IF NOT A SMOKING GUN
THIS IS A VERY HOT PISTOL
GUEST BLOG—Report from the Center for AmericanProgress (www.americanprogressaction.org). First published 2-15-17.
All those
“unverified” allegations about Trump and Russia you’ve been hearing since the
dog days of the campaign? Well, they’re becoming more and more verified by the
hour. On Valentine’s day, just a day after Michael Flynn’s resignation, a
bombshell New York Times story
reported that U.S. intelligence sources have confirmed that members of Donald
Trump’s campaign were in close contact with the Russian intelligence officials
during the campaign.
To be clear: U.S. intelligence officials had already confirmed months ago that the Russian government did interfered in our election in order to help Donald Trump win. But now, we have confirmed evidence that senior Trump aides were “constant communication” with the same Russian actors that were trying to tilt election in Trump’s favor.
Confused?
We
don’t blame you.
Here’s a brief
timeline showing
who knew what and when:
Jan. 6: Then President-Elect Trump was briefed on alleged contacts between campaign officials and Russians.
Jan 12: The Washington Post first reported the
call between Michael Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on December
29th, the day the Obama administration announced actions against Russia in
response to the DNC hacking.
Jan. 15: Vice President Mike
Pence denies that Flynn’s conversations involved sanctions.
Jan. 26: The Justice
Department notifies Trump about concerns regarding Flynn.
Feb. 8: Flynn denies ever
discussing sanctions with Ambassador Kislyak.
Feb. 13: Trump spokeswoman
Kellyanne Conway says, “General Flynn does enjoy the full confidence of the
president.” Minutes later, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tells
reporters that Trump is “evaluating the situation” around Flynn. Flynn resigns.
Feb. 14: Head of US Special
Operations Command said the US government is in "unbelievable
turmoil," a situation that he suggested could undermine US efforts to
fight adversaries such as ISIS. News breaks alleging high-level contacts
between Trump team and Russian intel officers during the campaign.
Despite
having been briefed on the matter, Trump continues to dismiss the situation as
“fake news.”
Only
an independent, bipartisan investigation will ensure we get the facts about
connections between the Trump team and Russia.
About the Center for
American Progress
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Pillar to Post Daily
Pillar to Post Daily
Online
Magazine’s
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Here’s an item from
the Christian Science Monitor on how the public can get through to Congress
despite busy signals:
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