B.I. director

Kellyanne Conway

Trump’s counselor

Randy Credico

Former associate of Roger J. Stone Jr.

Kristin Davis

Former runner of a high-end escort service, who was known as “Manhattan Madam”

Rick Dearborn

Former White House deputy chief of staff and campaign adviser

Oleg V. Deripaska

Russian oligarch close to Putin

Michael T. Flynn

Trump’s first national security adviser, who pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about conversations with a Russian ambassador

Rick Gates

2016 deputy campaign chairman, who pleaded guilty to financial fraud and lying to the F.B.I.

Rob Goldstone

British-born publicist who repeatedly served as an intermediary between the Trumps and the Agalarovs

Sergey N. Gorkov

Head of Russian state-run bank under American sanctions, who Kislyak said had a direct line to Putin

Guccifer 2.0

Online persona created by Russian intelligence officers and used to share hacked files; falsely claimed to be a lone Romanian hacker

Hope Hicks

Longtime Trump aide and former communications director

Internet Research Agency

Russian organization that directed the social media disinformation campaign

Konstantin V. Kilimnik

Longtime Manafort associate thought to have ties to Russian intelligence

Sergey I. Kislyak

Former Russian ambassador to the United States

Jared Kushner

Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser

Corey Lewandowski

Trump’s first campaign manager

Paul Manafort

2016 Trump campaign chairman; convicted on financial fraud charges

K.T. McFarland

Former deputy national security adviser

Donald F. McGahn II

White House counsel

Stephen Miller

Top campaign adviser and senior White House adviser

Robert S. Mueller III

Special counsel leading the federal investigation

Carter Page

Foreign policy adviser for 2016 Trump campaign whom Russian spies had tried to recruit in 2013

George Papadopoulos

2016 Trump campaign foreign policy adviser

Richard Pinedo

California man who sold bank accounts online and pleaded guilty to identity fraud charges brought by the special counsel

John D. Podesta

Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman whose emails were stolen by Russian hackers

Reince Priebus

Former White House chief of staff

Vladamir V. Putin

President of Russia

Felix Sater

Russian émigré, Cohen friend and longtime Trump business associate

Dan Scavino

White House social media director

Jeff Sessions

Attorney general, former senator and Trump campaign adviser

Roger J. Stone Jr.

Longtime Trump adviser

Jason Sullivan

Associate of Roger J. Stone Jr.

Ivan Timofeev

Russian who said he had connections to the Russian foreign ministry

Alexander Torshin

Key figure in Putin’s political party

Donald J. Trump

President

Donald Trump Jr.

Trump’s eldest son

Viktor F. Vekselberg

Russian oligarch who met with Michael D. Cohen

WikiLeaks

Anti-secrecy organization that released tens of thousands of hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee

Sally Q. Yates

Former acting attorney general

Alex van der Zwaan

Lawyer who worked with Paul Manafort and Rick Gates and who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about conversations with Mr. Gates

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