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This Section describes the principal links between the Trump Campaign and individuals with ties to the Russian government, including some contacts with Campaign officials or associates that have been publicly reported to involve Russian contacts.

The Office investigated whether those contacts constituted a third avenue of attempted Russian interference with or influence on the 2016 presidential election. In particular, the investigation examined whether these contacts involved or resulted in coordination or a conspiracy with the Trump Campaign and Russia, including with respect to Russia providing assistance to the Campaign in exchange for any sort of favorable treatment in the future. Based on the available information, the investigation did not establish such coordination.

Each subsection begins with an overview of the Russian contact at issue and then describes in detail the relevant facts, which are generally presented in chronological order, beginning with the early months of the Campaign and extending through the post-election, transition period.

This episode covers pages 66-173 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

IV. Russian Government Links To and Contacts With The Trump Campaign (1:13)

IV.A. Campaign Period (September 2015 – November 8, 2016) (2:27)

1. Trump Tower Moscow Project (3:55)
2. 1. Trump Tower Moscow Venture with the Crocus Group (2013-2014) (5:04)
   2. Communications with I.C. Expert Investment Company and Giorgi Rtskhiladze (Summer and Fall 2015) (7:30)
   3. Letter of Intent and Contacts to Russian Government (October 2015-January 2016) (11:14)
   4. Discussions about Russia Travel by Michael Cohen or Candidate Trump (December 2015-June 2016) (22:11)
   5. Origins of Campaign Work (33:10)
   6. Initial Russia-Related Contacts (35:45)
   7. March 31 Foreign Policy Team Meeting (40:22)
   8. George Papadopoulos Learns That Russia Has "Dirt" in the Form of Clinton Emails (41:55)
   9. Russia-Related Communications With The Campaign (46:22)
   10. Trump Campaign Knowledge of "Dirt" (51:35)
   11. Additional George Papadopoulos Contact (53:33)
3. George Papadopoulos (31:59)
   1. Background (57:16)
   2. Origins of and Early Campaign Work (1:00:22)
   3. Carter Page's July 2016 Trip To Moscow (1:02:17)
   4. Later Campaign Work and Removal from the Campaign (1:07:44)
4. Carter Page (56:23)
   1. CNI and Dimitri Simes Connect with the Trump Campaign (1:10:57)
   2. National Interest Hosts a Foreign Policy Speech at the Mayflower Hotel (1:13:58)
   3. Jeff Sessions's Post-Speech Interactions with CNI (1:17:41)
   4. Jared Kushner's-Continuing Contacts with Simes (1:19:40)
5. Dimitri Simes and the Center for the National Interest (1:09:51)
   1. Setting Up the June 9 Meeting (1:24:40)
   2. The Events of June 9, 2016 (1:32:59)
   3. Post-June 9 Events (1:38:21)
6. June 9, 2016 Meeting at Trump Tower (1:22:31)
   1. Ambassador Kislyak's Encounters with Senator Sessions and J.D. Gordon the Week of the RNC (1:44:44)
   2. Change to Republican Party Platform (1:46:25)
7. Events at the Republican National Convention (1:43:33)
   1. Ambassador Kislyak Invites J.D. Gordon to Breakfast at the Ambassador's Residence (1:51:40)
   2. Senator Sessions's September 2016 Meeting with Ambassador Kislyak (1:52:28)
8. Post-Convention Contacts with Kislyak (1:51:17)
   1. Paul Manafort's Ties to Russia and Ukraine (1:59:02)
   2. Contacts during Paul Manafort's Time with the Trump Campaign (2:04:35)
   3. Post-Resignation Activities (2:17:33)
9. Paul Manafort (1:55:05)

IV.B. Post-Election and Transition-Period Contacts (2:23:57)

1. Immediate Post-Election Activity (2:24:41)
2. 1. Outreach from the Russian Government (2:25:13)
   2. High-Level Encouragement of Contacts through Alternative Channels (2:26:56)
   3. Background (2:30:25)
   4. Kirill Dmitriev's Post-Election Contacts With the Incoming Administration (2:32:41)
   5. Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev Meet in the Seychelles (2:35:52)
   6. Kirill Dmitriev's Post-Election Contact with Rick Gerson Regarding U.S. Russia Relations (2:44:10)
3. Kirill Dmitriev's Transition-Era Outreach to the Incoming Administration (2:29:12)
4. Ambassador Kislyak's Meeting with Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn in Trump Tower Following the Election (2:49:32)
5. Jared Kushner's Meeting with Sergey Gorkov (2:52:42)
6. Petr Aven's Outreach Efforts to the Transition Team (2:57:13)
7. Carter Page Contact with Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich (3:02:16)
   1. United Nations ...

This episode covers Section II. Factual Results of the Obstruction Investigation, pages 15 to 158 of Volume 2 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

This section of the report details the evidence obtained. Beginning with an overview of how Russia became an issue in the 2016 presidential campaign, and how candidate Trump responded. Included are key events that were investigated: the President’s conduct concerning the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn; the President’s reaction to public confirmation of the FBI’s Russia investigation; events leading up to and surrounding the termination of FBI Director Comey; efforts to terminate the Special Counsel; efforts to curtail the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation; efforts to prevent disclosure of information about the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Russians and senior campaign officials; efforts to have the Attorney General unrecuse; and conduct towards McGahn, Cohen, and other witnesses.

Factual Results of the Obstruction Investigation (1:12)

A. The Campaign's Response to Reports About Russian Support for Trump (3:03)

1. Press Reports Allege Links Between the Trump Campaign and Russia (4:05)
2. The Trump Campaign Reacts to WikiLeaks's Release of Hacked Emails (5:27)
3. The Trump Campaign Reacts to Allegations That Russia was Seeking to Aid Candidate Trump (7:55)
4. After the Election, Trump Continues to Deny Any Contacts or Connections with Russia or That Russia Aided his Election (12:15)

B. The President's Conduct Concerning the Investigation of Michael Flynn (16:44)

1. Incoming National Security Advisor Flynn Discusses Sanctions on Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak (18:07)
2. President-Elect Trump is Briefed on the Intelligence Community’s Assessment (22:34)
3. Flynn Makes False Statements About his Communications with Kislyak (25:08)
4. DOJ Officials Notify the White House of Their Concerns About Flynn (28:20)
5. McGahn has a Follow-Up Meeting About Flynn with Yates; President Trump has Dinner with FBI Director Comey (30:44)
6. Flynn’s Resignation (35:12)
7. The President Discusses Flynn with FBI Director Comey (38:33)
8. The Media Raises Questions About the President’s Delay in Terminating Flynn (41:56)
9. The President Attempts to Have K.T. McFarland Create a Witness Statement (43:21)
10. Analysis (45:58)

C. The President's Reaction to Public Confirmation of the FBI's Russia Investigation (57:21)

1. Attorney General Sessions Recuses From the Russia Investigation (58:15)
2. FBI Director Comey Publicly Confirms the Existence of the Russia Investigation in Testimony Before HPSCI (1:03:43)
3. The President Asks Intelligence Community Leaders to Make Public Statements that he had No Connection to Russia (1:09:01)
4. The President Asks Comey to "Lift the Cloud" Created by the Russia Investigation (1:14:04)
5. Analysis (1:17:37)

D. Events Leading Up To and Surrounding the Termination of FBI Director Comey (1:23:18)

1. Comey Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee and Declines to Answer Questions About Whether the President is Under Investigation (1:24:50)
2. The President Makes the Decision to Terminate Comey (1:28:09)
3. Analysis (1:44:04)

E. The President's Efforts to Remove the Special Counsel (1:54:44)

1. The Appointment of the Special Counsel and the President's Reaction (1:56:03)
2. The President Asserts that the Special Counsel has Conflicts of lnterest (2:00:04)
3. The Press Reports that the President is Being Investigated for Obstruction of Justice and the President Directs the White House Counsel to Have the Special Counsel Removed (2:05:51)
4. Analysis (2:12:04)

F. The President's Efforts to Curtail the Special Counsel Investigation (2:20:49)

1. The President Asks Corey Lewandowski to Deliver a Message to Sessions to Curtail the Special Counsel Investigation (2:21:42)
2. The President Follows Up with Lewandowski (2:24:31)
3. The President Publicly Criticizes Sessions in a New York Times Interview (2:26:31)
4. The President Orders Priebus to Demand Sessions's Resignation (2:28:05)
5. Analysis (2:32:29)

G. The President's Efforts to Prevent Disclosure of Emails About the June 9, 2016 Meeting Between Russians and Senior Campaign Officials (2:37:37)

1. The President Learns About the Existence of Emails Concerning the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower Meeting (2:38:21)
2. The President Directs Communications Staff Not to Publicly Disclose Information About the June 9 Meeting (2:41:03)
3. The President Directs Trump Jr.'s Response to Press Inquiries About the June 9 Meeting (2:43:35)
4. The Media Reports on the June 9, 2016 Meet...

The final subsection of Volume 2 is merely one paragraph on page 182 from the report and restates what was in the Introduction and Executive Summary, "While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

The podcast closes out with thanks to our Executive Producers and Associate Producers who initially helped to support this effort as well as others who helped provide value to this effort in some way.

Mueller Report Audio - muellerreportaudio.com

Presented by Timberlane Media - patreon.com/timberlanemedia

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Music by Lee Rosevere

This episode covers the "Introduction to Volume 2," pages 1 to 2, from Volume 2 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election." This volume provides details toward whether the President had obstructed justice in connection with the FBI's Russia-related investigations.

Mueller Report Audio - muellerreportaudio.com

Presented by Timberlane Media - patreon.com/timberlanemedia

Donate anonymously - glow.fm/insider

Or donate with Crypto

Music by Lee Rosevere

The report concludes with a set of 11 recommendations by the committee. This section describes recommended legislation, the need for accountability, the designation of the joint session of Congress as a National Special Security Event, and clarity on the authority of the House to enforce its subpoenas through civil litigation. The recommendations also suggest enhancing penalties for threats against election workers, exploring the role of the media in radicalizing consumers, and consideration of risks posed regarding President Trump's possible use of the Insurrection Act.

Share the ordered list of released chapters on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLddJvawmuAKY7qgcWWNaku6eIyZrIaOwE

These episodes are created based on the value-for-value model - if you find value in the effort to provide an open and available reading of this document, please support the podcast at governmentunfiltered.com. Full chapters are available, upon completion, at patreon.com/timberlanemedia. If you'd like to provide an anonymous donation, you can go to glow.fm/insider. Follow the show on Twitter @GovUnfiltered or on Facebook at facebook.com/governmentunfiltered.