Countable Explains: Who's Who in the Russia Meddling Investigation

President Donald J. Trump

Role:

45th President of the United States of America

Previous role:

Real-estate mogul, reality-TV star

Quote:

"The entire thing has been a witch hunt, and there is no collusion between—certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself and the Russians. Zero. Believe me, there’s no collusion."

—President Trump, in the wake of a special counsel being appointed to investigate coordination between Trump associates and Russian officials

Key dates:

• January 30, 2017: Trump fires Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, who warned the White House that the President’s National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, could be compromised by Russia and was lying to the Vice President

• May 9, 2017: Trump abruptly fires FBI Director James Comey. Initially, Trump claims he fired the FBI director at the behest of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But…

• May 11, 2017: Trump contradicts his earlier claim, telling NBC News, "When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.'"

• August 1, 2017: Trump reluctantly signs a bill into law that targets Russia with sanctions as punishment for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for its actions in Ukraine. The bipartisan bill gives the Trump administration until October 1 to produce a list of possible targets for sanctions.

• October 27, 2017: After missing the October 1 deadline, and under pressure (and criticism) from Congress, the administration publishes a list of Russian entities targeted for sanctions on its website.

Current mood:

On the offense.