Part 3: The Presidency
November 8, 2016
Donald Trump wins a long-shot bid for president with fewer votes (62,984,828), than Hillary Clinton (65,853,514). Only three times previously has the loser of the popular vote won the presidency, due to the electoral college. (John Quincy Adams won a contingent election.)
Roger Stone and Alex Jones, election night, 2016
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Future Capitol attackers—InfoWars employees Owen Shroyer (L) and Joe Biggs (R)—celebrate Trump's 2016 win on election night
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Roger Stone watches the 2016 election results in the InfoWars studio with Alex Jones. Celebration erupts on set with Joe Biggs and Owen Shroyer. (Biggs and Shroyer would later be convicted in 2023 for the January 6th Capitol attack. For his plot with other Proud Boys, Biggs was found guilty of seditious conspiracy.)
November 9, 2016
In Russia, Vyacheslav Nikonov, the leader of the pro-Putin United Russia Party, announces to the Russian State Duma: “Dear friends, respected colleagues! Three minutes ago, Hillary Clinton admitted her defeat in US presidential elections, and a second ago Trump started his speech as an elected president of the United States of America, and I congratulate you on this.”
November 12, 2016
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Alex Jones praises Trump’s win as a “major insurrection in the republic. It shows all these snot-nosed, arrogant bast***s they’re not God.” He calls the mainstream media “the enemy.” He says InfoWars is “bigger than the BBC,” and can be credited for Trump’s win. “You did this,” he tells his audience. Jones expects Trump to bring about tax cuts and to arrest the Clintons, but he cautions listeners that they can’t expect Trump “to do miracles unless we’re behind him.” He says Trump understands that InfoWars “is the heart and the center of this restoration of the republic. And Donald Trump is right there at the center of that heart. So, I guess that he’s ours.”
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November 13, 2016
On 60 Minutes, Donald Trump puts down the idea he wants to select judges who would remove abortion access. Instead, he prefers judges who view abortion as a state issue, where abortion would still be available to women who travel. But he assures, “That has a long, long way to go.”
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In the same interview, Trump says he is “fine with” the Supreme Court instituting gay marriage, through its 2015 co-opting of legislative power in Obergefell v. Hodges: “It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean, it’s done.” He concludes, “These cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled. And I’m fine with that.”
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November 14, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump talks to Vladimir Putin by phone. Michael Flynn is in the room with Trump during the call.
Politico reports that Alex Jones told his InfoWars audience that Donald Trump personally called to thank him: “He said, ‘Listen, Alex, I just talked to kings and queens of the world, world leaders, you name it,’ but he said it doesn’t matter, ‘I wanted to talk to you, to thank your audience, and I’ll be on the next few weeks to thank them.’ I said, ‘Is this a private call?’ And he said, ‘No, I want to thank your viewers, thank your listeners for standing up for this republic. We know what you did early on, throughout this campaign, standing up for what’s right.’”
At the Trump Hotel and Tower in Chicago, Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos meets with Kremlin-linked businessman Sergii Millian. Papadopoulos had set up the meeting to seek business opportunities with Russian “billionaires who are not under sanctions.” (Papadopoulos would two years later serve time in prison for misleading the FBI about his Russian contacts.)
November 16, 2016
A billboard is photographed in Montenegro with Trump and Putin and the slogan: “LET’S MAKE THE WORLD GREAT AGAIN - TOGETHER!” The billboard credits in4s.net for its funding.
A billboard in Montenegro
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November 18, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump names Michael Flynn his national security advisor. Before he selected Mike Pence as his running-mate, Trump had floated Flynn as a potential choice for VP, despite Flynn’s status as a pro-abortion Democrat.
November 27, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump tweets, without evidence, that he actually won the popular vote. He also alleges “voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California.”
December 1, 2016
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Roger Stone sits down for an interview with Frontline (PBS), to discuss Trump’s successful campaign. Stone, a friend of Trump’s since the 1980s, and a true insider, says Trump was “his own strategist” who “eschewed all the traditional things that we think of in terms of a presidential campaign . . . [that] even I thought . . . would be necessary to successfully nominate and elect somebody for president.” Stone predicts a change in the Republican Party: “Every Republican president has remade the party in their own image—Lincoln, McKinley, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, certainly Teddy Roosevelt. I think Trump will do the same thing.”
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Stone on Frontline
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Stone admits Trump has attracted unsavory characters: “The campaign is continually dogged by a small and vocal number of white supremacists, Klansmen, neo-Nazis. This isn’t a very large group of people but they are very vocal. And they attach themselves to Trump.”
The Washington Post finds documentation of only four people voting illegally in 2016. Three of the four were Republicans, and the fourth did not vote in the presidential race. Terri Lynn Rote of Iowa is quoted saying she voted twice for Trump because “the polls are rigged.” Phillip Cook of Texas voted for Trump twice to “test” the electoral system. He was promptly arrested on Election Day. Republican election judge Audrey Cook of Illinois was caught attempting to vote for Trump on behalf of her deceased husband, who passed away before completing his absentee ballot.
December 19, 2016
At the meeting of the electoral college, ten electors attempt to vote against the winner of their state. Three of these votes are invalidated, due to “faithless elector” laws, which vary state-by-state. Thirty-seven Republican electors are needed to defect, if allowable in their states, to bar Donald Trump from the presidency. In the end, Donald Trump loses two electors (to John Kasich and Ron Paul), while Hillary Clinton loses five (to Colin Powell, Faith Spotted Eagle, and Bernie Sanders), for a total of 304 for Trump and 227 for Clinton.
December 23, 2016
Donald Trump tweets a comment from Vladimir Putin saying Hillary Clinton should “be able to lose with dignity.” Trump agrees: “So true!”
December 29, 2016
President Barack Obama sanctions nine Russian entities and individuals, including GRU and FSB, for “cyber activity that seeks to interfere with or undermine our election processes and institutions, or those of our allies or partners.” He expels thirty-five Russian intelligence officers and shuts down two “Russian compounds,” in New York and Maryland.
December 30, 2016
Donald Trump once again praises Putin as “very smart.”
January 6, 2017
The House and Senate meet, in accordance with the 12th Amendment and federal law (3 U.S. Code § 15), to tabulate the electoral votes. Vice President Joe Biden presides as President of the Senate, to perform his ministerial role. Eleven Democratic members of the House raise objections, but none have the signatures required of the Senate. Federal law allows only two objections or questions: that electors were not “lawfully certified under a certificate of ascertainment” or that the “vote of one or more electors has not been regularly given.”
The same day, a U.S. Intelligence Community assessment is declassified. Its findings are that Russian diplomats “were prepared to publicly call into question the validity of the results,” if Trump lost the 2016 election. The report states that “pro-Kremlin bloggers had prepared a Twitter campaign, #DemocracyRIP, on election night in anticipation of Secretary Clinton’s victory, judging from their social media activity.” Further, the Intelligence Community found Vladimir Putin preferred Trump, and attempted to influence his election: “We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.” The report says Putin’s preference for Trump was largely due to “his Russia-friendly positions on Syria and Ukraine.”
January 18, 2017
The Trump campaign trademarks “Keep America Great!”
January 20, 2017
Donald Trump takes the oath of office. Kremlin-linked businessman Sergei Millian attends the inauguration at the Capitol, and meets with Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos afterward at a bar in D.C.
January 24, 2017
Michael Flynn lies to the FBI about communications he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
January 28, 2017
Vladimir Putin calls President Trump by phone to congratulate him. They talk for an hour. The White House reveals the topics of conversation were defeating ISIS and “working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria.”
February 6, 2017
At the MacDrill Air Force Base, President Trump fuels a common conspiracy theory by saying there are terror attacks in Europe that aren’t “even being reported. . . . In many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons.”
February 17, 2017
President Trump tweets against the press: “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!”
February 23, 2017
Politico reports that a hacking of an iPhone belonging to Paul Manafort’s family member has revealed what appears to be a 2016 blackmail attempt against Manafort and Donald Trump from Ukrainian politician Sergii Leshchenko, with a Russian email address. Leshchenko mentions an accounting book relating to payments to Manafort, and references a June 17, 2012, meeting between Trump and a Putin loyalist (a “close Yanukovich affiliate - governor of Cherkassy - Mr.S.Tulub”). It ends with a possible threat: “I think you and Mr Trump will work out a way to solve this problem of yours. Otherwise official investigation that will be reinforced by the facts that are in my possession will reach also the Federal Government.”
Possible blackmail directed toward Paul Manafort and Donald Trump
March 17, 2017
Reuters reports that “at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida,” and that 703 out of 2044 units in these buildings are owned by LLCs.
April 3, 2017
President Trump calls Vladimir Putin to offer condolences over a terror attack in a St. Petersburg subway. The White House reports that “President Trump and President Putin agreed that terrorism must be decisively and quickly defeated.”
May 2, 2017
The White House reports Vladimir Putin and President Trump “spoke today regarding Syria,” and says both “agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence.” Other topics included North Korea, and “working together to eradicate” terrorism in the Middle East, the report states.
May 10, 2017
President Trump hosts Russian officials Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the White House. Staffers reportedly observe Trump leaking classified Israeli intelligence to the Russian diplomats. The Washington Post quotes an unnamed U.S. official confirming that Trump gave the Russians “code-word information,” and “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.” (This incident and Trump’s later mishandling of classified material were later suspected to have strengthened Hamas in the October 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israel.)
Trump divulged Israeli intel to Russian diplomats Lavrov (left) and Kislyak (right)
May 11, 2017
President Donald Trump creates the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity to “study the registration and voting processes used in Federal elections.”
May 30, 2017
A recent surge on Donald Trump’s Twitter account of 5 million new followers prompts media outlets to ask whether Trump purchased them. Metro.co.uk writes: “he is gaining hundreds of new followers every minute. But a large percentage of the followers have no picture… or tweets… or followers themselves. Oh, and pretty much all of the accounts were created in May 2017.” Whether purchased or not, the fake or bot followings appear not to be spontaneous.
June 28, 2017
Trump’s election integrity commission asks all fifty states to send voter data.
July 5, 2017
No secretary of state has yet provided Trump’s election integrity commission any requested voter data.
July 7, 2017
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meet privately in person for close to an hour while attending the Group of 20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Trump breaks security protocol and brings no one, not even his own translator, to the chat.
Formal discussion at the Group of 20 Summit
Later, Trump and Putin sit down for a two-hour formal discussion that includes Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillerson.
July 24, 2017
A federal judge tosses a suit from a privacy advocacy group and allows Trump’s election integrity commission to collect every registered voter’s name, birth date, and partial Social Security number.
August 10, 2017
Former Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee that “one of the motives that Russia was trying to do with [its] active measures campaign was to sow distrust and discord and lack of confidence in the voting process and the democratic process.”
August 31, 2017
Former security coordinator and presidential assistant Michael Daniel testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee that, although theoretically possible, it would be difficult for Russia to tamper with voting machines: “A much more achievable goal would be to undermine confidence in the results of the electoral process, and that could be done much more effectively and easily. . . . A logical thing would be, if your goal is to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system—which the Russians have a long goal of wanting to put themselves on the same moral plane as the United states—one way would be to cause chaos on election day.”
November 10-11, 2017
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have “two or three” private conversations at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vietnam. Trump tells reporters he asked Putin whether he meddled in the 2016 U.S. election: “He said he didn’t meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times. I just asked him again. He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did.” Trump says “Russia could really help us,” and he hopes to have a “very good relationship” with Putin. “Everybody knows there was no collusion.”
In the U.S., Sen. John McCain has this to say: “There’s nothing ‘America First’ about taking the word of a KGB colonel over that of the American intelligence community. There’s no ‘principled realism’ in cooperating with Russia to prop up the murderous Assad regime, which remains the greatest obstacle to a political solution that would bring an end to the bloodshed in Syria. Vladimir Putin does not have America’s interests at heart. To believe otherwise is not only naive but also places our national security at risk.”
In the U.S., Sen. John McCain has this to say: “There’s nothing ‘America First’ about taking the word of a KGB colonel over that of the American intelligence community. There’s no ‘principled realism’ in cooperating with Russia to prop up the murderous Assad regime, which remains the greatest obstacle to a political solution that would bring an end to the bloodshed in Syria. Vladimir Putin does not have America’s interests at heart. To believe otherwise is not only naive but also places our national security at risk.”
Trump and Putin at the APEC Summit in Vietnam
November 11, 2017
President Trump tweets that Obama “had zero chemistry with Putin.”
November 21, 2017
President Trump talks to Vladimir Putin on the phone for more than an hour about “fighting terrorism together.” Also discussed is Syria, North Korea, and “how to implement a lasting peace in Ukraine.”
November 25, 2017
The New York Times reports that President Trump has privately cast doubt on the authenticity of the infamous Access Hollywood recording that almost derailed his candidacy. Trump does not dispute the Times’ story. Just a year ago, Trump admitted the Access Hollywood conversation was real, and he issued a rare apology when the scandal broke.
December 14, 2017
President Trump speaks with Vladimir Putin by phone. They discuss North Korea. Trump thanks Putin “for acknowledging America’s strong economic performance in his annual press conference.”
December 17, 2017
Vladimir Putin calls President Trump to “thank him” for warning of “a major terror plot” in Russia. The White House says, “Both leaders agreed that this serves as an example of the positive things that can occur when our countries work together.”
January 3, 2018
President Donald Trump disbands the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.
January 4, 2018
President Trump claims on Twitter that “many people are voting illegally.”
January 29, 2018
Alex Jones says on his show that the “White House” has asked to “please cover” QAnon: “You know, I’ve been told by five different Pentagon sources, high level, that that whole 8chan [QAnon] thing is real, and that they’re basically forecasting what they’d like to see happen, and giving you information. . . . The White House directly asked [Jerome] Corsi to be on the 8chan beat a month ago. . . . And I mean, what does that say about—about QAnon? Whether it’s—I mean, we’re being told by the White House ‘please cover this,’ so what does that tell you?”
The same day, Jones receives an “uninterrupted stay” Russian visa, good until January 16, 2021.
Alex Jones has in the past said “it is surreal” that the issues he talks about “word for word, you hear Trump say it two days later.” Frontline (PBS) found a number of examples in 2016.
February 12, 2018
President Trump calls Vladimir Putin. They discuss the plane crash of Saratov Airlines, and “other topics of mutual concern.” Putin tells Trump he will meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
February 28, 2018
In a meeting with Mike Pence and congressional leaders, President Trump turns against Republicans and the NRA, and aggressively sides with Democrats on gun legislation. He disagrees with his vice president about ensuring due process and court orders before seizing guns when a person is reported as a potential danger. Trump says, “Mike, take the firearms first and then go to court. . . . I like taking the guns early.” He repeats, “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”
March 4, 2018
At a private fundraiser in Florida, Donald Trump is recorded praising President Xi of China for removing term limits: “Don’t forget, China is great. And Xi is a great gentleman. He’s now president for life.” Cheers and laughter stir the crowd. “President for life. No, he’s great. And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. We may want to give that a shot some day,” Trump says, to more cheers.
March 2018
The U.S. State Department approves the sale of 210 anti-tank Javelin missiles to Ukraine. This is the first lethal aid from the United States to Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.
March 20, 2018
Against the advice of military advisors (who briefed “DO NOT CONGRATULATE”), President Trump calls Vladimir Putin to congratulate him for winning reelection. Trump invites Putin to the White House. (The proposed meeting never happens.) The White House says that the two leaders discussed “bilateral relations” and “mutual national security priorities and challenges” and “shared efforts on strategic stability.”
June 14, 2018
North Korean state television plays footage of President Trump saluting a North Korean general at a summit in Singapore, while Kim Jong Un looks on in the background.
Kim Jong Un looks on, as Trump salutes his general
Politico reports: “U.S. presidents typically do not salute military officials from adversarial nations.”
June 15, 2018
President Trump says of Kim Jong Un, “Hey, he is the head of a country and I mean he is the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” Asked about the death of Otto Warmbier, Trump says, “I don’t want to see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family. I want to have a good relationship with North Korea.”
Trump tweets a “congratulations to President Putin and Russia for putting on a truly great World Cup Tournament -- one of the best ever!” He also writes that he's “looking forward to meeting with President Putin tomorrow,” and sarcastically says he awaits blame for “the sins and evils committed by Russia.”
July 16, 2018
In Helsinki, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sit down briefly with reporters. Before they begin talking, Trump winks at Putin and lightens his mood. The two then huddle behind closed doors for two hours, with only interpreters present. Immediately afterward is a joint press conference in which Trump sides with Putin against the U.S. intelligence community’s findings of election interference. For his part, Putin (perhaps inadvertently) admits guilt in the central focus of the Russian collusion investigation. He answers in the affirmative that he preferred Trump in 2016, and that he directed Russian officials to help Trump win. Asked if he has compromising material on Trump or his family, Putin does not deny.
A subdued Trump and a confident Putin leave their closed-door meeting
Sen. John McCain calls Trump’s pro-Russia comments at Helsinki “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” McCain warns that Trump has “made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world. . . . No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.”
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats rebukes Trump for preferring Putin’s denials above U.S. intel: “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.”
Former CIA Director John O. Brennan tweets Trump’s obsequiousness is “nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats rebukes Trump for preferring Putin’s denials above U.S. intel: “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.”
Former CIA Director John O. Brennan tweets Trump’s obsequiousness is “nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”
August 21, 2018
Campaign expert for Donald Trump and Kremlin friend Viktor Yanukovych, Paul Manafort, is convicted of bank fraud and tax-related charges.
September 14, 2018
Paul Manafort pleads guilty to money laundering, witness tampering, tax fraud, false statements, and failure to comply with Foreign Agents Registration Act.
October 9, 2018
A website that analyzes Twitter activity estimates 61% of President Trump’s followers are fake. By comparison, fake followers of Ted Cruz are estimated to be 26%.
October 16, 2018
Quartz says Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal “helped save Trump from bankruptcy—twice.” Alwaleed, the 74th richest man in the world, bought Trump’s yacht and 51% of Trump’s New York Plaza in the 1990s to help Trump pay off around $145 million in debt.
October 18, 2018
At a rally in Montana, President Trump praises Rep. Greg Gianforte for body-slamming a Guardian reporter in May of 2017. “I had heard that he body-slammed a reporter,” Trump told the crowd. “Any guy that can do a body-slam, he’s my guy. He’s my guy.” He does a re-enactment and says the assault “helped” Gianforte get elected to Congress in that year’s special election. (With Trump’s endorsement, Gianforte would later be elected governor in 2020.)
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October 26, 2018
Cesar Sayoc is arrested for mailing sixteen explosives to critics of Donald Trump, including CNN, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Cory Booker, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris. Sayoc, a zealous fan of the president, attended Trump rallies and the 2017 inaugural, and covered his vehicle in pro-Trump imagery with cross-hairs over Democrats.
Trump supporter Cesar Sayoc
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Sayoc's van, featuring cross-hairs over Democrats
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November 7, 2018
At a press conference, Donald Trump lashes out at Jim Acosta, who continued asking questions after being told to stop: “CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person.” Acosta reminds the president that CNN had recently received a pipe bomb from a Trump supporter (Cesar Sayoc). Although he had previously condemned Sayoc and political violence, Trump now appears to justify: “When you report fake news, which CNN does a lot, you are the enemy of the people.” Acosta is stripped of press credentials. (CNN would sue Trump over the incident.)
November 30, 2018
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin talk for fifteen minutes in person at an opera house in Buenos Aires. They reportedly discuss Ukraine and Syria, with only Melania Trump and Putin’s translator present.
December 18, 2018
The Congressional Research Service writes that in 2016, a Russian operation called the “Internet Research Agency” (IRA) spread disinformation on social media while impersonating American citizens. This “troll farm” created memes and talking points to spark racial division and to advocate for the election of Donald Trump. (See the 2019 Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian interference.)
December 21, 2018
Financial Times publishes an exposé, “How Russian Money Helped Save Trump’s businesses.” The article includes a statement from Trump architect Alan Lapidus, remembering that after so many bankruptcies, Trump “could not get anybody in the United States to lend him anything. It was all coming out of Russia. His involvement with Russia was deeper than he’s acknowledged.” Trump biographer Gwenda Blair is quoted saying, “Trump was on the Titanic heading down. Everyone’s drowning around him. . . . Suddenly he gets saved. It’s almost like a spaceship landed right next to where he was in the water.”
February 19, 2019
Amb. Grenell
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President Trump launches a worldwide campaign to decriminalize homosexuality. Trump’s openly-gay ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, says, “It is concerning that, in the 21st century, some 70 countries continue to have laws that criminalize LGBTI status or conduct.” NBC News reports that the Trump administration “is leading the effort” and “flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to push for decriminalization” in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean.
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February 27, 2019
In a seven-hour hearing before Congress, Michael Cohen turns on his former boss Donald Trump, and admits to previously lying to Congress to protect the president. Cohen provides copies of checks intended to silence women and help Trump cover up adulterous affairs. “I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed, because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist, he is a con man, and he is a cheat,” testifies Cohen. He says Trump knew Roger Stone was working with Julian Assange to help his campaign. Trump lied to the public about his Moscow building project, testifies Cohen, “because he never expected to win.” He says Trump “had no desire or intention to lead this nation, only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, ‘This campaign is going to be the greatest infomercial in political history.’ He never expected to win the primaries. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity.”
Michael Cohen to Congress: Lying for Trump became "normalized"
“Mr. Trump called me a rat for choosing to tell the truth, much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government,” says Cohen, and he says he feels Trump mentioned his family in tweets to “intimidate” him against testifying.
He says “lying for Trump was normalized” in his business dealings, and the pattern continues today in which “no one around” Trump dares question. Asked how many times Trump personally wanted him to threaten someone on his behalf, Cohen says, “Quite a few times,” with an estimate of about five hundred.
He says “lying for Trump was normalized” in his business dealings, and the pattern continues today in which “no one around” Trump dares question. Asked how many times Trump personally wanted him to threaten someone on his behalf, Cohen says, “Quite a few times,” with an estimate of about five hundred.
May 3, 2019
Donald Trump calls Vladimir Putin for a 90-minute conversation. They talk about the “Russian hoax,” according to Trump, who says Putin was amused that the collusion investigation “started off as a mountain and ended up being a mouse.”
May 31, 2019
President Trump becomes the first Republican president to recognize “LGBTQ Pride Month.” He tweets: “As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation. My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!”
June 16, 2019
President Trump says to ABC News: “More importantly, Article II allows me to do whatever I want.”
June 19, 2019
Donald Trump tells Sean Hannity he could have fired Robert Mueller: “I have absolutely Article II powers. I could have done anything I wanted. I don’t even bring it up, because we don’t even get there.”
June 20, 2019
Trump talks to Time Magazine about the Mueller report: “Frankly, I could have ended that—Mueller—immediately under Article II, if I wanted to. Article II, we don’t even talk about Article II because there’s no reason to talk about it. But I could have ended Mueller immediately. . . . I had the power to do it if I wanted to do it.” He says, “So now they have a phony crime and they say I tried to obstruct a phony crime. But you see, but I didn’t. I didn’t. And more importantly, under Article II, I could have done whatever I wanted. I could have fired Mueller if I wanted, but I didn’t, because if anybody checked out Richard Nixon, that didn’t work out so well.”
June 24, 2019
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President Trump tells the press the U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia is more important than investigating the murder of prominent Saudi reporter Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of his government who also wrote for the Washington Post. “Saudi Arabia is a big buyer of [American] product. That means something to me. It’s a big producer of jobs. . . . Take their money. Take their money.” (On October 11, 2018, Trump had said the killing of Khashoggi “shouldn’t happen,” but he didn’t want to lose the arms deal with Saudi Arabia: “I don’t like the concept of stopping an investment of $110 billion dollars into the United States.”)
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Khashoggi was murdered by 15 Saudi operatives at the Saudi consulate in Turkey
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June 30, 2019
Donald Trump becomes the first sitting U.S. President to step into North Korea. At the DMZ between North Korea and South Korea, Kim Jong Un says in English, “It’s great to see you again. I never expected to meet you at this place.”
Kim greets Trump at the DMZ between North and South Korea
July 12, 2019
President Trump tells the press: “It’s a thing called Article II. Nobody ever mentions Article II. It gives me all of these rights at a level that nobody has ever seen before. We don’t even talk about Article II.”
July 22, 2019
President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani places a call to Andriy Yermak, the top foreign policy advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Giuliani speaks of George Soros and asks for an investigation into Joe Biden’s dealings in Ukraine. Once that happens, he says, he wants Zelenskyy to “make some statement” that Biden is being investigated. He warns of “trouble” if Zelenskyy keeps people around who “said very, very personal, nasty things about” Trump.
July 23, 2019
Trump says at a Turning Point USA event: “Then I have an Article II where I have the right to do whatever I want as president—but I don’t even talk about that.”
July 24, 2019
Robert Mueller testifies to the House Intelligence Committee that his report does not exonerate Donald Trump, but on the contrary shows members of the Trump campaign and Trump welcomed Russia help in the election, and tried to make money from various foreign projects. During the campaign, Paul Manafort pursued money from a Russian oligarch, Michael Flynn wanted money from Turkey, and Donald Trump was working behind the scenes to get his long-desired Moscow tower, from which he stood to make hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Mueller acknowledges that lying about connections to foreign entities could leave a person vulnerable to blackmail. Mueller says Trump has inaccurately described his report. “It is not a witch hunt,” says Mueller, nor a “hoax.” He notes several persons who lied to investigators have been convicted: Flynn, George Papadopoulos, Manafort, Rick Gates, and Michael Cohen. He says he “determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment” on Trump because he is unsure whether a president can be indicted while in office.
Robert Mueller: The report is not a "hoax"
July 25, 2019
President Donald Trump tells Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he needs “a favor” before Ukraine can receive anti-tank Javelins: “they say Crowdstrike. . . . I guess you have one of your wealthy people. . . . The server, they say Ukraine has it.” Trump mentions his political rival Joe Biden: “There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great.”
June 28, 2019
At the G20 Summit in Japan, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meet privately for over an hour. Before they disappear from view of reporters, Trump says they will be discussing many things, including “some disarmament.” He says they’ve had “a very, very good relationship.” “So, Vladimir, thank you very much,” Trump says, shaking his hand. “Thank you,” Putin responds, in English. A reporter asks whether Trump will tell Putin not to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election. Putin and Trump chuckle. “Of course I will. Don’t meddle in the election, president. Don’t meddle in the election,” Trump jokes, as the two enjoy a laugh.
Putin and Trump chuckle over Russian meddling
July 31, 2019
President Trump speaks to Vladimir Putin by phone. They discuss “forest fires in Siberia” and restoring “full-fledged relations between” the U.S. and Russia.
August 9, 2019
President Trump mentions to the press: “I got a very beautiful letter from Kim Jong Un yesterday.” Asked what it said, Trump replies, “It was a very positive letter.” (There would be at least twenty-seven letters of correspondence between the two leaders. CNN was able to obtain two. Kim referred to Trump as “Your Excellency” and heaped praise. Kim’s letter of June 10, 2019, said “the deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force[.]” )
August 21, 2019
President Trump shares a quote from the self-described “King of Vegas” and author of “The Zen of Gambling,” Wayne Allyn Root, calling Trump the “second coming of God” and the “King of Israel.” “Jewish people in Israel love him,” says the quote, “like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God.” The quote goes on to say, “he’s good for all Jews, Blacks, Gays, everyone.” “Wow!” writes Trump in response. He thanks Root “for the very nice words.”
Later in the day, President Trump criticizes “fake news” for recession talk, and says his policies have sparked a “trade war that should have taken place a long time ago” with China. “I am the chosen one,” he says, as he turns and looks up at the sky. “Somebody had to do it.” (Later, he defended the messianic gesture as “sarcastic.”)
"I am the chosen one" to start trade wars
September 12, 2019
After withholding military aid from Ukraine on condition of a “favor,” Donald Trump finally allows the aid to proceed under pressure from the Senate. However, Trump attaches a new stipulation: anti-tank Javelins must be kept in western Ukraine, where they are useless against Russian aggression.
September 24, 2019
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announces a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump’s withholding of aid from Ukraine in exchange for political favors.
September 25, 2019
At their first meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to President Trump on the need to fight Russian aggression. Trump shrugs off responsibility. Zelenskyy: “My priority is to stop the war on Donbass and to get back our territories: Crimea, Donbass, Luhansk. Thank you for your support in this case.” Trump: “If you remember, you lost Crimea during a different administration.” Zelenskyy: “Yeah. So you have a chance to help us.” Trump: “That’s right. I do. But that was during the Obama administration that you lost Crimea, and I didn’t think it was something that you should have. But that was done a long time ago, and I think it was handled poorly. But it’s just one of those things.” Trump says other countries should help Ukraine. Zelenskyy follows up: “I’m sorry, but we don’t need help. We need support. Real support,” from Europe and the U.S. “Only together we can stop the war,” says Zelenskyy.
Trump tells Zelenskyy that Putin taking Crimea is "just one of those things"
Asked by a reporter about the phone call, Zelenskyy confirms it happened, and says, “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to get involved in elections of USA.” On whether he felt any pressure from Trump to investigate Joe Biden, Zelenskyy says, “nobody pushed me.” (Despite Zelenskyy’s diplomatic answer, the fact remains that Trump did withhold Ukrainian aid until the Senate got involved.)
September 26, 2019
At a private event, President Trump is recorded insinuating that those who brought to light his “I want you to do me a favor” phone call should be executed for treason. Trump says, “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart, right? The spies and treason—we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
September 29, 2019
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump condemns “endless wars—wars that never end.” He promotes his global effort to decriminalize homosexuality: “As we defend American values, we affirm the right of all people to live in dignity. For this reason, my administration is working with other nations to stop criminalizing of homosexuality, and we stand in solidarity with LGBTQ people who live in countries that punish, or jail, or execute individuals based on sexual orientation.”
Trump: Stop criminalizing homosexuality
The same day, Trump threatens there will be “a Civil War like fracture” if he is impeached and removed. He quotes Robert Jeffress: “If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal.”
October 1, 2019
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington writes that President Trump has violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause by deciding to “retain ownership and control of his sprawling business empire” and thus receive foreign money while president. The group says the Constitution does not allow a president to profit from foreign nations while in office, without congressional approval. (Congress would later find that in two years of his presidency, Trump properties received at least $5.5 million from China.)
Donald Trump congratulates China for 70 years of communism: “Congratulations to President Xi and the Chinese people on the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China!”
John McCormack writes in National Review: “Seventy years ago today, Mao Zedong declared the People’s Republic of China after his Communist forces had conquered most of the mainland. A decade later, Mao’s Great Leap Forward killed perhaps 45 million people. The Communist regime still denies its people freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and has imposed a policy of forced abortion.” The anniversary is marked by protests in Hong Kong, where an 18-year-old was shot in the chest by police.
November 5, 2019
Joe Biggs and Enrique Tarrio accompany a small crowd to show support for Roger Stone outside the federal courthouse in D.C. Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, calls Stone a “friend,” and says he is “definitely innocent.” Biggs, also with the Proud Boys, and InfoWars, calls Stone a “good friend, a great guy,” and says the charges against Stone are really meant to “go after Trump.” Stone is charged with tampering with a witness in the Mueller probe, obstructing a proceeding, and lying to Congress.
Proud Boys Joe Biggs and Enrique Tarrio show support for Roger Stone outside federal courthouse
Joe Biggs demonstrates for his "good friend" Roger Stone
December 2, 2019
Ambassador Dan Foote
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Trump’s ambassador to Zambia, Daniel Foote, issues a statement condemning the AIDS-rampant nation’s ban on homosexual behavior. He makes a veiled threat that the U.S. may withhold its substantial $500 million yearly aid if Zambia persists in “homophobic” laws. The nation’s ban on homosexual behavior stems from the Zambian constitution’s requirement that the laws be Christian in nature. Foote disagrees that homosexuality is against Christ’s teachings, and he says it is un-Christlike to punish homosexuals. “Discriminatory and homophobic laws, under the false flags of Christianity and culture, continue to kill innocent Zambians,” writes Foote. “My job as U.S. ambassador is to promote the interests, values, and ideals of the United States. . . . I was shocked at the venom and hate directed at me and my country, largely in the name of ‘Christian’ values, by a small minority of Zambians. I thought, perhaps incorrectly, that Christianity meant trying to live like our Lord, Jesus Christ.” He quotes Pope Francis to make the case that Jesus has no problem with homosexuality.
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Zambian President Edgar Lungu says his nation has no interest in the ambassador’s agenda: “We are saying no to homosexuality. Why should you say we’re going to be civilized if we only allow it? . . . Even animals don’t do it. Why should we be forced to [accept] it—because we want to be seen to be smart? To be seen to be civilized and advanced, and so forth?” He says his country would rather go without U.S. aid than accept homosexuality: “If that is how you’re going to bring your aid . . . leave us alone in our poverty.” (Zambia would later order Ambassador Foote out of the country.)
President Edgar Lungu
December 10, 2019
Donald Trump tweets an image of himself and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office: “Just had a very good meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and representatives of Russia. Discussed many items including Trade, Iran, North Korea, INF Treaty, Nuclear Arms Control, and Election Meddling.” The meeting is closed to the press.
Previously in the day, Lavrov attended a joint press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Lavrov denied any evidence of Russian interference with U.S. elections—despite the indictments of twelve Russians due to the Mueller Report.
December 11, 2019
Russian state television airs a segment calling Trump an “agent” and Lavrov the “puppet master”: “‘Кукловод’ и ‘агент’: как понимать встречу Лаврова с Трампом.” The host asks, “Should we get another apartment in Rostov ready?”—a reference to the hiding place of the disgraced Viktor Yanukovych, the Putin-puppet Ukrainian president who paved the way for Russia to take Crimea.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in the Oval Office, 2019
December 12, 2019
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington writes that President Trump’s requiring of a political “favor” from Ukraine in exchange for Javelins was likely criminal. “President Trump likely committed several crimes in his Ukraine conduct for which ordinary Americans could be prosecuted and punished,” writes CREW. Federal laws in question would be those against bribery (18 U.S.C. § 201); solicitation of foreign campaign contributions (52 U.S.C. §§ 30109, 30121); coercion of political activity (18 U.S.C. § 610); misappropriation of federal funds (18 U.S.C. § 641); and obstruction of Congress (18 U.S.C. §§ 1505, 1512), according to the group.
December 17, 2019
Rick Gates, a deputy to Paul Manafort in the Trump campaign, receives a light sentence under a plea deal and for cooperation in the Mueller probe. Gates and Manafort conspired to hide $75 million they were paid for their pro-Russia work in Ukraine.
December 18, 2019
The U.S. House impeaches President Donald Trump on two counts: Article I, Abuse of Power, and Article II, Obstruction of Congress. Trump is only the third U.S. president ever to be impeached.
December 27, 2019
President Trump retweets the QAnon hashtag WWG1WGA.
December 29, 2019
In his hunt to unmask the whistleblower who reported the Zelenskyy call, President Trump retweets—then deletes—a post from a user called Sufermom77 claiming to “out” the anonymous tipster. The AP says the user Surfermom77 “displayed some hallmarks of a Twitter bot,” with the use of stock photos for a profile picture, and excessive tweeting—an average of 72 times per day. Nonetheless, the AP warns that “outing government whistleblowers not only puts them at personal risk but also discourages other government officials from stepping forward to expose possible wrongdoing.”
January 21, 2020
With the impeachment trial still underway, OANN airs a propaganda film titled The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, and Mass Murder. The film attempts to deflect attention away from Donald Trump's withholding of Ukrainian aid. It was produced by Trump official and former Boris Yeltsin advisor Michael Caputo and his Russian-born business partner Sergey Petrushin. Russian intelligence agents Konstanin Kilimnik, Andrii Derkach, and Andrii Telizhenko, an ally to Rudy Giuliani, were also involved in the film.
Trump official Michael Caputo produced a documentary with several Russian agents
February 5, 2020
President Donald Trump is acquitted in the Senate, almost entirely along party lines. Only Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) steps across the aisle to vote “guilty” for Article I, abuse of power. Republicans lose a chance to have Mike Pence finish the term and possibly serve as president in the years to come.
February 6, 2020
National Prayer Breakfast, after his impeachment acquittal
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At the National Prayer Breakfast, attended by President Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Arthur Brooks preaches: “Ask God to give you the strength to do this hard thing, to go against your human nature, to follow Jesus’ teaching . . . to love your enemies. Ask God to take political contempt from your heart.”
When Trump takes the podium, he says, “Arthur, I don’t know if I agree with you.” He lambastes the impeachment, saying it was done by “very dishonest and corrupt people” who “have done everything possible to destroy us, and in so doing, have very badly hurt our nation.” He says, “I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they know it’s not so”—a reference to Pelosi, who has said she prays for the president. |
February 20, 2020
Donald Trump names Richard Grenell the Acting Director of National Intelligence. This makes Trump the first president to select an openly-gay person for a cabinet position. Republicans applaud the selection, while Democrats complain the man has no intelligence experience.
The same day, Trump ally Roger Stone is sentenced to forty months in prison for seven felonies related to working with WikiLeaks to gain intel for the Trump campaign, lying to Congress, and witness tampering.
