Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections/transition

X1\: Timeline of post-election transition following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections created per Talk:Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, see previous version at Draft:Timeline of post-election transition following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

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== Post-election transition ==
=== November–December 2016 ===
* '''November–December''':
** [[Michael Flynn]] serves as an advisor to [[SCL Group]], the parent company of [[Cambridge Analytica]].<ref name=FlynnDetailsPayAP20170804></ref><ref name=FlynnAmmendedDisclosure20170122></ref>
** After the election, a Russian hacker breaks into [[Election Assistance Commission]] servers and steals the login credentials for over 100 users. The hack is discovered by chance when [[Recorded Future]], a security firm, comes across the credentials being offered for sale on the [[dark web]] to a [[Middle Eastern]] government.<ref></ref><ref></ref>
* '''November–January''':
** During the transition period, the FBI warns Trump aide [[Hope Hicks]] at least twice that she might be approached by Russian government operatives using fake identities.<ref></ref><ref></ref>
** The [[British Foreign Office]] holds a series of meetings with Cambridge Analytica executives in London, Washington, and New York to "better understand" how Trump won and acquire insights into the "political environment" following his win.<ref></ref>
* '''November 8''':
** Trump [[2016 United States presidential election|is elected]] President of the United States.<ref></ref>
** Hours after the polls close, the [[hashtag]] #Calexit is retweeted by thousands of IRA accounts.<ref name="CaliforniaIndependenceBBC20171104" />
** [[Rospatent]], the Russian government agency responsible for intellectual property, grants 10-year extensions on four of Trump's [[trademarks]].<ref></ref>
* '''November 9''':
** Dimitriev receives a text message stating "Putin has won" after news reports announce that Clinton called Trump to concede the election result. Later that morning, Dmitriev reaches out to Nader expressing the desire to build closer relationships with the U.S. and the Trump team.<ref></ref> He tells Nader that he will ask Putin for permission to travel to the U.S. so that he can speak to media outlets about the positive impact of the Trump election on U.S.-Russia relations. He flies to New York to join Peskov at a chess tournament and asks Nader to invite Kushner to join them. Nader does not pass the invitation along, and Mueller's team is unable to establish that anyone from the Trump campaign or transition team attended the tournament.
** Papadapoulos and Millian make arrangements to meet in Chicago to discuss business opportunities, including with Russian "billionaires who are not under sanctions."
* '''November 10''':
** Kislyak states that Russia was not involved with U.S. election hacking.<ref></ref>
** Russian Deputy Foreign Minister [[Sergei Ryabkov]] tells the [[Interfax]] news agency "there were contacts" with the Trump team during the campaign.<ref name="RyabkovInterfax20161110"></ref>
** Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman [[Maria Zakharova]] tells [[Bloomberg News]] that it was "normal practice" for [[Embassy of Russia in Washington, D.C.|Russian Embassy]] staffers to meet with members of the Trump campaign. She says the Clinton campaign declined requests for meetings.<ref name="RyabkovInterfax20161110" />
** In a private Oval Office meeting, Obama warns Trump against hiring Flynn.<ref></ref>
** [[Mark Zuckerberg]] calls the idea that "fake news" on Facebook could have influenced the election "crazy."<ref></ref><ref name=ObamaZuckerbergWarningWapo20170924></ref>
* '''November 11''':
** Hicks denies claims by the Kremlin that Trump officials met with its staff.<ref name=guardian-20170711 />
** [[House Intelligence Committee]] Chairman [[Devin Nunes]] is named to the executive committee of the [[Presidential transition of Donald Trump|Trump transition team]].<ref></ref>
** [[Mike Pence]] replaces [[Chris Christie]] as chairman of the [[Trump transition]] team. Christie later claims he was fired for opposing [[Michael Flynn]] becoming the [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]]. [[Steve Bannon]] and Flynn celebrate Christie's firing by ceremonially throwing binders full of administration candidates into the trash.<ref></ref><ref name=ChristieFiredOverFlynnPolitico20171206></ref>
** A large banner is hung from the [[Arlington Memorial Bridge]] in Washington, D.C., showing a photo of Obama with the words "Goodbye Murderer" at the bottom. The IRA Twitter account @LeroyLovesUSA takes credit and is an early promoter of the banner.<ref name=Subvert /><ref></ref><ref></ref>
* '''November 12''':
** Butina holds a birthday party at Cafe Deluxe in Washington, D.C., attended by Erickson and Trump campaign aides.<ref name="KremlinGOPHaveNewFriendDailyBeast20180320" /><ref name="BeforeHerArrestWapo20180725" /> She claims to be part of Russian communications with the Trump campaign, something she has bragged about for months.<ref name="KremlinGOPHaveNewFriendDailyBeast20180320"></ref>
** A Trump protest called "Trump is NOT my President" attracts 5,000–10,000 protestors in Manhattan who march from [[Union Square, Manhattan|Union Square]] to Trump Tower. The protest is organized by the IRA using their BlackMattersUS Facebook account.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment /><ref></ref>
** Banks, Farage and Wigmore visit [[Trump Tower]] unannounced and are invited inside by Bannon. They have a long meeting with Trump. Wigmore asks Trump's receptionist for the Trump transition team's contact information.<ref name="BanksWigmoreTestimony20180612" /><ref name=BadBoysOfBrexitRussiaTrumpWapo20180602 /><ref name=BanksWigmoreCultivated20180610></ref>
* '''November 13''': Zakharova jokingly comments on the [[Russia-1|Rossiya 1]] show ''Sunday Evening with [[Vladimir Solovyov (journalist)|Vladimir Solovyov]]'' that "our people in [[Brighton Beach]] won the election for Donald Trump."<ref></ref>
* '''November 14''':
** Papadopoulos and Millian meet at the [[Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)|Chicago Trump International Hotel and Tower]] bar. Millian appears nervous to Papadopoulos as he offers a job working for a Russian billionaire not under sanctions. The job requires that he continue working for Trump and join the new administration. Papadopoulos declines the offer, saying he is only interested in private sector jobs. Later, Papadopoulos says he declined the offer because he knew it was unethical and possibly illegal, and feared it might have been an FBI setup.<ref name="SergeiMillianIdentifiedAsWaPo-20190207"></ref>
** Page submits an application to the Trump transition team for a position in the new administration. The team never responds.
* '''November 15''':
** [[Devin Nunes]] replaces former Representative [[Mike Rogers (Michigan politician)|Mike Rogers]] as a Trump transition team national security advisor.<ref></ref>
** Banks and Wigmore meet with Yakovenko in London; they discuss their November 12 meeting with Trump, and Sessions's role in the new administration. At Yakovenko's request, Banks provides Yakovenko with contact information for the Trump transition team.<ref name="BanksWigmoreTestimony20180612"> "What's wrong with that? We gave them a telephone number," Banks said. The committee heard Wigmore had obtained the number after he supplied one for No 10 to a receptionist for Donald Trump. According to Wigmore, she said: "You're British, do you have the telephone number for No 10 Downing Street? We do not have [a] relationship with the British or any of these governments."</ref><ref name="BanksWigmoreCultivated20180610" /><ref></ref><ref></ref>
* '''November 18''':
** Trump announces he will nominate Sessions as [[Attorney General of the United States|Attorney General]]<ref></ref> and Flynn as [[National Security Adviser (United States)|National Security Adviser]].<ref></ref>
** [[Elijah Cummings]], ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sends Pence a letter warning that Flynn's connections to Russia and Turkey might create [[conflicts of interest]]. He asks the Trump administration's transition team for documents related to Flynn.<ref name="cummings18november"></ref> Receipt of the letter is acknowledged on November 28.<ref name="rawstory-pence" />
* '''November 19''':
** The IRA organizes the "Charlotte Against Trump" rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.<ref name=TrollsTimelineWapo20180206 /><ref name=13RussiansInictment />
** Obama privately meets [[Mark Zuckerberg]] at a gathering of world leaders in [[Lima, Peru]]. Obama urges Zuckerberg to take the threats of political disinformation and "fake news" seriously, and warns him that doing nothing will cause problems in the next election. Zuckerberg responds that there were only a few messages, and doing something about the problem would be difficult.<ref name=ObamaZuckerbergWarningWapo20170924 />
* '''November 21''':
** Trump calls for Nigel Farage to be made the [[U.K. Ambassador to the United States]]. The British government responds, "There is no vacancy."<ref></ref><ref></ref>
** [[Peter W. Smith]], who launched a search for copies of [[Hillary Clinton email controversy|Clinton's deleted emails]] in September, asserts WikiLeaks has had the emails for nine months but has not released them.<ref name=GOPResearcherWhoSoughtPolitico20170711 /><ref></ref> In July 2017, WikiLeaks denies the assertion in response to a question by ''Politico''.<ref name=GOPResearcherWhoSoughtPolitico20170711 />
* '''Late November''': Senior members of Trump's transition team warn Flynn about the dangers of contacting Kislyak, including that Kislyak's conversations are probably being monitored by the FBI and the [[NSA]]. Flynn is recorded a month later discussing sanctions with Kislyak.<ref></ref>
* '''November 23–28''': Kaveladze and Rob Goldstone attempt to set up a meeting between Natalia Veselnitskaya and the Trump transition team during Veselnitskaya's trip to the U.S.<ref name=ASeriesOfSuspiciousBuzzFeed20180912 /><ref name=KaveladzeExhibits1Redacted20180515></ref>
* '''November 25''': Trump announces [[K. T. McFarland]] will be the [[Deputy National Security Advisor (United States)|deputy national security advisor]] for his new administration after Paul Erickson lobbies former campaign officials and Trump donors to get her the position.<ref></ref><ref></ref>
* '''November 30''': On a recommendation from the [[General Services Administration|GSA]], [[Trump transition]] team members discuss installing [[Signal (software)|Signal]], an encrypted messaging app, on Flynn's phone to encrypt his communications.<ref name=FlynnSignalGizmodo20171219></ref>
* '''December''': Concerned that the incoming Trump administration will suppress the information collected in the Russia investigation, the White House spreads it across government agencies to leave a trail for future investigators.<ref name=PreserveIntelligeneceNYT20170301></ref>
* '''December 1''': According to an anonymous letter to ''The Washington Post'' citing leaked intercepts of Russian diplomatic communications, during a transition team meeting at Trump Tower, Kushner asks Kislyak about the potential to communicate directly with the Kremlin over a Russian-encrypted channel. Flynn also attends the meeting.<ref name=Nakashima2></ref><ref></ref>
* '''Early December''': In Russia, FSB cyber chief [[Mikhailov case|Sergei Mikhailov]], senior [[Kaspersky Lab]] researcher Ruslan Stoyanov, and hacker Dmitry Dokuchayev (known as "Forb") are arrested for [[treason#Russia|treason]].<ref></ref><ref></ref>
* '''December 8'''
** The IRA runs an ad on [[Craigslist]] to hire someone to walk around New York City dressed as [[Santa Claus]] while wearing a Trump mask.<ref name="HeresEverythingTheMuellerBuzzFeedNews-20190418" />
** Kilimnik sends Manafort a detailed email about the proposed Ukranian peace plan. He writes that the plan is ready to move forward if Trump appoints Manafort as a "special representative" to manage it, that "[Yanukovych] guarantees your reception at the very top level" in Russia, and that "[Trump] could have peace in Ukraine basically within a few months after inauguration."
* '''December 9''':
** Republican Senator [[John McCain]] delivers the Steele dossier to Comey.<ref name=guardian-20170111></ref>
** The Trump transition team dismisses reported intelligence assessments finding Russian interference in the election. Their statement says, "These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It's now time to move on and 'Make America Great Again.'"<ref name=SecretCIAAssessmentWapo20161209 />
* '''December 10''': [[Glenn R. Simpson]] tells Ohr that Cohen was the "go-between from Russia to the Trump campaign", and gives him a memory stick containing evidence. Ohr memorializes the meeting in handwritten notes.<ref></ref>
* '''December 12''': Kislyak meets with Kushner's assistant, [[Avi Berkowitz]], to arrange a meeting between Kushner and the FSB-connected [[Sergey Gorkov]], head of sanctioned Russian bank [[Vnesheconombank]].<ref name=harding-20171121 /><ref></ref><ref name=KushnerBankMeetingWapo20170601></ref><ref></ref>
* '''December 13''':
** Gorkov arrives from Moscow to secretly meet Kushner in New York, before flying to Japan, where Putin is holding a summit. The meeting is first reported in March 2017, and attracts the interest of federal and congressional investigators in May. Kushner later characterizes the meeting as brief and meaningless. The White House later describes the meeting as a diplomatic encounter. The bank later says they discussed Kushner's real estate business.<ref name=harding-20171121 /><ref name=KushnerBankMeetingWapo20170601 /><ref></ref>
** Trump picks [[Rex Tillerson]] as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]; Russian officials praise the decision.<ref name="egan11december"></ref>
* '''December 15''':
** Clinton tells a group of donors in Manhattan that Russian hacking was ordered by Putin "because he has a personal beef against me" due to her accusation in 2011 that Russian parliamentary elections that year were rigged.<ref></ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> Clinton's comment is backed by U.S. Intelligence reports.<ref name=wapo-20171214 />
** Kushner, his close friend and hedge fund manager Richard "Rick" Gerson, Nader, Flynn, Bannon, U.A.E. ambassador to the U.S. [[Yousef Al Otaiba]], crown prince [[Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan]] of [[Abu Dhabi]], and former British prime minister [[Tony Blair]] meet at the [[Four Seasons Hotel New York|Four Seasons Hotel]] in New York City. The crown prince broke [[Protocol (diplomacy)|diplomatic protocol]] by traveling to the U.S. without announcing his visit to the U.S. government. In June 2018, a spokesman for Gerson tells ''[[NBC News]]'' that Blair gave a presentation on [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli-Palestinian peace]].<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref name=PrinceSeychelles20170403 />
* '''December 16''': Speaking at his final press conference as president, Obama comes just short of saying Putin was personally behind the DNC and Podesta hacks.<ref></ref>
* '''December 18''': Speaking to CBS News, Conway says it is "false" and "dangerous" to suggest that members of the Trump campaign spoke to any Russians during the campaign.<ref name=guardian-20170711 /><ref></ref>
* '''December 22''': At the direction of a "very senior member" of the transition team, Flynn asks Kislyak to delay or defeat a pending vote on a [[United Nations Security Council resolution]]. Flynn later pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about the effort to defeat the resolution.<ref></ref><ref name=FlynnStatementOfOffense20171201 />
* '''December 23''': Kislyak calls Flynn and tells him Russia will not vote against the [[United Nations Security Council resolution]] they spoke about the day before.<ref name=FlynnStatementOfOffense20171201 />
* '''December 26''': [[Oleg Erovinkin]], a former [[KGB]] official, is found dead in the back seat of his car in Moscow. He was suspected of assisting Steele in compiling his dossier.<ref name="mendick27january"></ref>
* '''December 28''': Kislyak texts Flynn and asks him to call, setting off the series of calls in the following days.<ref></ref>
* '''December 29''':
** Following [[List of executive actions by Barack Obama|Executive Order]] [https://ift.tt/2KIuDIZ 13757] signed the previous day, Obama's administration expels 35 Russian diplomats, locks down two Russian diplomatic compounds, and [[Magnitsky Act#January 2017 blacklist|expands sanctions]] against Russia.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> Flynn consults with the Trump transition team,<ref></ref><ref name=McFarlandEmailProblemNYT20171204></ref> then speaks with Kislyak by telephone to request that Russia not escalate matters in response to Obama's actions.<ref></ref><ref></ref> Flynn later pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak regarding the new sanctions.<ref name=FlynnStatementOfOffense20171201 />
** Before Flynn's call to Kislyak, K. T. McFarland emails other [[Trump transition]] officials saying that Flynn will be speaking to Kislyak to try to prevent a cycle of retaliation over the newly imposed sanctions. The email is forwarded to Flynn, [[Reince Priebus]], Bannon, and [[Sean Spicer]].<ref name=McFarlandFlynnKislyakEmailsNYT20171202></ref>
** The [[NCCIC]] releases a joint analysis report titled "GRIZZLY STEPPE – Russian Malicious Cyber Activity" as a follow-up to the October 7, 2016, joint statement on election security. The report describes methods used by Russian intelligence groups [[APT29]] and [[APT28]] to penetrate election-related servers.<ref> Reference Number: JAR-16-20296A</ref>
* '''December 30''': Putin announces he will not retaliate against the U.S. expulsions, contrary to recommendations from Lavrov.<ref name="rg-20161230"></ref> In reply, Trump tweets "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!"<ref></ref> This action is widely interpreted as praising Putin's actions.
* '''December 31''': Kislyak calls Flynn to tell him that Russia has decided not to retaliate based upon Flynn's request. Afterward, Flynn tells senior members of the transition team about his conversations with Kislyak and Russia's decision not to escalate.<ref name=FlynnStatementOfOffense20171201></ref>

=== January 2017 ===

* '''January''':
** McGahn researches the [[Logan Act]] and federal laws related to lying to federal investigators. Records turned over to the Mueller investigation show McGahn believes Flynn violated one or more of those laws.<ref name=McGahnKnewFlynnBrokeLawFP20171220></ref>
** The FBI obtains a new FISA warrant for Carter Page, replacing the expired warrant from October 2016.<ref name=PageFISADocs20180721 /><ref name=PageFISADocsReleased20180721 />
* '''Early January''':
** At a meeting in [[CIA headquarters]], a U.S. spy chief warns [[Mossad]] agents that Putin may have "leverages of pressure" over Trump, and that intelligence should be shared cautiously with the coming White House and [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], for fear of leaks to the Russians and thereby Iran.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref name=newsweek-20171221-putin></ref>
** For two days in early January 2017, in a gathering [[George Nader (businessman)|George Nader]] attends and brokers, [[Joel Zamel]] and General [[Ahmad Asiri (general)|Ahmed Al-Assiri]] meet with [[Michael Flynn]] and other members of the Trump transition team in New York. Bannon was also involved. In October 2018, the meeting comes under the Mueller investigation's scrutiny.<ref></ref>
* '''January 3''': Nader meets with Prince at [[The Pierre Hotel]] in New York City and encourages him to meet with Dmitriev. In the following days, Nader gives Prince biographical information about Dmitriev, including the fact that Dmitriev oversees the [[Russian Direct Investment Fund]].<ref name=MuellerHasEvidenceABCNews20180406 />
* '''January 4''': The FBI begins investigating Flynn's December phone calls with Kislyak.<ref name=TrumpTeamKnewAboutFlynnNYT20170517></ref>
* '''January 5''':[[File:Rice email 180212.pdf|thumb|Susan Rice's email to herself on January 20, 2017.]]
** Obama is briefed on the intelligence community's findings.<ref></ref>
** U.S. intelligence agencies release a report concluding that Putin ordered the cyber-campaign to influence the 2016 election.<ref name="SubvertTime"/><ref></ref>
** Flynn, Kushner and Bannon meet with the [[Abdullah II of Jordan|King of Jordan]]. According to ''[[BuzzFeed]]'', they discuss a plan to deploy American nuclear power plants in Jordan with security support from a Russian company. "People close to the three Trump advisers" deny the allegations.<ref></ref><ref></ref>
** [[R. James Woolsey Jr.]], who became a senior adviser to Trump in September 2016, resigns amid Congressional hearings into cyber attacks and public statements by Trump critical of the [[United States Intelligence Community]].<ref></ref>
* '''January 6''':
** The [[Director of National Intelligence|Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] (ODNI) publishes [[Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections|an unclassified report]]<ref>[[:File:ODNI Statement on Declassified Intelligence Community Assessment of Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections.pdf]]</ref> about Russian meddling in the 2016 election stating that "Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election".<ref name=ODNI-20170106></ref> While the report says Russian hackers did not change votes, it ignores the security of back-end election systems.<ref></ref> Putin was personally involved in the Russian interference, per a CIA stream of intelligence.<ref name=wapo-20171214></ref>
** [[Director of National Intelligence]] (DNI) [[James Clapper]], CIA Director [[John O. Brennan|John Brennan]], [[NSA Director]] [[Michael S. Rogers|Michael Rogers]], and [[FBI Director]] [[James Comey]] travel to Trump Tower in New York City to brief Trump and senior members of the transition team on the classified version of the ODNI report on [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|Russian interference in the election]].<ref name="Intel Heads TT meeting"></ref><ref name="Trump briefed on dossier Jan 2017"></ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> They show Trump the intelligence behind their assessment, including human sources confirming Putin's role, and American, British, and Dutch intelligence services seeing stolen DNC documents in Russian military networks.<ref></ref> In addition to Trump, the other people present are incoming [[White House Chief of Staff]] [[Reince Priebus]], incoming [[CIA Director]] [[Mike Pompeo]], incoming [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Adviser]] [[Michael Flynn]], and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]-elect [[Mike Pence]]. After the briefing, Comey stays behind to privately brief Trump on the salacious allegations in the Steele dossier. While cordial during the briefings, Trump still refuses to accept the intelligence on Russian interference.<ref name=wapo-20171214 /> The meeting unsettles Comey and prompts him to write a memo documenting the conversation.<ref name="Comey starts writing memos"></ref>
** Vekselberg's cousin and [[Columbus Nova]] CEO Andrew Intrater donates $250,000 to the Trump inaugural fund. Intrater's previous political donations totaled less than $3,000 across all candidates.<ref name=APutinFriendlyOligarchMotherJones20170817></ref>
* '''January 7''': Prince books his trip to the [[Seychelles]].
* '''January 8''':
** ''Bloomberg'' reports that [[Ted Malloch]] was interviewed by the Trump transition team for the position of [[U.S. Ambassador to the European Union]]. Malloch was recommended for the position by Nigel Farage.<ref></ref> In 2018, Malloch is [[Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2018)#March|served a search warrant by the FBI and questioned by Mueller]].<ref></ref><ref></ref>
** Nader informs Dmitriev that Prince will be traveling to the Seychelles and invites Dmitriev to meet with Prince on January 12. The next day, Nader assures Dmitriev that Prince wields enough influence in the Trump team to be worth meeting and was designated by Bannon for the trip. In 2018 Nader tells Mueller's team that Prince led him to believe that Bannon was aware of the Dmitriev meeting, and, separately, Prince tells them it was fair for Nader to think he was representing the transition team, but Bannon tells them that Prince didn't inform him of the meeting in advance.
* '''January 9''':
** Cohen and Vekselberg meet at Trump Tower to discuss their mutual desire to improve Russia's relationship with the U.S. under the Trump administration.<ref></ref> [[Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2017)|After President Trump was inaugurated]], Cohen received a $1 million consulting contract from Columbus Nova, headed by Andrew Intrater, who also attended the Vekselberg meeting.<ref></ref>
** Kushner is named [[Senior Advisor to the President]].<ref>[[Donald Trump|Trump, Donald J.]] (January 9, 2017)."President-Elect Donald J. Trump Names Jared Kushner Senior Advisor to the President" (Press release). N.Y.C.:GreatAgain. Trump today announced [[Jared Kushner]] will serve as [[Senior Advisor to the President]]... Kushner, a widely respected businessman and real estate developer was instrumental in formulating and executing the strategy behind President-elect Trump's historic victory..."</ref>
** Profexer, a Ukrainian hacker who is the author of a hacking tool described in the December 29, 2016, [[NCCIC]] report on Russian cyber attacks, goes dark. He turns himself in to the [[National Police of Ukraine|Ukrainian police]] and becomes a cooperating witness for the FBI. The Ukrainian police say he was not placed under arrest.<ref></ref>
* '''January 10''':
** In a [[confirmation hearing]] before the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]], Sessions denies communicating with the Russian government during Trump's election campaign.<ref></ref>
** ''BuzzFeed'' publishes the Steele dossier alleging various misdeeds by Trump and associates in Russia.<ref name="bensinger10january"></ref> Trump dismisses the dossier as "fake news".<ref></ref>
* '''January 11''':
** Trump tweets, "Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!".<ref></ref> ''[[USA Today]]'' says this is "not exactly true".<ref></ref>
** BBC News's [[Paul Wood (journalist)|Paul Wood]] writes that the salacious information in Steele's dossier was also reported by "multiple intelligence sources" and "at least one East European intelligence service".<ref name="Lange_1/11/2017"></ref><ref name="Hope_Rothfeld_Cullison_1/11/2017"></ref>
** [[Erik Prince]], a Trump campaign donor and brother of forthcoming Education Secretary [[Betsy DeVos]], meets in the Seychelles with [[Kirill Dmitriev]], CEO of the Russian government's $10bn [[Russian Direct Investment Fund]] (RDIF).<ref name=ErikPrinceTellsHouseWaPo-20171130 /><ref name=AsPrinceGoesBeforeMcClatchyDC-20171130 /> They meet in Nader's room for 30-45 minutes, then have a brief meeting at a restaurant on the Four Seasons Hotel property. After the second meeting, Dmitriev tells Nader he is disappointed that Prince didn't have more authority in the Trump team, and that he found Prince's comments insulting. Prince will claim in August that he scarcely remembers Dmitriev.<ref name=ErikPrinceTellsHouseWaPo-20171130 /><ref name=AsPrinceGoesBeforeMcClatchyDC-20171130 /> Dmitriev's identity is revealed in November 2017, and Prince confirms the meeting in an interview with House investigators on November 30.<ref name=ErikPrinceTellsHouseWaPo-20171130></ref><ref name=AsPrinceGoesBeforeMcClatchyDC-20171130></ref> The meeting was organized by the U.A.E. and reportedly includes talks of a "back channel" with Moscow to try to influence Russian policy in the Middle East, joint U.S.–Russian military operations in Syria, peace between Ukraine and Russia, [[nuclear non-proliferation]], RDIF investment in the [[midwest]], and a joint investment fund between RDIF and the [[Overseas Private Investment Corporation]].<ref name=PrinceSeychelles20170403></ref><ref name=PrinceSeychellesTheIntercept20171128></ref><ref></ref><ref name=RevealedWhatErikPrinceDailyBeast20180926></ref> George Nader, an adviser to crown prince [[Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan]] of the U.A.E., facilitates and attends.<ref name=Nader20180306></ref><ref name=MuellerHasEvidenceABCNews20180406></ref> In May 2018 Dmitriev suggests the meeting was more than a chance encounter.<ref></ref> The meeting occurs amid a series of meetings of politically connected individuals from Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa that are part of a larger gathering hosted by the crown prince.<ref></ref>
** Michael Cohen tells [[Sean Hannity]] on [[The Sean Hannity Show]] that there is no relationship between Russia and the people around Trump or the Trump campaign.<ref> "There's no relationship," Cohen told Hannity in the January 11, 2017 appearance. "The last time that there was any activity between the Trump Organization—actually, wasn't even really the Trump Organization, it was the Miss Universe pageant, it was held in Moscow," Cohen said, referring to the pageant held in 2013.</ref><ref></ref>
* '''January 12''':
** "Guccifer 2.0" denies having any relation to the Russian government.<ref name=TimlineHowRussianAgentsNYT20180713 /><ref></ref>
** Deripaska's longtime American lobbyist Adam Waldman makes the first of nine visits with Assange in 2017 at the [[Ecuadorian Embassy in London]].<ref name=USLobbyistForRussianGuardian20180620></ref>
** Manafort returns to the U.S. after meeting with Deripaska deputy Georgiy Oganov in Madrid, where they discussed global politics and "recreating [the] old friendship" between Manafort and Deripaska.
** Prince contacts Bannon's personal assistant Alexandra Preate<ref></ref> to set up a meeting with Bannon to discuss the Seychelles trip.
* '''January 13''':
** President-elect Trump nominates U.S. Attorney [[Rod J. Rosenstein]] as [[United States Deputy Attorney General|Deputy Attorney General]].<ref></ref>
** [[Sean Spicer]] claims in a press conference that Flynn had only one call with Kislyak, about setting up a call between Trump and Putin.<ref name=FlynnTimelineWapo20170517></ref> Emails from December show Spicer most likely knew Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak on December 29, 2016, and may have known about the purpose of the call in advance.<ref name=McFarlandFlynnKislyakEmailsNYT20171202 />
** Waldman visits Assange for the second time.<ref name=USLobbyistForRussianGuardian20180620 />
** K.T. McFarland insists to a reporter at ''The Washington Post'' that Flynn and Kislyak did not discuss sanctions and only spoke with each other prior to December 29. The statement contradicts emails between herself and Flynn.<ref></ref>
** The Senate Intelligence Committee announces it will investigate Russian cyberattacks, meddling in the election, and "intelligence regarding links between Russia and individuals associated with political campaigns."<ref name=TheEventsThatLedWapo20181129 /><ref></ref><ref></ref>
* '''January 15''':
** Interviewed on CBS's ''[[Face the Nation]]'' and ''[[Fox News Sunday]]'', Vice President-elect Pence repeatedly denies any connection between the Trump campaign team and Russians.<ref name=rawstory-pence /> He also denies Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak.<ref name=FlynnTimelineWapo20170517 />
** Manafort emails McFarland, copying Flynn, about "some important information I want to share that I picked up on my travels over the last month." Flynn advises McFarland not to respond. In 2018, Manafort tells Mueller's team that he was referring to Cuba, which he had visited along with other countries at the time, and not Russia or Ukraine.
** Prince again contacts Preate to arrange a meeting with Bannon about the Seychelles trip.
* '''January 16''': [[Anthony Scaramucci]], then a member of the Trump transition team, meets Dmitriev at the [[World Economic Forum]] in Davos. They discuss possible joint investments with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is under U.S. sanctions.<ref name=PrinceSeychellesTheIntercept20171128 /><ref name=ScaramucciDmitrievBloomberg20170117></ref><ref></ref>
* '''Mid-January''': Prince meets with Bannon to brief him on Dmitriev and their meetings in the Seychelles. In 2018 Prince tells Mueller's team that Bannon seemed uninterested. Later in 2018, Bannon tells Mueller's team that he doesn't remember discussing Dmitriev with Prince, and that he would have disapproved of the Seychelles meeting if he had known about it. Mueller's team is unable to resolve the conflicting accounts beyond the text messages Prince sent to Preate, and neither Bannon nor Prince can explain why he did not retain any text messages prior to March 2017 even though according to phone records they texted frequently.
* '''January 17''':
** Sessions states in writing that he has not been "in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election."<ref>[https://ift.tt/2j7gNyO Nomination of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States: Questions for the Record Submitted January 17, 2017: Questions From Senator Leahy], [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary]] p. 26.</ref> Sessions had been accused of failing to disclose two meetings with Kislyak.<ref></ref>
** [[Leonard Blavatnik]], Sergei Kislyak, and Russian-American president of [[IMG Artists]] Alexander Shustorovich attend the Chairman's Global Dinner, an invitation-only inaugural event. Other attendees include Michael Flynn, Manafort, Bannon, and Nix. Blavatnik and Shustorovich donated $1 million each to the Trump inaugural fund. Shustorovich is a longtime business partner of Vekselberg, and, nearly 20 years earlier, the [[Republican National Committee]] returned his six-figure donation because of his past ties to the Russian government.<ref name=RussiansInaugurationPartyABCNews20180628 /><ref></ref><ref name=APutinFriendlyOligarchMotherJones20170817 />
* '''January 17–20''': Dmitriev circulates a memo at the [[World Economic Forum]] in Davos that describes his discussions with Prince in the Seychelles on January 11.<ref name=RevealedWhatErikPrinceDailyBeast20180926 />
* '''January 18''':
**[[Jared Kushner]] files his security clearance application without listing his meetings with Russians.<ref></ref>
**The ''[[Daily Sabah]]'' reports a breakfast event occurred at the [[Old Post Office (Washington, D.C.)|Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.]], with about 60 invitees, including Nunes, Flynn, and foreign officials.<ref></ref> ''The Daily Beast'' reports in January 2019 Mueller is investigating whether foreigners contributed money to the Trump inaugural fund and PAC through American intermediaries.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
* '''January 18/19''': [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy]]<ref name=mcclatchy-20170118></ref> and ''[[The New York Times]]'' report that Manafort, Page and Stone have been under investigation by the FBI, NSA, CIA, and [[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network|FinCEN]],<ref name=nytimes-20170119></ref> based on intercepted Russian communications and financial transactions.<ref></ref> Sources say "the investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing."<ref name=nytimes-20170119 />
* '''January 19''':
** Senators [[Elizabeth Warren]] and [[Ben Cardin]] send [[Treasury Secretary]]-Designate [[Steve Mnuchin]] a letter asking him to commit to investigating Scaramucci for possibly violating [[International sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis|U.S. sanctions]] on the Russian Direct Investment Fund during his January 16 meeting with Dmitriev in Davos.<ref name=PrinceSeychellesTheIntercept20171128 /><ref name=ScaramucciDmitrievBloomberg20170117 /><ref></ref> On May 12, in response to a follow-up query, the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury Department]] informs Warren her letter was forwarded to the [[Office of Foreign Assets Control]].<ref name=PrinceSeychellesTheIntercept20171128 /><ref></ref>
** Vekselberg and Intrater meet Cohen for a second time at the Candlelight Dinner, an event for $1 million donors to [[Inauguration of Donald Trump|Trump's inaugural fund]]. They are seated together with Cohen's family. Days later, Columbus Nova awards Cohen a $1 million consulting contract.<ref></ref><ref name=RussiansInaugurationPartyABCNews20180628></ref>
** Billionaire [[Leonard Blavatnik]] and [[Kazakhstan|Kazakh]] oligarch [[Alexander Mashkevitch]] attend the Candlelight Dinner. They qualified for tickets to the event by donating $1 million each to the Trump inaugural fund.<ref name=RussiansInaugurationPartyABCNews20180628 />
** In December 2018, it is reported [[Links between Trump associates and Russian officials|at least 16 Trump associates interacted with Russian nationals during]] the [[Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections#2016 presidential campaign|campaign]] and [[Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections#Post-election transition|transition period]], including Papadopoulos, Manafort, Gates, Flynn, Page, Sessions, Gordon, Caputo, Sater, Cohen, Prince, Stone, Ivanka Trump, Trump Jr., Kushner, and Kushner aide Avi Berkowitz.<ref></ref><ref></ref>
* '''January 20''': Obama leaves office.<ref></ref> See [[Timeline of the presidency of Donald Trump]].

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