Russian Connection

What is the relationship between Trump and the Russian government? Consider these facts:

Russian Contacts

Trump campaign officials and associates were in frequent contact with Russian intelligence in the year before the US election. [NY Times] [NY Times]
Carter Page, a national security adviser for the Trump, travels to Russia, gives a speech critical of US policy. Page met secretly with Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian gas giant Rosneft and friend of Putin, who offer substantial brokerage fees for Rosneft stock. [NY Times] [CNN] [BusinessInsider]
Paul Manafort, Carter Page and Russian Ambassador Kislyak meet at the Republican National Convention.
Jeff Sessions, met with the Russian ambassador while working on the Trump campaign. Senator Sessions later testified under oath that he had not met with the Russians. [NY Times] As Attorney General, he has recused himself from overseeing the investigation into Trump's Russian connections.
Jared Kushner, Trump son-in-law and advisor, tried to setup a "back channel" communication system so that members of the Trump administration could communicate with Russia without US Intelligence agencies being able to monitor the calls. [PBS]

Trump said to the Russian government, during a speech, that Russia would be rewarded if they found the 30,000 Hillary emails. [video]
US intelligence reports that Russia was behind hack of DNC computers and leaks of Hillary's emails, which helped Trump win. [CNN]
Trump suggests he may lift sanctions against Russia if Russia helps defeat ISIS. [CNN]
Trump has extensive business connections with Russia, including loans. [Time]
National intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI) have concluded that Russia acted to influence the US election in Trump's favor.
Trump appoints Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Tillerson has extensive ties with Russia and was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship in 2012. [CNN] Tillerson was CEO of Exxon, which stands to gain billions of dollars from Russian oil deals if sanctions are lifted. [NY Times]
US Intelligence briefed both Trump and Obama on evidence that the Russian government was trying to blackmail Trump. There was reportedly a video recorded in 2013 when Trump was visiting Moscow for a Miss Universe pageant. [CNN]

In 2016 the FBI started an investigation to determine whether Trump was a Russian agent, or an unwitting accomplice. []

3/20/2017 - Rep. Adam Schiff (D), in his opening remarks gave a great summary of the known facts related to the Russian Connection. FBI DIrector James Comey confirms that the FBI is investigating possible collusion between Trump and the Russia government. During the hearing, Republicans focussed more on plugging the leaks then on investigating Trump.
5/17/2017 - Robert S Mueller III was appointed as Special Prosecutor to investigate the connection between Russia and the Trump White House. [LATimes]
10/30/2017 - Mueller charges Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and his associate Rick Gates, with money laundering. George Papadoupolis, a foreign policy advisor for Trump, was charged with lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts. [NYTimes]
12/1/2017 - Michael Flynn, former Trump national security advisor, pled guilty to charges of making false statements to the FBI. [NYTimes]
2/22/2018 - Mueller charges Paul Manafort with fraud by disguising $10M of income as non-taxable. [NYTimes]

Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican Chair of the House investigating committee, sees new evidence but does not share it with his Democratic counterparts on the committee. He then cancels a hearing scheduled for March 28. Nunes, a former Trump adviser, has briefed Trump on the committee's work and seems to be working for Trump. [Independant]