Advertisement
Politics

Trump’s team: A network of ties to Russia

By Del Quentin Wilber
 and Angelica Quintero

Trump’s team: A network of ties to Russia

By Del Quentin Wilber and Angelica Quintero


The FBI is investigating possible coordination between people associated with the Trump campaign and Russian authorities during the 2016 election. The U.S. intelligence community has said it is confident that the Russian government directed hacking operations and “intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.” Here are some of the high-profile people who have been drawn into the investigation:

⬤ = Trump's team ⬤ = Russian officials

◯ = Has agreed to testify before Congress*

Donald TrumpU.S. presidentMichael FlynnFormer National Security AdvisorJeff SessionsU.S. Attorney General and former senatorSergey KislyakRussian ambassador to the U.S.Sergey N. GorkovChief of Russian bank VnesheconombankOleg DeripaskaRussian aluminum billionareRoger StoneInformal Trump advisor and confidantePaul ManafortFormer Trump campaign managerCarter PageFormer campaign foreign policy advisorJared KushnerTrump's senior advisor and son-in-law
Donald TrumpU.S. presidentMichael FlynnFormer National Security AdvisorJeff SessionsU.S. Attorney General and former senatorSergey KislyakRussian ambassador to the U.S.Sergey N. GorkovChief of Russian bank VnesheconombankOleg DeripaskaRussian aluminum billionareRoger StoneInformal Trump advisor and confidantePaul ManafortFormer Trump campaign managerCarter PageFormer campaign foreign policy advisorJared KushnerU.S. Senior Advisor and Trump's son-in-law

Connections

Served as one of Trump’s main campaign foreign policy advisers and surrogates. After the election, was appointed as White House National Security Advisor.Resigned three weeks into the administration after news reports disclosed that he had spoken with Kislyak in the weeks before Trump took office and had misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about the conversations.Was Trump’s chief backer in the Senate and a main advisor during the campaign.Met with Kislyak in July and September, but during his confirmation hearing to be Attorney General said he had not met with Russian officials. After news of those meetings became public, Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department investigation of Russian involvement in the election.May have been paid millions of dollars by a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. Represented Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, in business and personal matters.Claimed direct communications with Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, but later said the contacts were through a mutual friend. He twice correctly predicted the release of private documents by WikiLeaks.Once ran a political lobbying firm together. Manafort left Trump’s campaign in August after his Ukranian connections became an issue.Has known Trump for years and worked as his lawyer in New York.Served as a main contact with foreign officials during Trump’s presidential campaign.Kushner volunteered to answer questions before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding his meetings with Russian officials, including Kislyak. Kushner met with Gorkov at Kislyak's request. Gorkov has close ties with the Putin government and his bank is under U.S. sanctions that were imposed after the Russian takeover of Crimea. Early in the campaign, Trump called Page a foreign policy advisor, but later said he had been “a very low-level member” for a short time.Met with Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in July and traveled to Russia that month.Has had extensive business dealings in Russia, especially with companies in its oil and gas industry.Michael Flynn Jeff SessionsPaul ManafortJared KushnerCarter PageRoger Stone
Was Trump’s chief backer in the Senate and a main advisor during the campaign.Met with Kislyak in July and September, but during his confirmation hearing to be Attorney General said he had not met with Russian officials. After news of those meetings became public, Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department investigation of Russian involvement in the election.Served as a main contact with foreign officials during Trump’s presidential campaign.Kushner volunteered to answer questions before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding his meetings with Russian officials, including Kislyak. Jeff SessionsServed as one of Trump’s main campaign foreign policy advisers and surrogates. After the election, was appointed as White House National Security Advisor.Resigned three weeks into the administration after news reports disclosed that he had spoken with Kislyak in the weeks before Trump took office and had misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about the conversations.Michael Flynn Early in the campaign, Trump called Page a foreign policy advisor, but later said he had been “a very low-level member” for a short time.Met with Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in July and traveled to Russia that month. Has had extensive business dealings in Russia, especially with companies in its oil and gas industry.Carter PageClaimed direct communications with Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, but later said the contacts were through a mutual friend. He twice correctly predicted the release of private documents by WikiLeaks.Once ran a political lobbying firm together. May have been paid millions of dollars by a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. Represented Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, in business and personal matters.Manafort left Trump’s campaign in August after his Ukranian connections became an issue.He’s known Trump for years and worked as his lawyer in New York.Paul ManafortRoger StoneJared KushnerKushner met with Gorkov at Kislyak's request. Gorkov has close ties with the Putin government and his bank is under U.S. sanctions that were imposed after the Russian takeover of Crimea.

*Michael Flynn has been seeking immunity from prosecution in return for testifying to the House and Senate intelligence committees, a congressional official confirmed Thursday.

Credits: AP, EPA, Getty, Inform

Politics

Sign up for the L.A. Times California Politics newsletter

Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox twice per week.

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.

Del Quentin Wilber

Del Quentin Wilber was the White House and breaking news editor in the Los Angeles Times’ Washington bureau. Before moving into an editing role, he was an enterprise and investigative reporter, focused on criminal justice and national security matters. An award-winning reporter and author, he previously worked for the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post, Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of “Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan,” a national bestseller, and “A Good Month for Murder: The Inside Story of a Homicide Squad.”

Angelica Quintero

Angelica Quintero is a former Metpro trainee and multimedia journalist for the Los Angeles Times.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Most Read in Politics

Advertisement
Advertisement