The disclosure Tuesday of a James B. Comey memo saying that President Trump had asked him to shut down the FBI’s investigation of former national security advisor Michael Flynn followed months of intrigue.
Trump has frequently belittled investigations underway into Russian meddling in the presidential election. His comments, often on Twitter, have only heightened the suspicions of his detractors about Russia’s ties to Flynn and other senior Trump campaign advisors.
Last week, Trump fired Comey. Democrats have accused the president of trying to obstruct the inquiry by ousting the man who had been heading it. The existence of a memo documenting private conversation between Comey and Trump, first reported Tuesday by the New York Times, has set off widespread speculation that Trump could now be vulnerable to impeachment.
Here’s a timeline on the drama that has unfolded since Trump won the Nov. 8 election:
Nov. 8
Trump wins election
Trump, defying polls, shocks the political establishment and beats Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States. It’s widely considered to be one of the biggest upsets in American political history.
Nov. 10
Obama warning
Obama warns Trump during a 90-minute meeting at the White House that Flynn, a former U.S. Army lieutenant general and Defense Intelligence Agency chief, is a problem. The warning comes out in May during Sally Yates’ testimony before Congress.
Nov. 18
Trump picks Flynn
Trump names Flynn as his choice for national security advisor. The decision is controversial. Flynn had attended a lavish dinner in Moscow in 2015 at which he sat next to President Vladimir Putin. He’d also received a speaking fee from a Russian television network that U.S. officials consider a propaganda outlet.
Dec. 6
Flynn’s son out
Trump’s transition team cuts ties with Flynn’s son, who had spread false stories on Twitter.
Dec. 29
Sanctions imposed on Russia
The Obama administration imposes sanctions on Russia in retaliation for Russia’s hacking of the Democratic National Committee in the summer and other efforts to interfere with the U.S. election.
Dec. 29
Flynn contacts Russian ambassador
Flynn contacts Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak several times that day, including more than one telephone call.
Dec. 30
Putin responds
Putin says he will not retaliate against the U.S. sanctions, surprising the Obama administration. Trump praises Putin.
Early January
Flynn’s Russia connection
Intelligence officials, looking for clues to why Putin decided not to retaliate, discover Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak, whose communications the U.S. government routinely monitor.
Jan. 11
Trump speaks
At a news conference, Trump denies that he has ties with Russia.
Jan. 12
News report
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius first reports on Flynn’s contacts with Kislyak. “What did Flynn say,” he asks, “and did it undercut the U.S. sanctions?”At a news conference, Trump denies that he has ties with Russia.
Jan. 13
White House denial
Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer denies that Flynn and Kislyak discussed sanctions.
Jan. 15
Pence defends Flynn
Vice President-elect Mike Pence, in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” denies that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak. The timing was “strictly coincidental,” Pence said. “What I can confirm, having spoken to him about it, is that those conversations … had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions.”
Jan. 20
Inauguration
Trump takes the oath of office and is sworn in as the 45th U.S. president.
Jan. 22
Flynn starts his job
Flynn is sworn in as national security advisor.
During a public reception at the White House attended by Comey, Trump hugs his FBI director and affectionately says, “He’s become more famous than me.”
Between Jan. 24
FBI talks to Flynn
FBI interviews Flynn. Flynn denies that he discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Jan. 23
Spicer says Flynn didn’t discuss sanctions
Spicer, now White House press secretary, tells reporters at the daily news briefing that he had talked with Flynn the night before about the calls with Kislyak and that there had been no discussion of sanctions.
Jan. 26
Yates warns White House
Acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates tells White House Counsel Donald McGahn that Flynn and Kislyak had discussed the sanctions and that Flynn, having misled Pence and others, might be subject to Russian blackmail. McGahn briefs Trump.
Jan. 27
Comey dines with Trump
At a one-on-one dinner at the White House, Comey is asked by Trump for his loyalty, according to a New York Times report of the encounter published after Comey is fired in May. Comey reportedly tells him he can offer his honesty.
Feb 7
Trump tweets, ‘I don’t know Putin’
Trump responds to a controversy stemming from comments he made during an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly.
O’Reilly observed during the interview that Putin is “a killer.”
Trump answered: “You think our country is so innocent?”
Feb. 8
Another denial
Flynn, responding to questions from the Washington Post, once again flatly denies any discussions with Kislyak about sanctions.
Feb. 9
Denial retracted/Pence discovery
A spokesperson for Flynn retracts that denial, saying he does not remember talking about the sanctions but “can’t be 100% sure.”
Pence discovers for the first time, from a Washington Post article, that Flynn had misled him, his spokesman confirms. Pence subsequently learns that Trump had known about Flynn’s deception since Jan. 26, but hadn’t told him.
Feb. 10
Flynn calls Pence
White House officials say Flynn called Pence to apologize for misleading him. Trump, asked by reporters on Air Force One, says he is not familiar with the Post report.
Feb. 12
Miller appears on talk shows
White House official Stephen Miller, dispatched by the administration to appear on several Sunday TV interview programs, declines to say whether Trump has confidence in Flynn.
Feb. 13
Mixed messages, then Flynn resigns
4 p.m. ET
Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway says Flynn has Trump’s full confidence.
5 p.m. ET
Spicer says Trump is “evaluating the situation.”
9:30 p.m. ET
The Post and the New York Times disclose that Yates had warned the White House about Flynn’s conversations.
11 p.m. EST
White House announces Flynn’s resignation. Officials say he chose to step down.
Feb. 14
Eroding trust
Spicer says at the daily news briefing that the White House had been investigating Flynn’s conduct for more than two weeks and that he had been fired because of an “eroding level of trust.”
Several hours after Spicer’s briefing, Pence spokesman Marc Lotter says that the vice president “became aware of incomplete information that he’d received on February 9 — last Thursday night — based on media accounts. He did an inquiry based on those media accounts.”
Feb. 14
Comey meets with Trump
Trump meets with Comey and asks him to drop the investigation into Flynn, according to a memo of the encounter written by Comey and first reported May 16 by the New York Times.
“I hope you can let this go,” Trump reportedly said to his FBI director.
FEB. 15
Trump calls Russia storyline ‘non-sense’
FEB. 16
Trump calls the Russia storyline ‘fake news!’
FEB. 26
Trump, again, calls the Russia storyline ‘fake news!’
March 20
Investigation confirmed
Comey confirms the FBI is investigating a possible connection between the Trump campaign and Russia.
March 22
Nunes visits White House
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, goes to the White House to review classified information regarding the Russia inquiry.
After the meeting, Nunes reveals that conversations by Trump transition officials may have been inadvertently picked up by U.S. surveillance.
March 24
Hearings canceled
House Russia hearings are canceled indefinitely.
Late March
Flynn asks for immunity
Flynn asks for immunity in exchange for testifying to the House and Senate intelligence committees investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, negotiations that were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
April 6
Nunes steps aside
Nunes steps aside from the Russia investigation – because he himself is under investigation. The House Ethics Committee, in a separate announcement, said it was looking into allegations that Nunes had improperly disclosed classified material, the same material involved in his nighttime White House meeting. Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) will lead the Intelligence Committee’s Russia inquiry, with help from Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.).
April 11
Carter Page under investigation
The FBI obtained court permission to monitor the communications of Trump campaign advisor Carter Page since last summer, according to a Washington Post report. The U.S. believed he was acting as a Russian agent.
APRIL 1
‘Fake News Media’
April 27
Pentagon investigation
The Pentagon inspector general is investigating whether Flynn violated military rules by accepting foreign payments from Russia and Turkey, which is disclosed by a House committee. According to documents released, Flynn was warned in 2014, when he was retiring from the military, not to accept payments from foreign governments without advance approval from the Pentagon.
May 2
Trump tweets ‘Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton’
May 3
Comey testifies
Comey defended his decision to alert Congress just days before the presidential election that he would further investigate Hillary Clinton’s emails.
“It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election,” he said.
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May 8
Yates testifies
Former acting Atty. General Sally Yates testifies that she warned the Trump administration about Flynn on three separate occasions. On the same day, former Obama administration officials confirm that Obama had warned Trump about Flynn, just two days after the election.
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MAY 8
Trump refers to ‘Russia-Trump collusion story’ as ‘total hoax’
May 9
Trump fires Comey
Trump ousts Comey and the White House releases memos from deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Rosenstein ties his recommendation to dismiss Comey to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
In his dismissal letter, Trump includes this passage: “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau.”
May 10
Trumps meets with Russians
Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House.
The White House says that in addition to Trump and the Justice Department, the FBI’s “rank-and-file had lost confidence in their director.”
May 11
Holt interview
Lester Holt interviews Trump about Comey’s firing. Holt asks Trump whether Comey was truthful in telling the president that he wasn’t under investigation. Trump responds: “I know that I’m not under investigation. Me. Personally. I’m not talking about campaigns; I’m not talking about anything else.”
May 11
McCabe backs Comey
Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, contradicts the White House when asked whether the rank-and-file of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey.
“No, sir, that is not accurate,” he told Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), adding, “I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard.”
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May 12
Trump references ‘tapes’
Trump tweets, “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”
May 15
Classified intelligence
The Washington Post reports that Trump shared highly classified information about Islamic State with Russian diplomats during a meeting the previous week. The information came, according to the report, from a source that had not authorized the U.S. to share it with the Russians.
May 16
Trump asks Comey to end Flynn inquiry
The New York Times reports that a memo written by Comey to document a Feb. 14 conversation with Trump includes Comey’s account of the president asking him to end the Flynn investigation.
