The companies in question, aluminium giant US Rusal, En+ Group, and JSC EuroSibEnergo were partly owned by Oleg Deripaska, an ally to Russian President Putin. Deripaska has also been linked to Russian interference in US elections.
Trump admitted he fired Comey because of the “Russia thing” in an interview with Lester Holt:
“And, in fact, 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, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should’ve won.’”
This contradicted the original White House memo that stated Comey was fired because of his handling of the Hillary email investigation. He again backtracked the comments later after claiming that the interview had been “fudged,” though no evidence was offered.
Trump told Russian officials visiting the Oval Office that “I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job…I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.” He also said he was unconcerned with Russian election interference and shared classified intelligence with the Russian officials gathered by Israel, despite Russia’s ally Iran being Israel’s longtime enemy.
Trump has repeatedly called for Russia’s inclusion to the international economic forum, and has said that its removal Russia in 2014 was a mistake Obama made “because he got outsmarted.” Russia was dis-invited from the economic forum after it invaded neighboring Ukraine and annexed Crimea.
He made the comments about Crimea, part of Ukraine illegally invaded and annexed in 2014, at the G7. Trump said Russia should be allowed back into the summit, as it had been kicked out because of the invasion.
The remarks came after Manafort was indicted and jailed for witness tampering. Manafort was Trump’s campaign manager for 5 months, personally picked Pence as his running mate, and was part the transition team. Manafort has since been convicted of tax and bank fraud, stemming from his work as a lobbyist for Russian interests in Ukraine.
Serving as Trump’s Attorney General, Sessions recused from the investigation into Russian election interference. himself per a Department of Justice regulation that disallows officials from investigating campaigns they were a part of.
As head of the FBI, Sessions explained that Department of Justice regulations required he do so. The rule in question states that DoJ employees cannot “participate in a criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with any person or organization substantially involved…or who would be directly affected by the outcome.”
After, Trump repeatedly attacked his Attorney General, demanding he reverse his recusal. Sessions ultimately resigned the day after the 2018 midterm elections.
Trump continued to attack Sessions after, especially amid Sessions’ 2020 candidacy for Alabama’s US Senator.
Jeff, you had your chance & you blew it. Recused yourself ON DAY ONE (you never told me of a problem), and ran for the hills. You had no courage, & ruined many lives. The dirty cops, & others, got caught by better & stronger people than you. Hopefully this slime will pay a big… https://t.co/AJPUBTPCnT
The FBI briefed both the Trump and Clinton campaigns about ongoing Russian attempts at infiltrating and influencing them. They were also told to alert the FBI about any “suspicious overtures.” Trump later claimed that he received no such warning.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Bill O’Reilly. When O’Reilly said that “Putin’s a killer,” Trump likened the United States to Russia and its human rights violations, replying that “there are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?”
The briefing was penned by Trump’s national security advisers. During the congratulatory phone call, Russian meddling in US elections was not discussed.
Putin has long maintained political control in Russia, disallowing any real competition, exercising ultimately authority over the media, and presiding over widespread corruption in elections. He has been President or prime minister since 2000.
