After the Election, Trump Continues to Deny Any Contacts or Connections with Russia or That Russia Aided his Election

¶On November 8, 2016, Trump was elected President. Two days later, Russian officials told the press that the Russian government had maintained contacts with Trump's "immediate entourage" during the campaign.⁵⁴⁵⁴ Ivan Nechepurenko, Russian Officials Were in Contact With Trump Allies, Diplomat Says, New York Times (Nov. 10, 2016) (quoting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov saying, "[t]here were contacts" and "I cannot say that all, but a number of them maintained contacts with Russian representatives"); Jim Heintz & Matthew Lee, Russia eyes better ties with Trump; says contacts underway, Associated Press (Nov. 11, 2016) (quoting Ryabkov saying, "I don't say that all of them, but a whole array of them supported contacts with Russian representatives").Show full note In response, Hope Hicks, who had been the Trump Campaign spokesperson, said, "We are not aware of any campaign representatives that were in touch with any foreign entities before yesterday, when Mr. Trump spoke with many world leaders."⁵⁵⁵⁵ Ivan Nechepurenko, Russian Officials Were in Contact With Trump Allies, Diplomat Says, New York Times (Nov. 11, 2016) (quoting Hicks). Hicks gave an additional statement denying any contacts between the Campaign and Russia: "It never happened. There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign."⁵⁶⁵⁶ Jim Heintz & Matthew Lee, Russia eyes better ties with Trump; says contacts underway, Associated Press (Nov. 10, 2016) (quoting Hicks). Hicks recalled that after she made that statement, she spoke with Campaign advisors Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller, Jason Miller, and probably Kushner and Bannon to ensure it was accurate, and there was no hesitation or pushback from any of them. Hicks 12/8/17 302, at 4.Show full note

¶On December 10, 2016, the press reported that U.S. intelligence agencies had "concluded that Russia interfered in last month's presidential election to boost Donald Trump's bid for the White House."⁵⁷⁵⁷ Damien Gayle, CIA concludes Russia interfered to help Trump win election, say reports, Guardian (Dec. 10, 2016). Reacting to the story the next day, President-Elect Trump stated, "I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse."⁵⁸⁵⁸ Chris Wallace Hosts "Fox News Sunday," Interview with President-Elect Donald Trump, CQ Newsmaker Transcripts (Dec. 11, 2016). He continued that no one really knew who was responsible for the hacking, suggesting that the intelligence community had "no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place."⁵⁹⁵⁹ Chris Wallace Hosts "Fox News Sunday," Interview with President-Elect Donald Trump, CQ Newsmaker Transcripts (Dec. 11, 2016). The President-Elect also said that Democrats were "putting [] out" the story of Russian interference "because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics."⁶⁰⁶⁰ Chris Wallace Hosts "Fox News Sunday," Interview with President-Elect Donald Trump, CQ Newsmaker Transcripts (Dec. 11, 2016).

¶On December 18, 2016, Podesta told the press that the election was "distorted by the Russian intervention" and questioned whether Trump Campaign officials had been "in touch with the Russians."⁶¹⁶¹ David Morgan, Clinton campaign: It's an 'open question' if Trump team colluded with Russia, Reuters Business Insider (Dec. 18, 2016). The same day, incoming Chief of Staff Reince Priebus appeared on Fox News Sunday and declined to say whether the President-Elect accepted the intelligence community's determination that Russia intervened in the election.⁶²⁶² Chris Wallace Hosts "Fox News Sunday," Interview with Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Fox News (Dec. 18, 2016). When asked about any contact or coordination between the Campaign and Russia, Priebus said, "Even this question is insane. Of course we didn't interface with the Russians."⁶³⁶³ Chris Wallace Hosts "Fox News Sunday," Interview with Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Fox News (Dec. 18, 2016). Priebus added that "this whole thing is a spin job" and said, "the real question is, why the Democrats . . . are doing everything they can to delegitimize the outcome of the election?"⁶⁴⁶⁴ Chris Wallace Hosts "Fox News Sunday," Interview with Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Fox News (Dec. 18, 2016).

¶On December 29, 2016, the Obama Administration announced that in response to Russian cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election, it was imposing sanctions and other measures on several Russian individuals and entities.⁶⁵⁶⁵ Statement by the President on Actions in Response to Russian Malicious Cyber Activity and Harassment, White House (Dec. 29, 2016); see also Missy Ryan et al., Obama administration announces measures to punish Russia for 2016 election interference, Washington Post (Dec. 29, 2016). When first asked about the sanctions, President-Elect Trump said, "I think we ought to get on with our lives."⁶⁶⁶⁶ John Wagner, Trump on alleged election interference by Russia: 'Get on with our lives,' Washington Post (Dec. 29, 2016). He then put out a statement that said "It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things," but indicated that he would meet with intelligence community leaders the following week for a briefing on Russian interference.⁶⁷⁶⁷ Missy Ryan et al., Obama administration announces measures to punish Russia for 2016 election interference, Washington Post (Dec. 29, 2016). The briefing occurred on January 6, 2017.⁶⁸⁶⁸ Comey 11/15/17 302, at 3. Following the briefing, the intelligence community released the public version of its assessment, which concluded with high confidence that Russia had intervened in the election through a variety of means with the goal of harming Clinton's electability.⁶⁹⁶⁹ Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Russia's Influence Campaign Targeting the 2016 US Presidential Election, at 1 (Jan. 6, 2017). The assessment further concluded with high confidence that Putin and the Russian government had developed a clear preference for Trump.⁷⁰⁷⁰ Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Russia's Influence Campaign Targeting the 2016 US Presidential Election, at 1 (Jan. 6, 2017).

¶Several days later, BuzzFeed published unverified allegations compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele during the campaign about candidate Trump's Russia connections under the headline "These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia."⁷¹⁷¹ Ken Bensinger et al., These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia, BuzzFeed (Jan. 10, 2017). In a press conference the next day, the President-Elect called the release "an absolute disgrace" and said, "I have no dealings with Russia. I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because we've stayed away. . . . So I have no deals, I have no loans and I have no dealings. We could make deals in Russia very easily if we wanted to, I just don't want to because I think that would be a conflict."⁷²⁷² Donald Trump's News Conference: Full Transcript and Video, New York Times (Jan. 11, 2017), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/trump-press-conference- transcript.html.

¶Several advisors recalled that the President-Elect viewed stories about his Russian connections, the Russia investigations, and the intelligence community assessment of Russian interference as a threat to the legitimacy of his electoral victory.⁷³⁷³ Priebus 10/13/17 302, at 7; Hicks 3/13/18 302, at 18; Spicer 10/16/17 302, at 6; Bannon 2/14/18 302, at 2; Gates 4/18/18 302, at 3; see Pompeo 6/28/17 302, at 2 (the President believed that the purpose of the Russia investigation was to delegitimize his presidency). Hicks, for example, said that the President-Elect viewed the intelligence community assessment as his "Achilles heel" because, even if Russia had no impact on the election, people would think Russia helped him win, taking away from what he had accomplished.⁷⁴⁷⁴ Hicks 3/13/18 302, at 18. Sean Spicer, the first White House communications director, recalled that the President thought the Russia story was developed to undermine the legitimacy of his election.⁷⁵⁷⁵ Spicer 10/17/17 302, at 6. Gates said the President viewed the Russia investigation as an attack on the legitimacy of his win.⁷⁶⁷⁶ Gates 4/18/18 302, at 3. And Priebus recalled that when the intelligence assessment came out, the President-Elect was concerned people would question the legitimacy of his win.⁷⁷⁷⁷ Priebus 10/13/17 302, at 7.

The President's Conduct Concerning the Investigation of Michael Flynn

¶Overview

¶During the presidential transition, incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had two phone calls with the Russian Ambassador to the United States about the Russian response to U.S. sanctions imposed because of Russia's election interference. After the press reported on Flynn's contacts with the Russian Ambassador, Flynn lied to incoming Administration officials by saying he had not discussed sanctions on the calls. The officials publicly repeated those lies in press interviews. The FBI, which previously was investigating Flynn for other matters, interviewed him about the calls in the first week after the inauguration, and Flynn told similar lies to the FBI. On January 26, 2017, Department of Justice (DOJ) officials notified the White House that Flynn and the Russian Ambassador had discussed sanctions and that Flynn had been interviewed by the FBI. The next night, the President had a private dinner with FBI Director James Comey in which he asked for Comey's loyalty. On February 13, 2017, the President asked Flynn to resign. The following day, the President had a one-on-one conversation with Comey in which he said, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

¶Evidence