Time line of trump and russia

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Timeline: What we know about the Trump campaign, his administration and Russia

By Marshall Cohen Updated 4:42 AM ET, Mon March 20, 2017 Facebook Twitter Share

Washington (CNN)Jeff Sessions, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and other former aides are under scrutiny for their interactions with Russia. All deny anything improper took place. So what do we know happened when?

2016 February 29: Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions becomes first sitting US senator to endorse Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign. Sessions had already been a supporter and adviser to Trump.

March 3: Trump taps Sessions to chair his campaign's national security advisory team.

March 21: Trump tells The Washington Post editorial board that Walid Phares and Carter Page will be among his campaign's advisers for foreign policy.

March 28: Trump hires Manafort to head his delegate efforts for his Republican primary campaign.

<img alt="Who is Paul Manafort?" class="media__image" src="http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160819101058-01-paul-manafort-resigns-t1-large-169.jpg"> Who is Paul Manafort?

May 19: Trump, now the presumptive GOP nominee, gives Manafort a promotion: campaign chairman and chief strategist.

June 20: After Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is abruptly fired, Manafort emerges as Trump's top campaign official.

July 8: The Telegraph reports Page gave a lecture in Moscow that slams US policy toward Russia. Page "lamented that the West 'unnecessarily perpetuated Cold War tendencies' in their dealings with Russia, and called instead for 'mutual respect' in order to get 'mutual benefits,'" The Telegraph reports.

July 18-21: Sessions meets with Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak twice on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

J.D. Gordon and Page, national security advisers to the Trump campaign, also meet with Kislyak during the convention. Phares allegedly attends as well, according to a later statement from Gordon.

July 27: As the Republican nominee for president, Trump publicly calls on Russia to hack Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's private emails.

August 14: The New York Times reports on $12.7 million in secret cash payments earmarked for Manafort from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.

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August 15: Manafort denies having received payments from Ukraine and Russia, writing, "The suggestion that I accepted cash payments is unfounded, silly and nonsensical."

August 18: Manafort tells NBC News he's "never had a business relationship" with a Ukrainian oligarch.

August 19: CNN reports that FBI and Justice Department prosecutors are conducting an investigation into possible US ties to alleged corruption of the former pro-Russian President of Ukraine, including the work of Manafort's firm.

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That same day, Manafort resigns his position on Trump's campaign.

September: Sessions meets again with Kislyak at his Senate office sometime during the month.

October 7: The US intelligence community publicly blames Russia for election-related email hacks. "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's seniormost officials could have authorized these activities," the DHS and DNI joint statement reads.

<img alt="Who is Michael Flynn, Trump&amp;#39;s national security adviser pick?" class="media__image" src="http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/161117201720-02-michael-flynn-1117-large-169.jpg"> Who is Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser pick?

November 18: Trump as President-elect appoints Flynn as his national security adviser. The appointment raises concerns as the retired lieutenant general has a history of making controversial anti-Muslim remarks and is accused of mishandling classified information. Flynn was fired from his role as the director of Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 by the Obama administration over claims he was a poor manager.

December: Trump's senior aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Flynn sit down at Trump Tower with Kislyak, according to a senior administration official, who describes it as an "introductory meeting" and "kind of an inconsequential hello." The meeting lasts about 10 minutes, the official says.

December 1: CNN reports that Manafort has reemerged in Trump's orbit as a player shaping the new administration during the presidential transition period.

December 19: Kislyak and Flynn have a conversation in the wake of the shooting of the Russian ambassador to Turkey, in which Flynn expressed his condolences, according to a transition official. The call took place on December 19, according to The Washington Post.

<img alt="These are Trump&amp;#39;s ties to Russia" class="media__image" src="http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/170111150932-trump-presser-0111-large-169.jpg"> These are Trump's ties to Russia

December 25: Kislyak and Flynn exchange holiday pleasantries via text message on Christmas, according to multiple transition officials.

December 28: The Russian ambassador texts Flynn, according to a transition official.

December 29: The Obama administration announces new sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of 35 of its diplomats over the country's alleged interference in the 2016 US election.

Flynn and Kislyak speak several times on the phone the same day, reportedly discussing the sanctions.

December 30: Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow would not expel American diplomats in response to US sanctions against Russia and would instead attempt to rebuild relations with Washington after Trump's inauguration. Trump tweets praise of Putin's move.

2017 January 6: A US intelligence report says Putin ordered a cyber campaign to help Trump beat Clinton in the US presidential election.

January 10: At Sessions' Senate confirmation hearing to become attorney general, Sen. Al Franken asks about a CNN report about intelligence community information that Trump campaign officials were in constant communication with Russians during the campaign.

Sessions offers that he was a surrogate but never in contact with Russians.

January 12: The Washington Post first reports that phone calls took place the day the White House announced Russian sanctions.

January 13: Trump spokesman Sean Spicer says Flynn's calls to Kislyak focused on the logistics of connecting Trump and Putin. "The call centered around the logistics of setting up a call with the President of Russia and the President-elect after he was sworn in, and they exchanged the logistical information," Spicer says. "That was it. Plain and simple."

January 15: Spicer confirms Flynn and Kislyak have been in communication, but US Vice President Mike Pence tells CBS that the two men did not talk about sanctions.

"They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States' decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia," Pence says.

January 23: Spicer, now the White House press secretary, reiterates that Flynn told him sanctions were not discussed in the calls.

Three days after Trump officially becomes President, US officials say investigators are scrutinizing several calls between Flynn and Russia's ambassador.

January 26: The Justice Department privately warns the Trump administration that Flynn misled administration officials regarding his communications with Kislyak and is potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The message is delivered by acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who is fired on January 30 for refusing to enforce Trump's controversial travel ban barring citizens from seven Muslimmajority countries from entering the US.

February 8: The Senate confirms Sessions to be the US attorney general.

February 9: Pence finds out he had been misled by Flynn, according to two administration officials.

February 10: An aide close to Flynn says he cannot rule out that the adviser spoke about sanctions on the call with Kislyak.

<img alt="Trump says he&amp;#39;s unaware of reports Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador" class="media__image" src="http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/170123141206-michael-flynn-0122-large169.jpg"> Trump says he's unaware of reports Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador

On the same day, Trump says he is unaware of reports that Flynn may have spoken about sanctions during the calls and says he will "look into that." A US official then confirms that Flynn and Kislyak did speak about sanctions, among other matters.

February 13: Russia again denies the allegations that the men discussed sanctions, telling CNN: "We have already said there haven't been any." On the same day, reports surface of the Justice Department's warning to the administration regarding Flynn.

As the reports emerge, Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway tells MSNBC that Flynn "does enjoy the full confidence of the President," but around an hour later, Spicer says Trump is "evaluating the situation."

Flynn resigns a few hours later, admitting he had "inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information" regarding the phone calls with Kislyak and apologizes.

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Spicer: Trump concluded there was no trust 05:29

February 14: Spicer says Trump asked for Flynn's resignation because of trust issues with the national security adviser.

CNN reports that high-level advisers close to then-nominee Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, according to multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials. Among those senior advisers regularly communicating with Russian nationals were Manafort and Flynn.

February 24: CNN reports that the FBI had rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Trump's associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 campaign.

February 27: Members of the House Intelligence Committee sign off on a plan to investigate Russia's alleged interference in the US elections, which includes examining contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia, and looking into who leaked the details. Committee chairman Devin Nunes brushes off calls by Democrats for an independent investigation.

<img alt="Sessions reacts to reports he met with Russia" class="media__image" src="http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/170208200830-jeff-sessions-0202-large-169.jpg">

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March 1: The Washington Post first reports that Sessions, now the attorney general, met twice with Kislyak in 2016. Sessions did not mention either meetings during his confirmation hearings when he said he knew of no contacts between Trump surrogates and Russians. Sessions says in a statement: "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign." The statement goes on to say: "I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false." Democrats call for his resignation and say he should recuse himself from any Trump-related Russia investigation.

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration sought to ensure information about Russian efforts to meddle in the election were preserved after Obama left office.

March 2: Sessions announces he will recuse himself from any investigations relating to Russia and the Trump campaign.

USA Today reports that Gordon and Page met with Kislyak during the Republican convention in July.

Gordon tells CNN that, along with national security advisers Page and Phares, he stressed to the Russian envoy that he would like to improve relations with Russia. "This is not any different than anything I said publicly and on panels," Gordon says.

Page confirms in an MSNBC interview that he met with Kislyak in Cleveland. Page tells CNN in a statement that he would not comment on any meetings and "never did anything improper" with regard to Russia.

March 3: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pushes back at assertions that his country's US ambassador is a spy, and echoes Trump's contention that the controversy over contacts between Kremlin officials and Trump's campaign is "a witch hunt."

On the same day, former CIA Director David Petraeus backs Trump's argument for strategic cooperation with Russia, saying he can imagine times when the US could overlook its conflicts with Putin.

"There could be some convergence of interest when it comes to the defeat of the Islamic State and al Qaeda, and perhaps stopping the bloodshed in Syria as an overall objective as well," he said.

Trump also slams Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for alleged ties to Russia in a tweet, presenting a photo of the leading Senate democrat with Putin.

March 5: Trump's senior aide Jared Kushner and ousted adviser Michael Flynn met with the Russian ambassador to the United States at a time when the Trump administration's relationship with the Russians was under close scrutiny, a senior administration official says.

Kushner and Flynn sat down in December at Trump Tower with Sergey Kislyak, according to the official, who described it as an "introductory meeting" and "kind of an inconsequential hello."

March 6: Sessions defends his answers about Russian contacts to the Senate Judiciary Committee as "correct" in a letter, as he seeks to tamp down questions after it came to light that he had met with the Russian ambassador twice last year.

March 7: Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Putin, tells CNN that "hysteria in official Washington and in the American media" is harming relations between the two nations.

March 10: The White House acknowledges that President Donald Trump's transition team was aware that retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn engaged in work that would likely require him to register his consulting firm as a foreign agent before Flynn was tapped to serve as national security adviser.

March 14: The Department of Justice announces that four people -- including two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) -- have been indicted in connection to a massive hack of Yahoo information.

March 16: Flynn was paid more than $33,750 by Russia's state-run broadcaster RT TV-Russia for a speech in Moscow in December 2015, Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee says.

The US intelligence community has long assessed RT to be a propaganda tool of the Kremlin, writing in its January report on Russian interference in the US election that the organization had participated in disinformation campaigns aimed at the US. March 19: The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked Trump adviser Roger Stone to preserve any records he might have that could be related to the panel's investigation into Russian actions targeting the US election, Stone confirms to CNN. Alysha Love, Zachary Wolf and Madison Park contributed to this report.