Rosalind Helderman

The special counsel investigation is pressing witnesses about longtime Trump ally Roger Stone’s private interactions with senior campaign officials and whether he had knowledge of politically explosive Democratic emails that were released in October 2016. As part of his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III appears to be focused on the question of whether WikiLeaks coordinated its activities with Stone and the campaign.

Roger Stone, a close Trump ally, met with a Russian man, who called himself Henry Greenberg, in May 2016 claiming to have “dirt” that could help Donald Trump be elected. Greenberg, who did not reveal the information he claimed to possess, wanted Trump to pay $2 million for the political dirt, Stone said. “You don’t understand Donald Trump,” Stone recalled saying before rejecting the offer at a restaurant in the Russian-expat magnet of Sunny Isles (FL). “He doesn’t pay for anything.” 

Three days after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, AT&T turned to his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for help on a wide portfolio of issues pending before the federal government — including the company’s proposed merger with Time Warner.

A coalition of news organizations asked a federal court to unseal materials used by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to obtain search warrants in his investigation of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and others indicted in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The news organizations are seeking to compel disclosure of affidavits, records of seizures and the warrants themselves that Mueller filed in bringing indictments against such figures as Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, among others.

The Democratic National Committee filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Russian government, the Trump campaign and the WikiLeaks organization alleging a far-reaching conspiracy to disrupt the 2016 campaign and tilt the election to Donald Trump.  The complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that top Trump campaign officials conspired with the Russian government and its military spy agency to hurt Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and help Trump by hacking the computer networks of the Democratic Party and disseminating stolen material found ther

Presidential Advisor Kellyanne Conway may have broken a key ethics rule when she told TV audiences to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff.” Federal law bans employees from using their public office to endorse products. Conway, speaking to “Fox & Friends” viewers from the White House briefing room, was responding to boycotts of Ivanka Trump merchandise and Nordstrom’s discontinuation of stocking her clothing and shoe lines, which the retailer said was in response to low sales and which the President assailed as unfair. “I’m going to give it a free commercial here,” Conway said of the president’s daughter’s merchandise brand. “Go buy it today.” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that Conway “has been counseled,” but offered no other comment.

Newly discovered emails found on a computer seized during an investigation of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner thrust the controversy over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server back into the presidential campaign less than two weeks before the election. Officials said the discovery prompted a surprise announcement by FBI Director James B. Comey that the agency would once again be examining emails related to Clinton’s time as secretary of state. In a letter to lawmakers, Comey said the FBI would take “appropriate investigative steps” to determine whether the newly discovered emails contain classified information and to assess whether they are relevant to the Clinton server probe.

The emails, numbering more than 1,000, were found on a computer used by both Weiner and his wife, top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The correspondence included emails between Abedin and Clinton. “I’m confident whatever [the emails] are will not change the conclusion reached in July,” said Clinton. “Therefore, it’s imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay.” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta called it “extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election.” Officials familiar with the inquiry said it was too early to assess the significance of the newly discovered emails. It is possible, they said, that some or all of the correspondence is duplicative of the emails that were already turned over and examined by the FBI.