Elizabeth Warren launches exploratory committee ahead of likely 2020 presidential run

With her announcement 13 months before the Iowa caucuses, Warren, who became a progressive star by taking on Wall Street after the 2007 financial crisis and, more recently, President Donald Trump, is the first Democrat with a national profile to take formal action towards a likely presidential campaign.

In a four-and-a-half minute video, Warren makes clear some of the very themes that catapulted her to national prominence will define her upcoming presidential run: economic equality, government accountability and reining in big corporations.

"Corruption is poisoning our democracy," Warren says in the video as images of Republican leaders flash across the screen. "Politicians look the other way while big insurance companies deny patients life-saving coverage, while big banks rip off consumers and while big oil companies destroy this planet."

The clip begins with the senator recalling a hardscrabble childhood in Oklahoma -- her mother got a minimum-wage job after her father suffered a heart attack. He would eventually work as a janitor.

"He raised a daughter who got to be a public school teacher, a law professor and a senator. We got a real opportunity to build something," Warren says. "Working families today face a lot tougher path than my family did."

In one of multiple nods in the video to racial inequality, she adds that "families of color face a path that is steeper and rockier, a path made even harder by the impact of generations of discrimination" -- an early acknowledgment of the political importance of appealing to and winning the support of minority voters.

As she warns of a deepening crisis faced by the American middle class, Warren points a finger squarely at the Republican Party, using images of former presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, along with grinning cameos from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, departing House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump.

Warren is a searing critic of the President, and Trump has responded by openly mocking her Native American heritage and referring to her as "Pocahontas." Her decision in October to respond to Trump and other critics by releasing the results of a DNA test aimed at proving her ancestry fell flat with many Democrats and overshadowed her midterm message.

The announcement also comes in the midst of a prolonged partial government shutdown over Trump's insistence on funding for a border wall, which has caused political chaos that has spooked investors and sparked turmoil in the stock market. This backdrop could prove to be a boon for Warren, who is widely expected to build a campaign centered around her signature economic populist message and anti-corruption platform.

By launching an exploratory committee, Warren can begin raising money for the coming campaign. She is unlikely to seek the assistance of a billionaire-funded super PAC, according to a source familiar with Warren's thinking, because she believes grassroots support should be a defining factor in the coming primary. Warren has already sworn off corporate PAC money. She enters the 2020 cycle with $12.5 million left over from her 2018 Senate campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. That money can be transferred into Warren's presidential coffers.

A source close to Warren has said the timing of Monday's announcement -- on New Year's Eve, when most people aren't plugged into the news -- had more to do with a need to "build an apparatus" by "identifying and hiring staff" than influencing other contenders' plans.

But some Democratic operatives are skeptical, and one fundraiser suggested the Warren team might be hoping that a hefty day-one haul, made public in early 2019, could cause potential rivals to reconsider their options.

"It's a gamble that folks will give a ton of small money today," the Democrat said.

Rufus Gifford, former President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign finance director, made the same point in a tweet.

"Elizabeth Warren must think she can put up huge $$ numbers on her January report - scaring others out of the race," he wrote. "Only reason I can figure you'd launch a Presidential Campaign on New Year's Eve."

Even before Monday's notifications went out, the work of building the infrastructure to support a presidential bid had been well underway.

Since her re-election to the Senate in November, Warren has made hundreds of calls to political grassroots leaders in the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the source said. She is expected to hit the campaign trail later this week if no votes are scheduled to end the government shutdown.

Warren's staff members are also having discussions with operatives in those states and are in the process of searching for campaign office space in the Boston area, the expected location of her presidential campaign headquarters.

Dan Geldon, Warren's longtime aide who served as her chief of staff in the Senate and was once the senator's student at Harvard Law School, is likely to serve a senior role in the eventual Warren campaign, the source said.

More than a year out from the first round of voting and with months to go until the first debate, the coming Democratic primary is already shaping up to be one of the most fierce and feisty nominating contests in a generation.

Warren's work to establish and defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, made her a star among progressives who first pushed for what would be a successful 2012 Senate run and then, with less luck, a presidential bid she ultimately passed up four years later.

This time around, the large Democratic field is expected to include multiple candidates touting progressive platforms -- a reality that underscores her influence within the party but could also complicate her path to its nomination.

Some two dozen candidates are said to have shown interest in a 2020 bid. Warren's national profile, which traces back to her work as a watchdog following the 2008 bank bailouts, immediately places her among the favorites, alongside former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and rising star Beto O'Rourke, the departing Texas congressman who just lost a bid for the US Senate.

A CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey earlier this month of likely Iowa caucusgoers found Warren with 8% support, trailing Biden (32%), Sanders (19%) and O'Rourke (11%) -- numbers broadly consistent with other early national polling.

Her decision to more formally begin the process comes less than a month after the editorial board for her hometown newspaper, the Boston Globe, ruffled progressive feathers by suggesting she consider abandoning a potential run.

"Warren missed her moment in 2016, and there's reason to be skeptical of her prospective candidacy in 2020," the board wrote in early December, citing a poll from September 2018 that put former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat who has since ruled out a presidential run this cycle, ahead of Warren.

It also suggested she had become too much of a "divisive figure," an apparent reference to the heavily publicized DNA test. It confirmed Warren had distant Native American ancestry, but was met with backlash from some tribal leaders, activists and outspoken Democrats who fretted over whether Warren had played into Trump's hands.

In a statement Monday, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel gave a preview of the attacks to come, dismissing Warren as "another extreme far-left obstructionist and a total fraud." McDaniel also took a swipe at what she described as Warren's "phony claim to minority status."

Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. was among the most outspoken critics and said in October that Warren had undermined "tribal interests."

"Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong," Hoskin said in a statement.

But any early missteps -- or even disappointing polling -- are unlikely to dampen excitement among the party's increasingly influential progressive bloc.

"Elizabeth Warren, on a visceral level, is fighting for everyday people and against powerful interests," Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green said, "and that comes through with an authenticity this moment demands."

Green, whose group has supported Warren for years while talking up "the Warren wing" of the Democratic party, also gave a hint of how his group and potentially others might seek to distinguish the Massachusetts senator from other leading contenders.

"There are different theories on being effective, but she believes in picking issues that are super popular and forging coalitions to win on those issues," he said. "Others can be more of a loner, or willing to charge into battle first before having a fully baked plan."

CNN's Fredreka Schouten and Dan Merica contributed to this report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://cnn.it/2EVFXiu

'Ninja,' the Fortnite streamer who's one of video gaming's biggest stars

And who could argue? Ninja is, literally, killing it. The 94,958 Fornite kills he had racked up at last check have helped him earn what he says is close to $10 million this year. Blevins and his colorful hair (neon red at the time of this interview) have become a cultural phenomenon, and his skills and personality have helped make Fortnite the behemoth that it is — one that drove its company, Epic Games, to a reported profit of $3 billion this year.

Blevins burst onto the scene after a record-breaking live stream (628,000 concurrent viewers, a record which he's since broken) with rap icon Drake back in March. Since then he has become a must-see on social media and more importantly, a must-stream. Ninja's "bread and butter," he says, are YouTube and Twitch, a streaming video platform. He estimates 70% of his income comes from the two services.

Every time one of Ninja's 20-million plus YouTube subscribers watches a pop-up ad on his channel he earns a percentage of the ad sale, and most of Ninja's videos on YouTube have been viewed millions of times. On Twitch, more than 12.5 million users follow him, and almost 40,000 pay to watch, subscribing to three different tiers and forking over either $4.99, $9.99 or $25 per month to watch Ninja blast his way to big bucks. Because users don't have to subscribe, ad dollars help the platform and its streamers make money too. Still, Blevins thinks Twitch "could do a much better job incentivizing" people to choose the pricier subscriptions; he compared Twitch to a giant "violin case" for a street performer, with people just throwing in what they feel is right.

The rest of Blevins' income is from sponsors like Samsung, Uber Eats and Red Bull. And those sponsors, along with Ninja's September appearance on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, lead to a major question about him and his peers in the burgeoning esports community: Are they athletes? Blevins said he sees himself instead as a small business owner, equating gaming to a small coffee shop. "They're gonna find another coffee shop if you're not there ... you have to be there all the time," he said.

Ninja mans that "coffee shop" for 12 hours a day, he estimates, working out to nearly 4,000 hours of Fornite this year alone, the equivalent of more than 140 days. Each and every time he's away from the shop, Blevins and wife/manager Jess are calculating how many subscribers they're losing, and how much money they're not earning. While the couple does carve out time for one another each day, their last vacation was their honeymoon eight years ago. And even that trip, long before Fornite, was still cut short for professional gaming.

Fornite has 200 million registered players around the world, a 60% increase since June, and Blevins says he thinks it's nowhere near peaking. No matter how long its popularity lasts, Blevins is enjoying his moment in the sun. He appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" earlier this month, and has recently been moving into other revenue streams, like a clothing brand and music. He's released a rap album called "Ninjawerks" and "Fortnite Rap Battle," a compilation video in which he stars, has been viewed nearly 80 million times on YouTube.

While parents are watching the ball drop on New Year's Eve, Ninja will be capping off the best year of his life. As Fortnite fans wait for the battle bus, he'll be streaming on his Twitch page in front of an invite-only audience in Times Square, going from 4 p.m. ET to 4 a.m. ET in what he promises will be an "epic, cool, incredible time" — or just another day at the office for one of the hottest gamers on the planet.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://cnn.it/2BPvzFB

The 5 House chairs who are about to make life much harder for Trump

While Trump has directed his political attacks at Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi, it's the committee chairmen who will soon become his greatest foes.

The President -- no stranger to name calling or political swipes -- has already begun jabbing some of the incoming chairmen on Twitter over the past two years, and he has decades of history with one of the new leaders. But despite Trump's declarations that he's prepared to play hardball with the Democratic investigators, there's a new crew of Democrats in Washington -- rising from the party's return to the majority in the House of Representatives -- who have subpoena power and are prepared to use it.

"If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!" Trump tweeted the day after this fall's midterm elections.

Meet the five chairmen most likely to battle the President next year:

Jerry Nadler

Trump's history with Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York dates to the 1980s, when they battled over Manhattan real estate while Nadler was in the New York State Assembly before he was elected to Congress. In his 2000 book, "The America We Deserve," Trump called Nadler "one of the most egregious hacks in contemporary politics."

"This guy wanted to put a railroad yard on the same property where I wanted to build a park and create the best middle-income housing in New York," Trump wrote in his book.

Now Nadler is set to lead the Judiciary Committee, which would put him in charge of any Democratic impeachment effort. His committee will also be in charge of handling a report from special counsel Robert Mueller and any fights that may arise about making it public.

Nadler's committee also has jurisdiction over Trump's signature issue: immigration, an area Nadler is poised to conduct rigorous oversight on -- from family separation to changes to asylum laws -- in the new Congress.

Nadler has said it's too soon to talk impeachment, even though there's a sizable chunk of Democratic advocates -- not to mention some House lawmakers -- who already want to move forward.

That doesn't mean Nadler has avoided the "I" word altogether.

Asked on CNN's "State of the Union" earlier this month about Trump being implicated in Michael Cohen's crimes of paying women for their silence during the campaign, Nadler said: "They would be impeachable offenses."

But he said pursing impeachment is a different question.

"You don't necessarily launch an impeachment against the President because he committed an impeachable offense," Nadler said. "There are several things you have to look at."

If Democrats do to try to impeach Trump, Nadler will be one of the most important Democrats in the caucus -- and will likely face the breadth of Trump's backlash.

Adam Schiff

Rep. Adam Schiff, the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is no stranger to Trump's Twitter tongue lashings. As the top Democrat on the Republican-led House Russia investigation in 2017 and 2018, Schiff was a constant television presence breaking down the newest revelations about Russia and Trump's team.

The President has used multiple nicknames on Twitter for the California Democrat -- Sleazy Adam Schiff, Liddle' Adam Schiff and most recently "little Adam Schitt" -- a sign of his prominence among Trump's Democratic critics.

Schiff has accused Republicans of failing to investigate the ties between Trump's team and Russia, and he's promised to restart his committee's Russia investigation in several areas.

Among them: Schiff wants to investigate questions about Russian money laundering, to learn who Donald Trump Jr. was calling as he set up the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting and to interview officials the committee has yet to speak to, like Michael Flynn.

Schiff is a soft-spoken lawmaker, but he's shown a willingness provide headline-grabbing quotes.

"There's a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office the Justice Department may indict him, that he may be the first President in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time," Schiff said earlier this month on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Richard Neal

In the new Congress it will be Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, a deal-focused Democrat, who will have the job of asking for Trump's tax returns. While modern presidential nominees have publicly released their returns, Trump has defied the norm, which Democrats argue must be remedied.

Under IRS rules, there are only three people on Capitol Hill who can ask the Treasury Department for the President's tax returns: the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the head of the Joint Committee on Taxation and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Neal is the only Democrat.

While Neal has said he wants to ensure that requesting the returns doesn't distract from his committee's work on infrastructure, health care and oversight of the GOP's tax bill, a source close to the process told CNN that Neal has largely given up hope that Trump will turn over his tax returns willingly, given comments from the President's allies. Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN that the President would be prepared to fight in court over any formal request.

The source familiar with the process told CNN that Neal is prepared to ask the Treasury Department for the returns in the new year. When exactly he would do it is still under discussion.

Trump's tax returns aren't of interest just to Neal, however. Other incoming committee chairmen have said the information within the returns could advance their own oversight.

"I think there's a lot of information in them that would be of interest to my committee. For example, we'd like to know exactly what ... has been the sources of income for this President," said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the expected chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Cummings continued, "He's made all kinds of claims that he doesn't have relationships with Russia. He told us he didn't have any relationships with Russia, we come to find out that's not accurate. So there've been a lot of allegations, but I think the tax returns where he has to swear that the information is accurate, that would tell us a lot."

Elijah Cummings

After nearly a decade in the minority, Cummings has perhaps the broadest authority to investigate the Trump administration of any Democrat on Capitol Hill. Cummings -- even with his deep and focused voice -- is reserved, but strategic about the plans for his committee.

A foil to Republican chairmen like Rep. Darrell Issa of California, former Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, Cummings has argued he plans to be in search of answers, not headlines -- although with his gavel, it's unlikely he will be able to avoid them.

Cummings has laid out a very clear path for his committee. Earlier this month, he re-sent 51 letters he'd sent while in the minority, asking the administration to comply by January 11. The letters ranged from questions about Cabinet secretary travel to immigration to security clearances to hurricane recovery efforts by the administration. But Cummings has also warned that he doesn't want his committee to only zero in on Trump's perceived failings.

"I believe that what we do in this Congress over the next year or so will have impact for the next 50 to 100 years," Cummings said. "We're going to cautiously go about with subpoenas. ... There would have to be something that has a compelling interest to the citizens of the United States, and would have to be something that comes under our jurisdiction. So there's certain criteria that has to be met. I do not expect to be issuing subpoenas -- even the 64 that we've asked for because there are so many things that are backed up. And we'll never get a chance to do everything."

Maxine Waters

Rep. Maxine Waters of California was pushing for impeachment back in 2017, and she's been among the most vocal and well-known Democrats to do so. Now she'll run the Financial Services Committee, which will give her an avenue to probe the finances of Trump and the Trump Organization.

That's also made her a target for the President, who went after Waters during the 2018 campaign in tweets and at campaign rallies as a way to fire up his base. He's also attacked Waters as a "low IQ person," which she has said is a racist attack.

"Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has become, together with Nancy Pelosi, the Face of the Democrat Party," Trump tweeted in June. "She has just called for harm to supporters, of which there are many, of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!"

Waters has made controversial statements of her own, including her call for supporters to publicly harass members of the administration in response to Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy, which led to family separations at the border.

While in the minority, Waters pressed for an investigation into Deutsche Bank, a lender to Trump that was separately implicated in a Russian money laundering operation in 2017. She's also pushed the Treasury Department to divulge financial ties between Russia and the Trump family.

The jurisdiction of Waters' committee makes it likely she'll clash with Trump in a way that particularly hits home for him: his finances.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://cnn.it/2VmoDst

Our favorite travel photos of 2018

(CNN) — The northern lights glow green and blue over a mountain in western Iceland.

Dogs run free along a beach in Spain as a spectacular sunset takes over the sky.

Covered in a snowy white blanket, a volcano provides a fiery-red light display against the night sky in Chile.

Flowers explode in a vivid, technicolor display at a expo garden in Jiangsu province in China.

It's a big and amazing world out there, full of spectacular destinations. And with the ongoing revolution in camera technology, there's never been a better time to soak it all in than right now.

At its best, travel photography inspires, intrigues and informs. It sets us on armchair adventures. It can spur us to actually plan a dream trip we've long sought to take. Or pictures can reveal a possible new journey that captures our imagination.

These photos not only show the natural and man-made beauty of our world, but they can also give us a glimpse of other people and cultures and the beauty within the human race.

Thousands and thousands of amazing images cross our computer screens each year, and in this space we share some stunners from 2018.

The gallery above is updated periodically. So when you're ready to see another gorgeous part of the world -- a colorful county fair in the United States, a dazzling nightlife scene in Malaysia, an otherworldly desert in Oman -- return here for inspiration.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://cnn.it/2BPcy6k

House Democrats to pass plan to reopen government Thursday

The Democrats plan to vote on six Senate spending bills and a stopgap measure to re-open the Homeland Security Department at its current funding levels until February 8, the aide said. The temporary measure would maintain the current $1.3 billion in border security money.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear he will not move forward on any legislation until President Donald Trump signs off on it. The move by House Democrats, however, will have the effect of jamming Senate Republicans and the White House as talks for a compromise agreement to reopen the government remain at an impasse.

Senate Democrats support the House Democratic plan, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and expected incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been in constant contact and are on the same page on the plan, a senior Senate Democratic aide said.

Democrats believe it's smart to separate Department of Homeland Security funding — and the wall fight — from the other six bills because they think it puts Trump and the Republicans in the position of holding the other agencies and furloughed workers hostage for the wall, the aide said. Democrats believe pressure will mount on Republicans as the shutdown drags on, the aide said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://cnn.it/2R41dd9

From paychecks to pups: Get ready for new laws in 2019

From jury duty to pet purchases, here's a look at some of the changes for 2019:

Minimum wages will get a boost

At least 19 states will increase their minimum wages on or around New Year's Day, according to the National Employment Law Project.

The group's executive director, Christine Owens, said the increases come after years of frustration by hard-working, lower-income Americans.

"Working people are struggling to pay their bills, but they see that it's the corporations and the wealthy CEOs who are getting the tax breaks. It's just not right," Owens said.

"The American people believe in the value of work -- and that workers deserve to be valued. That's why there's such strong support for raising the minimum wage."

Minimum wage workers from Maine to Missouri to Arizona will see bumps in their paychecks. But even as some states increase their minimum wages, the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009.

Shelter animals will get help in California

Starting Tuesday, California pet stores won't be allowed to sell cats, dogs or rabbits unless they came from animal shelters or nonprofit rescue groups.

While abandoned pets and overpopulated shelters are nationwide problems, California is the first state to pass such a law.

The new legislation isn't just a "big win for our four-legged friends," said Patrick O'Donnell, the state assemblyman who introduced the bill.

It's also a win for California taxpayers, who "spend more than $250 million annually to house and euthanize animals in our shelters," O'Donnell said.

More women will get on board in California

Publicly held corporations based in California must have at least one woman on the board of directors by the end of 2019.

And by the end of 2021, corporations must have at least two or three female board members, depending on the size of the board of directors.

Violations of this new law can be punishable by $100,000 to $300,000.

The new law isn't just good for equity -- it's good for the economy, supporters say.

The bill cited a 2017 study by the MSCI research group, which found that US companies that had at least three female directors at the beginning of the 2011-2016 period had 45% higher earnings per share than companies that had no female directors at the beginning of that same period.

Illinois hunters will be allowed to wear pink

If you love to hunt but hate wearing bright orange, Illinois lawmakers have got your back. Gov. Bruce Vincent Rauner approved House Bill 4231, which expands the color options for hunting from the standard blaze orange to the equally bright blaze pink.

Teen smoking goes up in smoke in Massachusetts

Young people wanting to buy cigarettes in Massachusetts will have to wait until age 21 to do so.

"Raising the age to buy tobacco products in the Commonwealth is an important step to prevent addiction for young people and encourage healthy choices," Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said.

The new law also prohibits the use of tobacco products on the grounds of any primary, secondary or vocational school.

No jury duty for nursing moms

In Illinois, new moms who already have their hands full will have one less thing to worry about. Under House Bill 5745, "Any mother nursing her child shall, upon request, be excused from jury service."

New York state wants you to give back leftover prescriptions

As the opioid crisis keeps claiming more lives, the state of New York announced a drug take-back program to help combat the epidemic.

Under the "Drug Take Back Act," which goes into effect January 6, drug manufacturers will be responsible for the costs of leftover drug collection, transportation and destruction.

The new law also requires chain and mail-order pharmacies to provide collection options, including drop boxes and prepaid mail-back envelopes.

"It is well known the first supply of opioids is often leftover medication a family member or friend received and did not use," a summary of the bill states. "To cut off this supply, we must make the take-back and disposal of these drugs more prominent and accessible."

The program isn't just aimed at preventing drugs from ending up in the wrong hands. It's also meant to prevent patients from flushing leftover drugs down the toilet, which can harm the water supply and aquatic life.

No more golden parachutes over Illinois

Tired of shady officials cashing out with massive severance packages? Illinois lawmakers apparently feel the same way.

Under Senate Bill 3604, government employees fired for misconduct can't get severance pay. For other government employees, severance pay can't exceed 20 weeks of compensation.

CNN's Susannah Cullinane and Nadeem Muaddi contributed to this report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://cnn.it/2ApV5Bt

2016 Presidential Election Investigation Fast Facts

For details about computer hacking during the campaign, visit 2016 Presidential Campaign Hacking Fast Facts.

Special counsel Robert Mueller and multiple congressional committees are looking into allegations that there was collusion between Russian operatives and Trump associates during the presidential campaign and transition.

Who's investigating election interference:
FBI - In July of 2016, the FBI launched a counterintelligence investigation into possible links between the Russian government and Trump campaign officials.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - On January 13, 2017, the committee announced that it was conducting a probe of Russian meddling. The investigation was sparked by a declassified report from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) that described a multifaceted effort led by Russian President Vladimir Putin to interfere with the election by releasing damaging information about Clinton to help Trump.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence - On January 25, 2017, the committee announced that it is investigating Russia's active measures during the presidential campaign as well as the underlying intelligence that led to the DNI's conclusions about Russia's intentions. The committee was led by Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) prior to 2019. (Nunes stepped away from the probe temporarily after the Ethics Committee announced it was looking into allegations he made unauthorized disclosures of classified information. When Nunes stepped away, Mike Conaway (R-TX) took his place. Even though Nunes said that he was formally stepping away from his role leading the investigation, he continues to review classified intelligence on Russia matters and he still has sway issuing subpoenas.) On March 12, 2018, the committee announced it finished its Russia investigation.

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism - On February 2, 2017, the subcommittee announced that it was conducting an inquiry into Russia's efforts to influence elections in the US and abroad.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform - On February 16, 2017, the committee requested information about former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn's paid speaking engagements overseas. The committee was questioning whether Flynn violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars government officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without Congressional approval. After Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May, the committee began looking into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal.

The Senate Judiciary Committee - On May 17, 2017, the committee called on the White House and the FBI to turn over all memos related the president's interactions with Comey. In addition to conducting an oversight investigation of Comey's dismissal, the committee has held hearings on the Foreign Agents Registration Act and attempts to influence the election. The committee has also interviewed Donald Trump Jr. and other witnesses behind closed doors.

Special Counsel - On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead an investigation into Russian interference and related matters that could result in criminal prosecutions.

Timeline:
February 2016 - Michael Flynn, a retired general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), begins advising Trump on foreign policy matters, according to Reuters. Flynn became a prominent critic of the Obama administration after he was ousted from the DIA in 2014.

March 29, 2016 - Paul Manafort, a veteran GOP consultant, joins the Trump campaign as a strategist to help prepare for the Republican National Convention.

April 27, 2016 - Trump delivers his first major foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak is one of the diplomats in the audience. Trump's son-in-law and campaign adviser Jared Kushner later says he shook hands with Kislyak at the event.

May 19, 2016 - Manafort is promoted to chief strategist and campaign chairman.

June 3, 2016 - Donald Trump Jr. receives an email from Rob Goldstone, a music publicist whose clients include Azerbaijani-Russian singer Emin Agalarov. Goldstone tells Trump Jr. that a Russian lawyer, working on behalf of the Kremlin, wants to pass along incriminating information about Clinton. He explains that Russia and its government want to support Trump by providing opposition research on Clinton. Trump Jr. indicates he is interested in seeing the information and suggests arranging a call.

June 7-8, 2016 - Goldstone sends Trump Jr. another email about setting up an in-person meeting with a "Russian government attorney" who will be flying from Moscow to New York on June 9, to talk to representatives from the Trump campaign at Trump Tower in New York. Trump loops in campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and campaign adviser, Jared Kushner.

June 9, 2016 - Manafort, Kushner and Trump Jr. meet with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya. It is unclear what is discussed during the meeting, which was set up as a discussion of Russian-sourced opposition research on Clinton. Trump Jr. later says that Veselnitskaya did not present any valuable information during the meeting. The elder Trump did not participate, according to his legal team.

June 12, 2016 - During an interview on British television, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says that the website has obtained and will publish a batch of Clinton emails.

June 14, 2016 - The Washington Post reports hackers working for the Russian government accessed the DNC's computer system, stealing oppositional research on Donald Trump and viewing staffers' emails and chat exchanges. The Kremlin, however, denies that the government was linked to the hack, and a US official tells CNN that investigators have not yet concluded that the cyberattack was directed by the Russian government.

June 20, 2016 - Trump fires campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who had worked with the team for more than a year. As campaign chairman, Manafort is now the top official overseeing Trump's White House run.

July 22, 2016 - Days before the Democratic National Convention, WikiLeaks publishes nearly 20,000 emails hacked from the DNC server. The documents include notes in which DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz insults staffers from the Bernie Sanders campaign and messages that suggest the organization was favoring Clinton rather than remaining neutral. Wasserman Schultz resigns in the aftermath of the leak.

July 25, 2016 - The FBI announces it has launched an investigation into the DNC hack. Although the statement doesn't indicate that the agency has a particular suspect or suspects in mind, US officials tell CNN they think the cyberattack is linked to Russia.

July 27, 2016 - During a press conference, Trump talks about Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state and calls on hackers to find deleted emails. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," says Trump. On or about that same day, hackers target email accounts used by individuals in Clinton's personal office for the first time, according to an indictment filed in 2018 by the special counsel's office.

August 14, 2016 - The New York Times publishes a report that $12.7 million in illegal cash payments to Manafort were listed in a secret ledger linked to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who resigned amid street protests. Manafort had worked as an adviser to Yanukovych and his associates dating back at least a decade.

August 19, 2016 - Manafort resigns as Trump's campaign chairman.

October-November 2016 - Over the course of a month, WikiLeaks publishes more than 58,000 messages hacked from the account of John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman.

October 6, 2016 - DCLeaks, a self-described collective of "hacktivists" seeking to expose the influence of special interests on elected officials, publishes a batch of documents stolen from Clinton ally Capricia Marshall. DCLeaks is later identified as a front for Russian military intelligence.

October 7, 2016 - The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of National Intelligence on Election Security issue a statement declaring that the intelligence community is "confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions." According to the statement, document releases on websites WikiLeaks and DC Leaks mirror the methods and motivations of past Russian-directed cyberattacks.

December 1, 2016 - Kushner and Flynn meet with Kislyak at Trump Tower. Kushner later describes the encounter as a quick introduction, pushing back on a Washington Post report that the three talked about establishing backchannel communication with the Russians.

December 13, 2016 - Kushner meets Russian banker Sergey Gorkov at Trump Tower. Gorkov is the chairman of Vnesheconombank (VEB), a bank that was sanctioned by the United States after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

January 6, 2017 - The Office of the Director of National Intelligence releases a declassified version of its classified report on Russian meddling. According to the report, hackers did not breach voting machines or computers that tallied election results but Russians meddled in other ways. Putin ordered a multifaceted influence campaign that included spreading pro-Trump propaganda online and hacking the DNC and Podesta. Bracing for a possible Clinton win, Russian bloggers were prepared to promote a hashtag #DemocracyRIP on election night. Paid social media users, aka "trolls," shared stories about Clinton controversies to create a cloud of scandal around her campaign.

January 10, 2017 - CNN reports that intelligence officials briefed Trump on a dossier that contains allegations about his campaign's ties to Russia as well as salacious rumors about him. The author of the dossier is a former British spy who was hired by a research firm that had been funded by both political parties to conduct opposition research on Trump.

February 9, 2017 - The Washington Post reports that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak during the presidential transition. Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump administration officials said in January that Flynn did not talk about policy when he spoke to the ambassador.

February 13, 2017 - Flynn resigns. In his resignation letter, he explains that, "because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador."

February 17, 2017 - Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee meet with James Comey in a closed-door session. Committee member Marco Rubio says in a tweet that the Senate will conduct a bipartisan investigation into alleged meddling by Putin.

March 1, 2017 - The Washington Post reports that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Kislyak at least twice in 2016. During Sessions' Senate confirmation hearing, he said under oath that he had no communications with Russians.

March 2, 2017 - Sessions holds a press conference to announce that he is recusing himself from investigations into the Trump presidential campaign.

March 20, 2017 - During a hearing on Capitol Hill, Comey confirms the FBI is investigating links between Russia and members of the Trump campaign.

May 3, 2017 - At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Comey says he believes the Russian government is continuing to meddle in US politics.

May 9, 2017 - Trump fires Comey, citing a memo by Rosenstein that criticized Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation.

May 17, 2017 - Rosenstein appoints Mueller as special counsel to oversee the election meddling probe.

June 8, 2017- Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee, describing his interactions with Trump dating back to a security briefing with Trump on January 6, 2017. In a statement that Comey released before the hearing, he says Trump asked him to affirm his loyalty during a private dinner. Comey also describes a private conversation with Trump during which the president told him "I hope you can let this go," referring to the FBI's investigation into Flynn.

June 13, 2017 - Sessions says that the claim he colluded with Russians is a "detestable lie" during a hearing before the Senate intelligence committee. He declines to answer questions about private conversations he had with Trump regarding the firing of Comey and says he does not remember if he had an informal conversation with Kislyak during the reception at the Mayflower Hotel in April 2016.

June 14, 2017 - The Washington Post reports that Mueller is investigating Trump for obstruction of justice. In response to the report, Trump tweets, "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice."

July 8-July 11, 2017 - The New York Times publishes a series of stories detailing the June 2016 meeting between Trump Jr., Kushner, Manafort, Veselnitskaya and other associates. The meeting first came to light when Kushner filed a revised version of his security clearance application in June 2017. He omitted the meeting on previous versions of the form. When news of the meeting first breaks, Trump Jr. issues a statement explaining that the primary topic of discussion was resuming an adoption program for Russian children. Trump Jr. also says that he did not know the name of the individual he was slated to meet. Further New York Times reporting reveals, however, a chain of emails in which Trump Jr. is promised damaging information about Clinton from Russian government sources, a revelation that contradicts his initial statement. Minutes before the New York Times publishes its story about the misleading statement, Trump Jr. tweets images of the email exchange obtained by the newspaper. The tweets are coupled with a statement in which Trump Jr. says the meeting was short and uneventful, as Veselnitskaya failed to deliver opposition research as promised.

July 21, 2017 - The Washington Post reports that Sessions discussed campaign matters with Kislyak during their meetings, contrary to the attorney general's testimony that the encounters were not related to the presidential race. The story is based on interviews with unnamed current and former officials who discussed intelligence intercepts. A Justice Department spokeswoman says that she will not comment on a story based on anonymous sources and an uncorroborated intelligence intercept.

July 24-25, 2017 - Kushner issues an 11-page statement in which he denies colluding with Russia during the presidential campaign and transition. He denies reading the email chain from Trump Jr. that set up the June 9, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower. Kushner claims he arrived late to the meeting and he left early, texting his assistant a request to call his cellphone and give him an excuse to walk out. After issuing the statement, Kushner testifies before two congressional committees behind closed doors.

July 26, 2017 - FBI agents conduct a predawn raid at Manafort's home in Virginia.

July 31, 2017 - The Washington Post reports that Trump personally dictated the initial statement issued by Trump Jr. about the June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer.

August 1, 2017 - White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders acknowledges that Trump "weighed in" on his son's statement, "as any father would," but denies that the president dictated it.

August 3, 2017 - CNN reports that Mueller has issued grand jury subpoenas for documents and testimony related to the June 2016 meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer.

September 1, 2017 - The New York Times reports that Mueller has obtained an early draft of the president's letter informing Comey that he was being fired. Trump reportedly dictated his criticisms of Comey to Senior Adviser Stephen Miller, who drafted the letter during a long weekend at the president's New Jersey golf resort. The original version of the letter was distributed to top officials including Pence and White House counsel Don McGahn. According to the New York Times, revisions were made after McGahn suggested a number of cuts, expressing concern about references to private meetings between Trump and Comey.

September 6, 2017 - In a blog post, Facebook announces that more than 3,000 advertisements posted on the social media network between June 2015 and May 2017 were linked to Russia. The Washington Post reports that the ads are linked to a Russian company called the Internet Research Agency. The DNI has identified the company as a Kremlin-connected organization that employs professional trolls who spread political propaganda on behalf of the Russian government. Approximately $100,000 in advertising was purchased by individuals and groups connected to about 470 inauthentic accounts. The divisive political posts included comments on gun rights, immigration, race issues and LGBT matters, according to Facebook. About one quarter of the ads were targeted specifically to run in certain areas of the country. Additionally, the ads urged users to click "like" on certain political groups, triggering a barrage of incendiary messages in their Facebook news feeds. The social network later reveals that Russia-sourced political messages were viewed by about 10 million users.

September 7, 2017 - Trump Jr. answers questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee behind closed doors. During the interview, he says he does not remember details of White House involvement in the crafting of his initial statement in response to the first story about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.

September 15, 2017 - CNN and the Wall Street Journal report that Facebook has given Mueller's team copies of Russia-linked ads and other company records. Mueller issued a search warrant to obtain the material.

September 18, 2017 - CNN reports that the FBI has previously monitored Manafort's communications under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The surveillance started during an FBI investigation into Manafort's work in Ukraine and was discontinued for lack of evidence at some point in 2016. After the FBI began looking into election interference, investigators resumed collecting Manafort's communications and continued through the early days of the Trump administration. Both rounds of surveillance receive approval from the secret court that oversees FISA warrants. After taking office, the president spoke to Manafort repeatedly until lawyers for both men told them to stop, according to CNN.

September 20, 2017 - The New York Times reports that Mueller's team is seeking White House documents divided into 13 categories covering such areas of interest as Comey's firing, an Oval Office meeting between Trump and Russian officials, and the crafting of Trump Jr.'s initial statement pertaining to the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.

September 26, 2017 - Longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone appears before the House intelligence committee behind closed doors. After the session, Stone says that he declined to answer a question about his connection to Julian Assange, claiming that he was in contact with the WikiLeaks founder via a third party he would not name. During the 2016 campaign, Stone posted several tweets with the appearance of advance knowledge that WikiLeaks was going to publish hacked emails from the Clinton campaign.

September 27, 2017 - CNN reports that a Russian Facebook ad referencing Black Lives Matter was designed to reach social media users in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, two cities where race-related protests devolved into violence.

September 28, 2017 - Representatives of Twitter meet with congressional committees behind closed doors and tell investigators that the company has taken action against about 200 Russia-linked accounts. The accounts were reportedly connected to the Russian troll farm that spread divisive messages on Facebook during the 2016 campaign.

October 2, 2017 - Facebook delivers Russia-linked ads and data to Congress. Some lawmakers say they are considering releasing the ads to the public.

October 3, 2017 - CNN reports that a number of the Russia-linked Facebook ads were geographically targeted to reach residents of Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump defeated Clinton by a narrow margin in both battleground states.

October 5, 2017 - CNN reports that Mueller's team met with Christopher Steele, the former MI-6 officer who compiled a dossier of allegations involving Trump's ties to Russia.

October 18, 2017 - Two partners from Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that hired Steele to collect information about Trump, invoke their Fifth Amendment right not to self-incriminate during a closed-door meeting with the House intelligence committee.

October 20, 2017 - Fusion GPS submits a court filing asking a judge to stop House intelligence committee members from obtaining bank records potentially revealing the parties who financed the dossier. Nunes signed the subpoenas seeking financial records from TD Bank.

October 24, 2017 - The law firm Perkins Coie acknowledges that its clients, the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, helped finance the research provided in the dossier. It was originally financed by anti-Trump Republicans during the GOP primaries, but Democrats began funding it after Trump became the presumptive nominee in the spring of 2016.

October 30, 2017 - Manafort and Trump campaign official Rick Gates are indicted on 12 charges including conspiracy to launder money, making false statements and conspiracy against the United States. They plead not guilty. Separately, a court filing is unsealed revealing that former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI pertaining to the Russia probe.

December 1, 2017 - Flynn pleads guilty to "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI regarding discussions with Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak.

January 9, 2018 - Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, releases the full transcript of testimony by Glenn Simpson of the research firm Fusion GPS, which produced the 2016 campaign season dossier containing allegations related to Trump's ties to Russia.

January 23, 2018 - The Washington Post reports that Mueller is interested in interviewing Trump about the dismissals of Comey and Flynn. Also, reports emerge that Sessions was interviewed by Mueller's team on January 17 and the special counsel's investigators have talked to Comey as well. In separate news, CNN reports that Trump is inclined to let House Republicans release a memo that alleges the FBI abused surveillance laws in its Russia investigation.

January 25, 2018 - The New York Times reports that Trump told McGahn to fire Mueller in June but McGahn declined to carry out the president's order. Trump refers to the report as "fake news."

January 29, 2018 - The House Intelligence Committee votes along party lines to publicly release a four-page classified memo produced by Republican Congressman Devin Nunes alleging FBI abuses in the agency's surveillance, an aggressive move that could feed a GOP push to undercut special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and ratchets up a battle with the Justice Department. Under an obscure committee rule to make the classified memo public, which has never been invoked in the panel's 40-plus-year history, President Trump has five days following the vote to decide whether to allow the public release to move forward or object to it.

February 2, 2018 - House Republicans, with the approval of President Donald Trump, release a disputed GOP intelligence memo that alleges FBI abuses of its surveillance authority.

February 5, 2018 - The House Intelligence Committee votes unanimously to release a 10-page Democratic memo rebutting GOP allegations that the FBI abused surveillance laws. President Trump has five days to block or allow its release.

February 9, 2018 - In a letter to the House Intelligence Committee, McGahn says that Trump won't release the Democratic memo and has sent it back to the committee for changes.

February 16, 2018 - The Department of Justice announces that Mueller has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States.

February 20, 2018 - Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Mueller's investigators, admitting that he did not reveal his communications with Gates and a business associate in Ukraine during the 2016 presidential campaign.

February 23, 2018 - Gates pleads guilty to lying to the FBI and conspiracy. As part of his plea agreement, Gates will have to cooperate with Mueller's team, turning over documents, speaking to investigators and possibly testifying in court as a witness.

February 24, 2018 - The House Intelligence Committee releases a Democratic memo in redacted form that seeks to undercut Republican claims of FBI surveillance abuses. The committee makes the memo public after the White House signs off following negotiations between the FBI and the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, over what in the document should be redacted. The White House objected to releasing the memo earlier in the month, saying that sensitive material had to be removed first.

March 6, 2018 - Sources tell CNN that George Nader is cooperating with Mueller's investigators and providing info to a grand jury. Nader, a foreign policy specialist with close ties to the United Arab Emirates, was stopped and questioned by the FBI at a Washington airport after returning from an overseas trip in January.

March 12, 2018 - Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee reach an opposite conclusion from the intelligence community they oversee, announcing that Russian President Putin was not trying to help Trump win the 2016 election. The Republicans also say they are ending their yearlong investigation with a 150-page report concluding there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

March 13, 2018 - In response to House Intelligence Committee Republicans announcing they are ending the Russia investigation, Democrats on the committee release a status report covering their continuing efforts to determine whether there was collusion with Russia. The report includes a list of individuals who Democrats still want to interview.

April 3, 2018 - Van der Zwaan is sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators. The first person to get sentenced in the special counsel's probe, Van Der Zwaan reports in May to a low security federal prison in Pennsylvania. His release is scheduled for June 4, 2018.

April 9, 2018 - The FBI raids the home, office and hotel room of Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. He is under investigation for financial crimes including a campaign finance violation related to a pre-election hush money payment made to an adult film actress who allegedly had an affair with Trump.

May 8, 2018 - CNN reports that Mueller's investigators questioned a Russian oligarch about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to Cohen.

May 16, 2018 - The Senate Judiciary Committee publishes nearly 2,000 pages of transcripts from interviews with Trump Jr. and other participants in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.

May 17, 2018 - Sources tell CNN that Manafort's former son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai has reached a plea agreement with the US Attorney's office in Los Angeles. Yohai was under investigation for running an alleged real estate Ponzi scheme. The plea deal requires him to cooperate with other federal prosecutors, which may include members of Mueller's team.

May 18, 2018 - The New York Times and the Washington Post publish stories about an FBI source who met with at least two Trump campaign advisers to obtain info about their possible ties to Russia. The next day, Trump calls on the Justice Department to provide Congress with information about the source.

May 19, 2018 - The New York Times reports that Trump Jr. met in August 2016 at Trump Tower with an Israeli social media specialist and Nader, who was serving as an representative for two princes from Gulf nations. By law, foreign nationals are barred from contributing to American political campaigns. A lawyer for Trump Jr. tells CNN that there was nothing untoward about the gathering, as the visitors simply pitched marketing and social media strategies. Trump himself later tweets in his own defense: "The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia - so now they're looking at the rest of the World. Oh' (sic) great!"

May 21, 2018 - After a meeting at the White House, top officials from the DOJ, FBI and DNI agree to share classified info with lawmakers who have been questioning the use of an informant in the election meddling investigation. Additionally, the DOJ inspector general's office will expand its ongoing probe to include scrutiny of the informant's activities.

June 4, 2018 - The special counsel's office accuses Manafort of contacting potential witnesses and attempting to convince them to lie for him in court. Witness tampering violates his bail terms and could sway a judge to send him to jail pending trial.

June 15, 2018 - A judge revokes Manafort's bail and sends him to jail while he awaits trial.

June 17, 2018 - The Washington Post reports that Stone met with a Russian offering damaging information about Clinton in May 2016. The Russian, who called himself Henry Greenberg, wanted $2 million for the info and Stone declined to pay. Greenberg was also in contact with former Trump campaign communications official, Michael Caputo. Stone and Caputo did not tell congressional investigators about Greenberg when they testified on Capitol Hill.

June 28, 2018 - The White House announces that Trump and Putin will meet in Helsinki on July 16, 2018, to discuss relations between the two countries and "a range of national security issues."

July 3, 2018 - The Senate Intelligence Committee releases a report concluding that the intelligence community's January 2017 assessment of election meddling was accurate. According to the summary, the intelligence agencies were correct in their finding that the goal of the election interference was to help Trump rather than simply create confusion.

July 12, 2018 - During an all-day hearing on Capitol Hill, FBI agent Peter Strzok is accused by House Republicans of bias because he made derogatory remarks about Trump in text messages to an FBI lawyer with whom he was having an affair. Strzok was removed from Mueller's team during the summer of 2017 after an internal review revealed the texts.

July 13, 2018 - The Justice Department announces indictments against 12 members of the Russian intelligence agency, GRU, as part of Mueller's ongoing investigation. The indictment accuses the Russians of engaging in a "sustained effort" to hack emails and computer networks associated with the Democratic party during the 2016 presidential campaign.

August 13, 2018 - Strzok is fired by the FBI.

August 21, 2018 - Manafort is convicted on eight out of 18 counts after his trial in Virginia. The jury returns guilty verdicts on five counts of tax fraud, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud. A mistrial is declared for the other ten counts. In New York, Cohen pleads guilty to eight counts including tax fraud, making false statements to obtain a loan and campaign finance violations. During a court appearance, Cohen says that he made illegal payments "in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office."

August 31, 2018 - Lobbyist W. Samuel Patten pleads guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign lobbyist. He admits to lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee and funneling a Ukrainian oligarch's money to Trump's Presidential Inaugural Committee. This is the first time the Justice Department has publicly charged a person for helping a foreigner secretly funnel money into a Trump political event. Under his deal with prosecutors, Patten is charged only with one criminal count. He faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the felony charge.

September 6, 2018 - Papadopoulos is sentenced to two weeks in prison for lying to investigators about his contact with individuals tied to Russia during the 2016 campaign. Papadopolous will also have 12 months of supervised release, and must serve 200 hours of community service within about a year and pay a fine.

September 14, 2018 - Manafort agrees to cooperate with Mueller's team and pleads guilty to conspiracy charges in lieu of going on trial a second time. If he fulfills his agreement to cooperate, prosecutors will drop other charges including money laundering and bank fraud.

September 17, 2018 - Trump orders the declassification of various documents and text messages related to the Russia investigation.

November 7, 2018 - Sessions is fired. Trump appoints Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general.

November 20, 2018 - Trump submits written responses to questions from the special counsel.

November 23, 2018 - Jerome Corsi, an associate of Roger Stone and a conspiracy theorist, tells the Washington Post that he is in plea negotiations with Mueller's team. The talks collapse three days later and Corsi shares a draft copy of the plea agreement with CNN, as well as other news outlets. He is being investigated as a possible intermediary between Stone and WikiLeaks.

November 26, 2018 - In a court filing, prosecutors allege that Manafort violated his plea agreement and committed further crimes by lying to the FBI. Defense attorneys argue that they do not agree with the special counsel's portrayal of their client. Both sides recommend that the case proceed to the sentencing phase. In Wisconsin, Papadapolous reports to federal prison, beginning his 14-day sentence for lying to investigators.

November 27, 2018 - Giuliani tells the New York Times that one of Manafort's attorneys, Kevin Downing shared information with members of Trump's legal team after the plea agreement was signed in September.

November 29, 2018 - Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress and signs an agreement to cooperate with Mueller's team. In court filings, prosecutors say Cohen misled lawmakers when he was questioned about a proposal for a Trump-branded tower in Moscow. Cohen talked with Trump about the project during the presidential campaign and negotiations continued through June 2016, just before the Republican National Convention, according to prosecutors. Giuliani tells CNN that there is "no contradiction" between Cohen's timeline and the president's written answers to questions from Mueller. Later in the day, Buzzfeed reports Cohen told a press secretary at the Kremlin that the Moscow tower project included a $50 million penthouse for Putin.

December 7, 2018 - Court filings released by Mueller and federal prosecutors relating to Cohen and Manafort detail the alleged lies both men told both publicly and to the special counsel's investigators. For the first time, prosecutors endorse Cohen's statements that Trump himself directed Cohen to make payments designed to silence women who claimed affairs with Trump. Separately, Manafort is alleged to have lied after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, including his "contact with administration officials." Despite the revelations in the filings, Trump tweets after their release, "Totally clears the President. Thank you!"

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://cnn.it/2SkUW9f