What the Mueller Report Says About Russian Contacts
A
redacted report written by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office and released April 18 by Attorney General William Barr said there were “multiple contacts — ‘links,’ in the words of the Appointment Order — between Trump Campaign officials and individuals with ties to the Russian government.” But “the investigation did not establish such coordination” between the campaign and Russia.
“In sum, the investigation established multiple links between Trump Campaign officials and individuals tied to the Russian government. Those links included Russia offers of assistance to the Campaign. In some instances, the Campaign was receptive to the offer, while in other instances the Campaign officials shied away,” the Mueller report said. “Ultimately, the investigation did not establish that the Campaign coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities.”
Here we look at the contacts that the Trump associates had with the Russians, according to the Mueller report and other government sources that we cite in
our timeline. The events, for the most part, follow in chronological order.
Trump Tower Moscow...
Trump’s Opportunities to Travel to Russia
Felix Sater, who was working with Cohen on the Moscow project, made numerous attempts to get both Cohen and Trump to visit Moscow and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Papadopoulos Meets with Mifsud
On April 26, 2016, Papadopoulos, a campaign foreign policy adviser, met in London with a professor he “understood to have substantial connections to Russian government officials,” according to a
plea agreement that Papadopoulos reached with the Justice Department. At the meeting, the professor —
later identified as Joseph Mifsud — told Papadopoulos that the Russian government had “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails,” the
plea agreement said.
Trump, Russians at NRA Convention
Prior to the National Rifle Association annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in May 2016, Paul Erickson, a Republican strategist, emailed Rick Dearborn, a Trump campaign official, with the subject line “Kremlin Connection.” Erickson wrote that “President Putin’s emissary” will be at the NRA convention and would like to meet with Trump and present Mrs. Trump with a gift.
Trump Tower Meeting
On June 3, 2016, Donald Trump Jr. received an email about information that could be damaging to the Clinton campaign that was purportedly “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”
Manafort Offers ‘Private Briefings’ to Russian Oligarch
Two weeks after being elevated to campaign manager on June 20, 2016, Manafort offered to give “private briefings” on the 2016 campaign to Russian aluminum billionaire
Oleg Deripaska, as reported by the
Washington Post in a
Sept. 20, 2017, story.