FOLLOWING THE RUSSIA INQUIRY
By Colleen Shalby and Michael Finnegan >>> The disclosure Tuesday of a memo written by James B. Comey saying that President Trump had asked him to shut down the FBI’s investigation of former national security advisor Michael Flynn followed months of intrigue. Here’s a timeline of the drama that has unfolded since Trump won the Nov. 8 election:
Nov. 8
Donald Trump shocks the political establishment and beats Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States.
Nov. 10
President Obama warns Trump during a 90-minute meeting that Michael Flynn, a former U.S. Army lieutenant general and Defense Intelligence Agency chief, is a problem.
Nov. 14
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls Trump to congratulate him.
Nov. 18
Trump names Flynn his national security advisor. The decision is controversial. Flynn had attended a lavish dinner in Moscow in 2015 at which he sat next to Putin. He’d also received a speaking fee from a Russian television network that U.S. officials consider a propaganda outlet.
Dec. 29
The Obama administration imposes sanctions on Russia in retaliation for Russia’s hacking of the Democratic National Committee in the summer and other efforts to interfere with the U.S. election.
Dec. 29
Flynn contacts Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak several times, including more than one telephone call.
Dec. 30
Putin says he will not retaliate against the U.S. sanctions, surprising the Obama administration. Trump praises Putin.
Early January
Intelligence officials, looking for clues to why Putin decided not to retaliate, discover Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak, whose communications the U.S. government routinely monitor.
Jan. 11
At a news conference, Trump denies that he has ties with Russia and criticizes the U.S. intelligence community — comparing its practices to Nazi Germany — after a dossier, which suggested Russia had compromising information to use as blackmail against Trump, was publicly leaked.
Jan. 13
Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer denies that Flynn and Kislyak discussed sanctions.
Jan. 15
Vice President-elect Mike Pence, in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” denies that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak.
Jan. 20
Trump takes the oath of office.
Jan. 21
Trump visits CIA headquarters, lauding agents.
Jan. 22
Flynn is sworn in as national security advisor. Jan. 23
Spicer tells reporters that he had talked with Flynn the night before and Flynn assured him he didn’t talk to Kislyak about sanctions.
Jan. 24
FBI interviews Flynn. Flynn denies that he discussed U.S. sanctions with Kislyak.
Jan. 26
Acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates tells White House Counsel Donald McGahn that Flynn and Kislyak had discussed the sanctions and that Flynn, having misled Pence and others, might be subject to Russian blackmail. McGahn briefs Trump.
Jan. 27
At a one-on-one dinner at the White House, Comey is asked by Trump for his loyalty, according to a New York Times report. Comey reportedly tells him he can offer his honesty.
Jan. 28
In a one-hour phone call, Trump and Putin discuss combating terrorism, confronting Islamic State militants, the crisis in Ukraine and the Iranian nuclear deal, according to the Kremlin.
Feb. 8
Flynn again denies any discussions with Kislyak about sanctions.
Feb. 9
A spokesperson for Flynn retracts that denial, saying Flynn does not remember talking about the sanctions but “can’t be 100% sure.”
Pence discovers for the first time, from a Washington Post article, that Flynn had misled him, his spokesman confirms. Pence subsequently learns that Trump had known about Flynn’s deception since Jan. 26, but hadn’t told him.
Feb. 10
White House officials say Flynn called Pence to apologize for misleading him.
Feb. 13
4 p.m. Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway says Flynn has Trump’s full confidence. 5
p.m. Spicer says Trump is “evaluating the situation.”
9:30 p.m. The Washington Post and the New York Times disclose that Yates had warned the White House about Flynn’s conversations.
11 p.m. White House announces Flynn’s resignation. Officials say he chose to step down.
Feb. 14
Spicer says the White House had been investigating Flynn’s conduct for more than two weeks and that he had been fired because of an “eroding level of trust.”
Feb. 14
Trump meets with Comey and asks him to drop the investigation into Flynn, according to a memo of the encounter written by Comey and first reported May 16 by the New York Times.
“I hope you can let this go,” Trump reportedly said to the FBI director.
March 20
Comey confirms the FBI is investigating a possible connection between the Trump campaign and Russia. March 22
Rep. Devin Nunes (RTulare), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, goes to the White House to review classified information regarding the Russia inquiry.
After the meeting, Nunes reveals that conversations by Trump transition officials may have been inadvertently picked up by U.S. surveillance.
March 24
House Russia hearings are canceled indefinitely.
Late March
Flynn asks for immunity in exchange for testifying to the House and Senate intelligence committees investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election.
April 6
Nunes steps aside from the Russia investigation, because he himself is under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified material, the same material involved in his nighttime White House meeting.
April 27
The Pentagon inspector general is investigating whether Flynn violated military rules by accepting foreign payments from Russia and Turkey, which is disclosed by a House committee.
May 2
For the first time since tensions rose over U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian air base, Trump and Putin talk by phone. White House officials later said that during this phone call, Putin asked Trump to meet with Russian officials.
May 3
Comey defends his decision to alert Congress just days before the presidential election that he would further investigate Hillary Clinton’s emails. “It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election,” he said.
May 8
Sally Yates testifies that she warned the Trump administration about Flynn on three occasions. On the same day, former Obama administration officials confirm that Obama had warned Trump about Flynn, just two days after the election.
May 9
Trump fires Comey and the White House releases memos from deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Rosenstein ties his recommendation to dismiss Comey to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
In his dismissal letter, Trump includes this passage: “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau.”
May 10
Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak at the White House.
The White House says that in addition to Trump and the Justice Department, the FBI’s “rank-andfile had lost confidence in their director.”
May 11
NBC News’ Lester Holt interviews Trump about Comey’s firing. Holt asks Trump whether Comey was truthful in telling the president that he wasn’t under investigation. Trump responds: “I know that I’m not under investigation. Me. Personally. I’m not talking about campaigns; I’m not talking about anything else.”
May 11
Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, contradicts the White House when asked whether the rankand-file of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey.
“No, sir, that is not accurate,” he told Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), adding, “I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard.”
May 12
Trump tweets, “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”
May 15
The Washington Post reports that Trump shared highly classified information about Islamic State with Russian diplomats during a meeting the previous week. The information came, according to the report, from a source that had not authorized the U.S. to share it with the Russians.
May 16
The New York Times reports that a memo written by Comey to document a Feb. 14 conversation with Trump includes Comey’s account of the president asking him to end the Flynn investigation.
May 17
Putin calls the concern over the Trump administration’s ties to Russia “political schizophrenia.” He also offers to share Russian records of the meeting between Trump and Lavrov with Congress, if the White House approves.
May 17
Former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III is named special counsel to take over the Justice Department’s Russia investigation. Rosenstein announces the decision.