WorldJudge issues gag order on Trump advisor Roger Stone

In March 2017, Comey testified to the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI has been conducting a counter-intelligence investigation on Russia’s interference in the elections since July 2016. The alleged coordination between associates of Trump and Putin were also under investigation. On May 9, 2017, the White House announced that Comey has been fired from his position. In a letter, Trump wrote that Comey was being “terminated and removed” because he was “not able to effectively lead the bureau,” adding that it was essential to restore “public trust and confidence” in the FBI.

As the head of NSA and a foremost authority on cybersecurity, Rogers’ testimony on hacks by suspected Russian groups would play a major role in the overall outcome. In March this year, he supported Comey as they refuted Trump’s claim of former President Barack Obama tapping his phones during the election.

Flynn came under fire as news broke of his phone conversation with Sergey Kislyak, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. on Dec. 29, 2016, which led to suspicions that the incoming Trump team was conducting a secret deal with Moscow. Assuming office on Jan. 20, 2017, Flynn was forced to resign on Feb. 13, 2017 – the shortest term (24 days) as national security adviser in history. On April 27, the Pentagon inspector general launched an investigation against Flynn on whether he accepted money from foreign groups without approval.

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Yates’ brief to the White House counsel on National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s conversation with Kislyak eventually led to Flynn’s resignation from the post. Shortly after he took office, Trump fired Yates for not defending his travel ban. On May 8, 2017, Yates testified to a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that she had gone to the White House to alert them that Flynn was lying about talking to the Russian ambassador about lifting sanctions.

Clapper briefed Trump on Russian hacking during the presidential election, along with former CIA Director John Brennan and Comey. Along with Yates, he testified on May 9, 2017, where he was asked about leaks of classified files to the news media and Russian interference in the election.

Nunes has been heavily criticized about whether he can lead an unbiased investigation, including calls for him to step down. He supported Flynn mere hours before his resignation and said that Trump’s allegation against Obama wiretapping shouldn’t be taken literally. He also released evidence on Trump associates’ communications with foreign nationals to the press first, before informing Democrats on his committee.

The senior-most Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff has been vocal against Trump and Nunes. On March 28, 2017, he called for Nunes to recuse himself from “any investigation.” Schiff has also maintained that he’s seen evidence beyond the circumstantial proof of Russian influence in the election.

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The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Cummings was one of the first lawmakers who called for an investigation on the scandal. In November 2016, he called for a bipartisan commission in a letter to committee chairman Jason Chaffetz. He too has been publicly vocal against Nunes and Flynn.

The Republican is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is leading a separate investigation into the scandal. On May 5, 2017, media reports cited that an ethics complaint was filed against Burr by an organization called Democratic Coalition Against Trump, alleging that he was obstructing the investigation.

In June 2016, Manafort replaced Corey Lewandowski as the manager for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Three months later, he resigned amidst allegations that he had been lobbying overseas in the past. In March 2017, he came in the spotlight again as intelligence suggested that he regularly communicated with the Russians, an allegation Manafort has refuted.

Trump's son-in-law, frequently assists him with foreign policy matters. In December 2016, he conducted a meeting with Sergey Gorkov, a Russian banker appointed by Putin. The White House says that Kushner met as an adviser to the president, while Gorkov’s bank, Vnesheconombank, said that he met as a private developer. Kushner has offered to testify before senators regarding the scandal.

According to Trump, Page acted as a foreign policy adviser during his presidential campaign. The founder and managing partner of New York-based Global Energy Capital, Page came under FBI investigation when it was reported that he met with Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., in 2016.

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A retired U.S. Navy officer and one of the top Trump advisers, Gordon also met with Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. In an interview, he said that they talked only about how to improve relations with Russia and nothing about Russians aiding the campaign.

A veteran strategist, Stone had worked with the likes of Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, before assisting Trump in his 2016 campaign. He came in the spotlight when he was forced to defend contacts with Guccier 2.0 – the group that hacked into the Democratic National Committee computers and released their documents to the media and WikiLeaks.

As Trump’s personal lawyer, Cohen served as a surrogate for media conferences during his presidential campaign. In February 2017, Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Artemenko revealed that he met with Cohen, and they discussed a pro-Russian peace plan for Ukraine. Both Cohen and the White House have denied the claims.

Other than his meetings and phone calls with Flynn and others, Kislyak has been accused by American intelligence officials to be a spy and recruiter of spies, as reported by CNN.

Hired by a Washington-based research firm, Steele put together a dossier of unproven allegations on Trump and his business dealings with Russia before he ran for the presidency. The FBI used the dossier to compare their own work on Russian tie-ups with Trump’s campaign.