In the 13 months after three of Donald Trump’s closest advisers met with a Russian lawyer, the Trump camp consistently denied collusion with Russia

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

On 9 June 2016, three of Donald Trump’s closest advisers met a Russian lawyer after one of them, Donald Trump Jr, was told the Russian could provide “information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton]”.

Donald Trump Jr posts emails from Russia offering material on Clinton: 'I love it' Read more

Over the next 13 months, the future president and associates including Donald Jr denied at least 20 times that their campaign team had had any contact with Russians seeking to influence the presidential election.

On Tuesday, Trump’s eldest son published emails that revealed his participation in that 9 June meeting, which was described to him as part of a Russian government attempt to harm his father’s Democratic election rival.

The emails show that music promoter Rob Goldstone, who set up the meeting, wrote: “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump.”

Trump Jr replied: “If it’s what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer.”

As recently as Saturday, Trump Jr had said the 9 June meeting – also attended by campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – was primarily concerned with an adoption program.

Here is a timeline of Trump camp’s denials of links to Russians seeking to influence the US presidential election.

24 July 2016

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump Jr appears on CNN’s State of the Union.

On ABC’s This Week, host George Stephanopoulos relays to then-campaign chairman Manafort concerns expressed by Clinton campaign director Robby Mook and Weekly Standard editor-in-chief Bill Kristol over possible links between Russia and Trump’s campaign, specifically regarding the leaking and publication of Democratic National Committee emails.

Manafort says such allegations are “pure obfuscation” and that there are no ties between the Trump campaign and the regime of Vladimir Putin.



“That’s absurd,” he says. “And, you know, there’s no basis to it.”

The same day, CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper puts the Clinton campaign’s allegations to Donald Trump Jr.

“Well it just goes to show you their exact moral compass,” Trump Jr says. “They’ll say anything to be able to win this.

“This is time and time again, lie after lie, you notice he [Mook] won’t say, ‘Well I say this … ‘We hear experts’ – his house cat at home once said this is what’s happening with the Russians. It’s disgusting, it’s so phoney. I watched him bumble through the interview … I can’t think of bigger lies. But that exactly goes to show you what the DNC [Democratic National Committee] and what the Clinton camp will do. They will lie and do anything to win.”

He continues: “These lies and the perpetuating of that kind of nonsense to gain some political capital is just outrageous.”



27 July 2016

In an interview held at his golf course in Doral, Florida, Donald Trump tells a local CBS news channel there are no ties between his campaign and Russian officials.

“I can tell you,” he says, “I think if I came up with that, they’d say, ‘Oh, it’s a conspiracy theory, it’s ridiculous.’ I mean I have nothing to do with Russia. I don’t have any jobs in Russia. I’m all over the world but we’re not involved in Russia.”

25 September

Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway denies the Trump campaign has links to Carter Page, a former Trump adviser reportedly being monitored by the FBI because of potential ties to Russia.

Asked by CNN’s Tapper if Page is in contact with Russian government officials, Conway says: “If he’s doing that, he’s certainly not doing it with the permission or knowledge of the campaign, the activities that you described.” She adds: “He is certainly not authorized to do that.”

24 October

At a campaign rally in Florida, Trump said: “I have nothing to do with Russia, folks, I’ll give you a written statement.”

11 November

Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks denies claims from the Kremlin that Trump officials met with its staff.

“It never happened,” Hicks says. “There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”

What is the significance of Trump Jr's meeting with a Russian lawyer? | Luke Harding Read more

18 December

Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, Conway says no one involved with the campaign had any contact with Russians who sought to meddle in the US election.

“Those conversations never happened,” she says. “I hear people saying it like it’s a fact on television. That is just not only inaccurate and false, but it’s dangerous.”

11 January 2017

Early on a Wednesday morning, nine days before his inauguration as president, Trump tweets:

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!

At a press conference later the same day, Trump ignores a question about contact between his associates and Russia.

ABC’s Cecilia Vega follows up: “Can you stand here today, once and for all, and say that no one connected to you or your campaign had any contact with Russia leading up to or during the presidential campaign?”

Trump tells her: “No.”

15 January

CBS asks Mike Pence, the incoming vice-president, if there have been conversations with Russians who wanted to meddle in the election.

“Well of course not,” Pence replies. “I think to suggest that is to give credence to some of these bizarre rumors that have swirled around the candidacy.”

7 February

Trump tweets again:

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) I don't know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem!

16 February

And again:

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) The Democrats had to come up with a story as to why they lost the election, and so badly (306), so they made up a story - RUSSIA. Fake news!

Trump also tells reporters at a White House press conference: “I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does.”

19 February

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus says: “I can assure you and I have been approved to say this – that the top levels of the intelligence community have assured me that that story [a New York Times report about Trump campaign aides] is not only inaccurate, but it’s grossly overstated and it was wrong. And there’s nothing to it.”

20 February

At a White House briefing, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says allegations about the Trump team and Russia are “ a non-story because to the best of our knowledge, no contacts took place, so it’s hard to make a comment on something that never happened.”

24 February

White House press secretary Sean Spicer is asked how the White House can end the narrative that the president had an “improper relationship with Russia”.

Spicer replies: “Well, again, there are no connections to find out about. That’s the problem. I think, a), he [Trump] has answered it forcefully. You can’t disprove something that doesn’t exist. He’s talked about the fact how many times he’s talked to Putin. He has no interests in Russia. He has no … there’s only so many times he can deny something that doesn’t exist.”

26 February

Trump tweets:

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Russia talk is FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks!

March

In an interview with the New York Times, Trump Jr denies meeting with Russian nationals in connection to the presidential campaign.

“Did I meet with people that were Russian? I’m sure, I’m sure I did,” he said. “But none that were set up. None that I can think of at the moment. And certainly none that I was representing the campaign in any way, shape or form.”

Asked if he has ever discussed government policies related to Russia, he replies, “100% no.”

8 May

Trump tweets:

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) The Russia-Trump collusion story is a total hoax, when will this taxpayer funded charade end?

11 May

In his now infamous interview with Lester Holt of NBC, Trump says: “I have had dealings over the years where I sold a house to a very wealthy Russian many years ago. I had the Miss Universe pageant – which I owned for quite a while – I had it in Moscow a long time ago. But other than that, I have nothing to do with Russia.”



Discussing his decision to fire FBI director James Comey, he says: “When I decided to just do it I said to myself, I said, ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.’”

Russian lawyer who met Trump team denies links with Kremlin Read more

18 May

At a joint press conference with the president of Colombia, Trump says he has been the target of the “greatest witch hunt” in US history, because of the investigation into his associates’ ties to Russia.

“I respect the move,” he says, “but the entire thing has been a witch hunt. There is no collusion – certainly myself and my campaign – but I can always speak for myself and the Russians – zero.”

8 July

The New York Times reports that Trump Jr met with a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information about Clinton. Trump Jr says the meeting was not about his father’s campaign: “We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow up.”

10 July

The New York Times reports that emails show the Russian lawyer told Trump Jr she had compromising information about Clinton that was part of Russian government efforts to aid his father’s campaign. Trump Jr tweets: “Obviously I’m the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent ... went nowhere but had to listen.”

Into the next morning, he continues to retweet people who say the revelations are not a big deal.

11 July 2017

Minutes before the New York Times publishes the emails referenced in the previous day’s story, Trump Jr posts the emails on Twitter.

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