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Introduction

Allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election have gripped Washington and kicked off multiple investigations into the campaign of President Donald J. Trump. At the root of these inquiries are concerns about the security of the U.S. electoral process and fears that a rival power could influence an election's results.

President Trump has at times dismissed or downplayed claims that Russia interfered in the last presidential race, and has consistently denied that his campaign coordinated with Russian agents in any way. While the investigations are ongoing, and could carry on for many more months, they have already prompted a former Trump administration official and a former campaign advisor to plead guilty to lying to federal agents about communications with Russian nationals.

Who accuses Russia of interfering in the election?

The CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency jointly stated with "high confidence" that the Russian government conducted a sophisticated campaign to influence the recent election. President Vladimir Putin ordered the effort, the U.S. agencies said in a January 2017 report [PDF], with the dual aims of damaging Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and undermining the U.S. democratic process. "Putin and the Russian government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump," a declassified version of the report said. Russia denies these allegations.

Trump's transition team initially discounted the intelligence community's assessment. "These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," the team said in a statement. But in a press conference weeks later Trump said, "As far as hacking, I think it was Russia. But I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people."

In June, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said that individuals linked to the Kremlin attempted to infiltrate election-related computer systems in more than twenty states. Authorities do not believe that Russian hackers tampered with the vote count, but said they were likely scanning the systems for weaknesses.

In February 2018, federal prosecutors led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged several Russian entities with crimes associated with an effort to interfere in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 election.

What measures is Russia accused of taking?

The Russian effort involved overt activities by government agencies, state-backed media, and paid internet "trolls," as well as covert operations, including illicit cyber activities conducted by intelligence agents.

The Russian government used state-funded media outlets, including the website and radio broadcaster Sputnik and television network Russia Today (RT), to disadvantage the Clinton presidential campaign, the 2017 U.S. intelligence report said. RT's portrayal of Clinton during the run-up to the election, it found, "was consistently negative and focused on her leaked emails and accused her of corruption, poor physical and mental health, and ties to Islamic extremism." Both Sputnik and RT produce media in several languages, including English, for international audiences.

Russia also took its influence campaign to highly trafficked social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. A Russian entity with links to the Kremlin known as the Internet Research Agency (IRA) is reported to have hired hundreds of "trolls" to post false news stories and socially divisive content on these and other platforms. Facebook, for instance, said the IRA posted content that reached more than 140 million of its users.

The U.S. special counsel's indictment alleged that a collection of Russian individuals and companies tied to the IRA waged a well-resourced campaign of "information warfare" against the United States beginning in 2014. The objective was "to sow discord in the U.S. political system," including through operations to denigrate Clinton and favor Trump. Operating covertly and unlawfully, the Russian defendants ran social media accounts, bought political advertisements, and staged political rallies in the United States, prosecutors say. The conspiracy was allegedly part of a broader campaign known as Project Lakhta that targeted audiences in Russia and around the world.

Meanwhile, U.S. authorities say Russian agents hacked into computer systems associated with both major U.S. political parties. They are believed to have stolen thousands of emails from leading Democratic Party figures in early 2016 and leaked them online weeks ahead of the party's national convention in July. Russian military intelligence "used the Guccifer 2.0 persona, DCLeaks.com, and WikiLeaks to release U.S. victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly," U.S. intelligence agencies said in the January 2017 report. The leaked documents contained correspondence described by the Washington Post as "an embarrassing look at Democratic Party operations."

U.S. intelligence agencies have not determined if or to what extent Russia's actions influenced election results.

What are U.S. authorities investigating?

There are multiple investigations into the role Russia played in the 2016 election. Mueller is leading a criminal inquiry for the Department of Justice (DOJ), the most high-profile investigation. He has a mandate to examine any links or coordination between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government, as well as any matters that may arise from the investigation itself, including any efforts to obstruct it. Mueller took over the inquiry from FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017. Mueller is prosecuting individuals for committing federal crimes.

At the same time, both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees, as well as the U.S. Senate judiciary subcommittee on crime and terrorism, have begun inquiries into Russia's interference in the election. While congressional investigations may bring new information to light, they do not result in criminal prosecutions, except in the event of a witness refusing to comply with a subpoena or lying under oath. They can, however, result in legislation or other congressional action, including impeachment.

Did the Trump campaign conspire with Russia?

As a matter of law, the central question is not whether members of the Trump campaign coordinated or colluded with Russia, but whether they conspired with Russians to break a criminal statute or they broke the law themselves. For instance, investigators will ask whether any member of the Trump campaign conspired with Russian agents to hack into Democratic National Committee (DNC) email accounts, which would be a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. "Collusion" and "coordination" are not legally relevant terms, but they are often used as shorthand to refer to such a criminal conspiracy.

Several senior members of the Trump campaign, including Donald J. Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, Jeff Sessions, and Michael T. Flynn, have acknowledged meeting with Russian officials or individuals with links to the Kremlin in the months leading up to the election. But these and other interactions may have been lawful.

The special counsel's 2018 indictment said that Russians posing as U.S. persons "communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities," but prosecutors say no American was a knowing participant in the crimes detailed in that document. President Trump has repeatedly denied that his campaign colluded with the Russian government.

What results have the various investigations produced thus far?

The investigations and intense media scrutiny associated with them have produced several remarkable developments involving members of the Trump campaign and presidential administration.

In February 2017, Flynn resigned from his post as national security advisor amid revelations about his contacts with Sergey Kislyak, then Russia's ambassador to the United States, before the inauguration.

In March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from federal inquiries into Russia's interference in the U.S. election after he acknowledged meeting Kislyak during the presidential campaign. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Sessions said he "did not have communications with the Russians."

In October, Mueller obtained a guilty plea from one Trump associate and indicted two others. George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about meetings with Russian nationals. Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager, and Richard Gates, Manafort's business partner, were charged with multiple counts, including conspiracy to launder money and failure to register as foreign agents. Manafort and Gates were allegedly unregistered lobbyists for the pro-Russia government of Ukraine for nearly a decade, work for which they were paid tens of millions of dollars that they then attempted to hide from U.S. tax authorities.

In December, Mueller's office reached a guilty plea agreement with Flynn, who admitted to making false statements to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak ahead of Trump's inauguration.

In February 2018, Mueller's office charged thirteen Russian individuals and three Russian businesses, including the Internet Research Agency, with a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States. Some defendants were also charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. All defendants were outside U.S. jurisdiction at the time of the indictment.

The same month, Mueller's prosecutors obtained a guilty plea from Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch-born attorney and son-in-law of a Russian billionaire. Van der Zwaan confessed to lying to U.S. investigators about his communications with Gates during a time when the two were lobbying for the government of Ukraine. Additionally, in a superseding indictment, the special counsel added new charges of financial crimes against Manafort and Gates, including filing false tax returns, failing to report foreign accounts, and committing bank fraud. Shortly thereafter, Gates pleaded guilty to two criminal charges, acknowledging he had conspired to defraud the United States and lied to federal investigators.

When will the investigations end?

There is no fixed timeline for the Mueller or congressional investigations, and experts say they could go on for many more months or even years. Past special counsel investigations have taken more than four years.

Once Mueller has completed his investigation, he will be required to submit to the U.S. attorney general (or the acting U.S. attorney general in this case, because Sessions recused himself) a confidential report explaining his decisions on whether to prosecute. The official can opt to make the report public if doing so would serve the public interest.

Can the president fire Mueller?

Some Trump supporters have called on the president to dismiss Mueller, which has raised a debate over the special counsel's independence. Per DOJ regulations, only the U.S. attorney general can remove the special counsel, and only with "good cause," such as misconduct or dereliction of duty. However, some legal experts say the president can ignore these regulations and fire the special counsel for any reason if he feels the DOJ regulations infringe on his constitutional powers.

Can the president be impeached as a result of the investigations?

A central question in impeachment discussions turns on what qualifies as impeachable conduct. The U.S. Constitution states that the president and other officials "shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

While treason and bribery are fairly straightforward offenses, there is much debate over what constitutes "high Crimes and Misdemeanors," terms which are not defined in either the Constitution or federal statutes. Some legal scholars contend that only criminal conduct is impeachable, while others say that other abuses of office or violations of the public trust could be impeachable offenses. Some legal analysts and Democratic lawmakers say Trump's actions warrant an impeachment inquiry by Congress.

The process would begin in the House of Representatives, where articles of impeachment must pass with a simple majority of those present. The baton would then be passed to the Senate, which would conduct a trial and render a judgment. A conviction-removal from office-would require a two-thirds majority vote of senators present. In the 115th Congress (2017-2019), the Republican Party controls both the House and Senate.

Timeline

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Russia, Trump, and the 2016 U.S. Election

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Allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election have gripped Washington and kicked off multiple investigations into the campaign of President Donald J. Trump. At the root of these inquiries are concerns about the security of the U.S. electoral process and fears that a rival power could influence an election's results.

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2016 Presidential Campaign Hacking Fast Facts

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Read CNN's Fast Facts about hacking during the 2016 presidential campaign.

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The first National Security Advisor of Trump Administration met with russian officials

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The first National Security Advisor of Trump Administration met with russian officials

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Mr. Flynn's plea deal could deeply undercut the claims made in January by Mr. Trump and his aides that they were misled by Mr. Flynn about his discussion with Russians regarding sanctions imposed on Moscow by the Obama administration over the election interference. In fact, the documents say multiple members of the team coordinated the specifics of Mr. Flynn's outreach to Russia and knew that the conversations were about sanctions.

Mr. Flynn's agreement also provided new context for Mr. Trump's efforts to get F.B.I. officials to back off their investigation of Mr. Flynn.

James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, has said that the president asked him to shut down the investigation one day after Mr. Flynn was fired in February. "I hope you can let this go," the president said, according to congressional testimony by Mr. Comey.

The information provided by Mr. Flynn, who promised to provide prosecutors with information on "any and all matters," suggests one possible motivation for the president's efforts to shut down the Flynn investigation: to avoid revealing the deep involvement of his top transition officials in Mr. Flynn's discussions with Mr. Kislyak.

In May, the president fired Mr. Comey as well and said the Russia investigation was on his mind at the time. Mr. Mueller is investigating whether Mr. Trump's firings of Mr. Comey or Mr. Flynn amount to obstruction of justice.

Mr. Trump made no public comments on Friday, though Mr. Flynn's plea provided an awkward backdrop for a closed-door holiday reception for members of the press corps at the White House.

Ty Cobb, the president's lawyer dealing with the Russia inquiry, played down the potential impact of Mr. Flynn's deal, saying that Mr. Flynn served only briefly in the administration and had pleaded guilty to just a single count of lying to the F.B.I.

"Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn," Mr. Cobb said in a statement.

But while the court documents released on Friday show no direct evidence of collusion with Russia, the special counsel's filings so far paint a damning portrait of Mr. Trump's associates. His former campaign chairman, two other campaign aides and his former national security adviser have now all been charged with felonies.

In a statement, Mr. Flynn, 58, denied "false accusations of 'treason,'" but said that he had agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, who are examining whether Mr. Trump's campaign colluded with Russians during the election and whether anyone sought to cover it up.

"I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right," Mr. Flynn said. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions."

Friday's 45-minute hearing in federal court in Washington was a humiliating moment for Mr. Flynn, a decorated Army general who had risen to lead the Defense Intelligence Agency but was fired by Mr. Obama before joining the Trump campaign.

Dressed in a crisp gray suit, Mr. Flynn arrived at the courtroom with his wife, holding hands. They occasionally traded glances, and her legs trembled before prosecutors laid out their case that Mr. Flynn had repeatedly lied to investigators about his dealings with Russia and his lobbying on behalf of the Turkish government.

Mr. Flynn's plea agreement requires his full cooperation. He agreed to take a polygraph and, if asked, to participate in covert law enforcement activities. Such undercover activities are unlikely, however, since the plea agreement was filed publicly.

Prosecutors said they would delay Mr. Flynn's sentencing, a sign that their investigation was not over and that they had not exhausted Mr. Flynn's cooperation. Lying to the F.B.I. carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, but court documents indicate Mr. Flynn faces a likely sentence of zero to six months in prison.

Because he pleaded guilty to lying, Mr. Flynn hurt his credibility as a witness if he ever offered evidence against someone else at trial. But Mr. Flynn's cooperation could still be valuable in guiding Mr. Mueller's understanding of the campaign's contacts with Russia, even if he cannot directly implicate anyone in a crime.

According to prosecutors, on Dec. 22, Mr. Flynn discussed with Mr. Kislyak an upcoming United Nations Security Council vote on whether to condemn Israel's building of settlements. At the time, the Obama administration was preparing to allow a Security Council vote on the matter.

Mr. Mueller's investigators have learned through witnesses and documents that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel asked the Trump transition team to lobby other countries to help Israel, according to two people briefed on the inquiry. Investigators have learned that Mr. Flynn and Mr. Kushner took the lead in those efforts.

Mr. Mueller's team has emails that show Mr. Flynn saying he would work to kill the vote, the people briefed on the matter said.

Mr. Flynn also spoke to Mr. Kislyak on Dec. 29, according to court documents, about the sanctions against Russia announced that day. He had consulted with Ms. McFarland about the matter. She was with other members of the team at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, the court documents revealed, "to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the U.S. sanctions."

Mr. Flynn asked Mr. Kislyak that Moscow refrain from escalating the situation, and Mr. Kislyak said Russia "had chosen to moderate its response," the documents said. The following day, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Moscow would not retaliate against the United States for the sanctions.

American intelligence agencies had grown so concerned about Mr. Flynn's communications with Mr. Kislyak and false accounts that he provided to Mr. Pence that he was interviewed by F.B.I. agents at the White House four days after the president was sworn into office. Sally Q. Yates, the acting attorney general, warned the White House that its national security adviser might be compromised by the Russians.

Even before Mr. Trump said he would appoint Mr. Flynn to the post, questions swirled around his connections to foreign governments, particularly a dinner he was paid to attend in Moscow in 2015 when he sat at the same table as Mr. Putin.

Mr. Flynn had also formed a consulting group after he left the Obama administration that led to inquiries into questionable lobbying for foreign governments, including the Turkish government.

Investigators working for the special counsel have questioned witnesses about whether Mr. Flynn was secretly paid by Turkish officials during the campaign. After he left the White House, Mr. Flynn disclosed that the Turkish government had paid him more than a half-million dollars to represent its interests in a dispute with the United States.

Prosecutors did not charge Mr. Flynn with crimes related to his work with the Turkish government. But in documents, they made clear that they have evidence that Mr. Flynn "made materially false statements and omissions" in his federal filings about that lobbying work.

Mr. Flynn's son, Michael Flynn Jr., was intimately involved with his father's undisclosed lobbying efforts. The son has not been charged with a crime and it is not clear whether his possible legal exposure put extra pressure on his father to plead guilty. Barry Coburn, a lawyer for Mr. Flynn Jr., declined to comment.

Correction: December 1, 2017

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russian interference in 2016 us elections and ties to trump associates

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Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to the F.B.I. and Will Cooperate With Russia Inquiry

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Mr. Flynn's plea deal could deeply undercut the claims made in January by Mr. Trump and his aides that they were misled by Mr. Flynn about his discussion with Russians regarding sanctions imposed on Moscow by the Obama administration over the election interference.