TODAY'S PAPER
39° Good Morning
39° Good Morning

Democrats for NY Governor: The issues, resumes and pitches

ALBANY — Three Democrats are seeking the party’s nomination for governor in the June 28 primary — and vying for the direction of the party.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi and New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams largely agree on general issues, from abortion to the environment to the impact of former President Donald Trump on the Republican field for governor.

But the Democrats have differed in notable ways on criminal justice, taxes, government spending and, even, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Resumes also makes a difference, each argues.

As a result, the primary contest, as well as the general election in November, will help decide the future of the party, according to Gerald Benjamin, a longtime New York political observer and retired dean at SUNY New Paltz.

Gov. Kathy Hochul Former Lieutenant Governor

Resume

The Buffalo resident, 63, has served as a town board member, county clerk and congresswoman before being elected as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor in 2014. Serving at so many levels of government and traveling the state extensively since 2015 gives her a background the others in the race can’t match, she argues. She notes she’s the only one who now has steered a state budget to completion.

Guns

As a congresswoman 10 years ago, she was backed by the National Rifle Association. Since then, she says she’s evolved on gun issues and supports banning assault rifles, raising the purchase age for semi-automatic rifles, microstamping ammunition and toughening background checks. She also strengthened the “red flag” law, which provides a process to keep guns away from someone who may pose a danger to himself or others.

Criminal Justice

She signed a law amending the bail law to allow a judge to consider a defendant’s criminal history and the seriousness of the charge when making a bail determination. She says that is a more definitive and objective measure than merely allowing a judge to consider a defendant’s “dangerousness.”

Taxes/Spending

Hochul’s approach has been sort-of steady as she goes. She has emphasized recently enacted tax cuts on gasoline and property but has offered no new ones. She has touted the use of pandemic aid for renters and the unemployed. But, rejecting liberals’ calls, she won’t propose more unemployment funding for undocumented workers.

The Pitch

She wasn’t a Cuomo confidante and represents a break from the previous governor. She’s the state’s first woman governor. She says she’s a pragmatic Democrat who managed the transition and several crises, supports abortion rights and gun safety but also wants to encourage developers and hasn’t proposed new tax increases — so the right can’t tag her as a pure progressive. She’s wrapped up the lion’s share of labor support and, by far, raised the most campaign cash.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, Former Nassau County Executive

Resume

The Glen Cove resident has been a mayor and a county executive of one of the nation’s most populous counties, one with a budget bigger than that of some states. He argues this gives him far more executive experience than Hochul or anyone else, especially with overseeing taxes and spending and negotiating labor contracts. He says his work in the bipartisan “problems solvers” caucus in Congress shows he know has to work across the political aisle.

Guns

He has criticized Hochul regularly on her 2012 stances on guns, supporting NRA positions. He contends her changed views are really based on a political strategy to appeal to Democrats. He wants stronger enforcement of the “red flag” law.

Criminal Justice

Suozzi calls reducing crime his No. 1 priority. He has attacked Hochul for not changing the law to allow judges to consider a defendant’s “dangerousness” in determining bail — even though the Democratic-led State Legislature was unlikely to go along with such a change. He wants to change policing models, he says, to ensure officers become “trusted members of the community.”

Taxes/Spending

Suozzi says he’d cut income taxes 10% and enact a “circuit breaker” to limit future property tax hikes. To achieve the latter, he says he’d change many school mandates to optional guidelines to allow districts to streamline spending. He would create a new “New York State Public Bank,” which would serve “unbanked” residents and loan money to small businesses and struggling families.

The Pitch

Suozzi calls himself the “common sense” Democrat who will be tough on crime. He’s appealing to Cuomo Democrats — the more moderate branch of the party. On other issues — environment, abortion, etc. — he says he’s as progressive as Democrats come. He says Hochul's judgment is suspect because of an $850 million subsidy she provided for a new NFL stadium in Buffalo and because Brian Benjamin, Hochul’s first lieutenant governor, had to resign amid corruption charges.

Jumaane Williams Former NYC Council Member

Resume

The Brooklyn resident is the one person in the contest who calls himself a democratic-socialist and whose first elective victory was attributed in large part to the Working Families Party, which tries to push Democrats to the left. He was a community activist and supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement. He has Tourette’s Syndrome and says that misunderstandings about his condition has made him a stronger advocate for people with special conditions, disabilities or mental health issues.

Guns

Williams supports recent changes enacted by Hochul but says the larger point is it does little to reduce common street crime and its causes. He created the National Network to Combat Gun Violence to pull together elected and community leaders to work on the causes of violence. He touts his work with the NYC council’s crisis management system to empower “credible messengers” to mediate street conflicts and connect people with mental-health services, job training and other resources.

Criminal Justice.

He opposes the idea of allowing a judge to weigh a person’s “dangerousness” in determining bail. He says before bail was eliminated for most misdemeanors in New York, many more minorities and the poor often languished in jail before trial compared with their white and rich counterparts. Saying a job is the best way to reduce prison recidivism, he supports a bill to bar employers from asking about a job applicant’s criminal history.

Taxes/Spending

Unlike his rivals, Williams says he’d hike income taxes on millionaires and billionaires. He’d spend the revenue on affordable housing, social services and job training. He’d push for “universal” (publicly funded) health care for all and raise the income threshold for who qualifies for the “Essential Plan,” the state’s health care coverage for those whose incomes are low but too high to qualify for Medicaid. 

The Pitch

Williams clearly is aiming for the progressive wing of the party, which is where the party’s energy is these days, analysts have said. He tries to tie Hochul to Cuomo and say both were about protecting the status quo and not working-class New Yorkers.

GOP foes for governor spar over crime, affordability, abortion, Trump

ALBANY — The candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor in the June 28 primary have focused on rising crime and the rising cost of living in New York. But in campaign stops and in debates they also take positions on abortion and their view of former President Donald Trump as well as the work of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Each candidate also has argued that he stands the best chance of beating the Democratic nominee in the November general election. They will try to break a 20-year streak of Democrats holding all statewide offices.

Rob Astorino Former Westchester County executive

Crime

Astorino, 55, of South Salem, opposes the “defund police” movement and says police must be supported. But he also says police reforms are needed and more trust must be built between communities and police to avoid flashpoints. He would seek to repeal the Democrats’ 2018 bail law that ended cash bail for misdemeanors and most nonviolent felonies so suspects didn’t languish in jail only because they couldn’t afford bail. Astorino said he would fire Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for his policies of not prosecuting some crimes.

Taxes and the economy

Astorino said taxes must be cut because New Yorkers can’t afford the costs of state and local taxes. He notes he didn’t increase taxes over two terms as Westchester County executive. He said he would promote the green energy industry, including natural gas and wind power to create more jobs and cap state spending. He also would consolidate income tax brackets to reduce taxes and would reduce regulations.

Abortion

Astorino said he is opposed to abortion rights, but says it's unrealistic to believe the State Legislature would repeal them. Instead, he calls for a “reasonable discussion” that could change abortion laws. He opposes late-term abortions if a woman’s health is at risk, calling that too vague a threshold. He also seeks more health care for expectant mothers and more support to provide an alternative to abortion.

Support of Trump

He went further than any of his competitors regarding the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, calling it “a horrible day in our nation’s history” and saying former President Donald Trump “bears some responsibility.” He said protesters broke laws and should be prosecuted. But he said it’s also time for the country to move on.

Electability

Astorino argues that he’s the most electable of the Republicans because he won two terms as county executive in Westchester where Democrats have an even greater enrollment advantage than they do statewide.

Andrew Giuliani Former Trump administration public liaison

Crime

Giuliani, 36, of Manhattan, supports the “broken window” policy of the New York City Police Department under his father, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. That required police to focus on small crimes to try to disrupt or avoid bigger ones. A court found the policy in practice harassed racial and ethnic minorities and violated their constitutional rights. He says he would increase spending to hire more police and try to repeal the Democrats’ bail law. He said he would also fire Bragg.

Taxes and the economy

He says making New York more affordable, including reducing taxes, would be a top priority. Giuliani promises the “highest tax cut and budget cut in the history of our state.” Giuliani also says he would reduce state regulations that can keep businesses from entering New York and keep existing companies from expanding their workforce. He says he would work to stop what he calls a spending frenzy by the State Legislature.

Abortion

Giuliani says he is proudly anti-abortion. In his stump speeches he said his experience as a new father proved to him that his daughter wasn’t just tissue before she was born, but a person.

Support of Trump

He said Trump was “a great president” and hopes he runs again. Giuliani began his association with Trump in the 2016 campaign and became the president’s public liaison. Giuliani, a former pro golfer, was also a frequent golfing partner with Trump. 

Electability

Giuliani is the youngest of the candidates with no experience in elected office. He says he has been steeped in New York politics since birth. His father was called “America’s mayor” after the 2001 terrorist attacks for his leadership. Andrew Giuliani says he can make inroads with other New Yorkers fed up with crime and taxes.

Harry Wilson Wall Street business owner specializing in turning around failing companies

Crime

Wilson, 50, of Scarsdale, says he would restore the ability of judges to consider a suspect’s danger to the community before releasing him or her on bail. He also says he would fire Bragg, a college classmate and friend, after the liberal prosecutor said he wouldn’t prosecute some lower level crimes.

Jobs and the economy

Wilson promises “the biggest tax cut in history,” including a 20% cut in state income taxes and property taxes. He said he will restructure state spending to pay for it the way he restructured troubled companies to save jobs and spur businesses in America’s auto industry during the 2018 recession.

Abortion

Wilson is the only one of the GOP candidates who supports abortion rights. He said he doesn’t like allowing late-term abortions, but he won’t spend time fighting it against Democrats who control the Legislature. He said he'd also fire Bragg, a former college classmate.

Support of Trump

Wilson says he’s a “Reagan conservative.” He says that protesters who broke into the U.S. Capitol “broke the law,” but that Trump didn’t invade the Capitol. He said there are some things he agrees with Trump on, while he disagrees with others, but doesn’t go into details, saying issues are more important.

Electability

Wilson, who is using millions of dollars of his own money to fund his campaign, says that as the most moderate of the Republicans, he alone can attract enough Democrats and candidates not enrolled in a party to win. Wilson notes that 2010 he came within 4 percentage points of Democrat Thomas DiNapoli who was running for his first full term as state comptroller.

Lee Zeldin Two-term congressman

Crime

Zeldin, 42, of Shirley, says he would work to repeal the 2019 bail law that eliminates bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. Zeldin says he will restore the power of judges to hold dangerous suspects. He also says he would fire any district attorney who doesn’t prosecute crimes because of a liberal agenda. Zeldin has been an ardent supporter of police on Long Island and nationwide. He also said he’d fire Bragg.

Taxes and the economy

Zeldin promises “the largest tax cut in the history of New York” to help make the state more affordable. He says he would approve natural gas pipelines to bring more energy into New York to help reduce power costs. He says he would reverse New York’s ban on hydrofracking for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale deposit upstate to create jobs and lower energy costs for all.

Abortion

He has told supporters he wants the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal nationwide. He says he will seek to require parental consent for minors to get abortion and limit access to late-term abortions.

Support of Trump

=Zeldin was one of Trump’s strongest and most vocal supporters in Congress. Zeldin voted against certifying Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. As for the Jan. 6 insurrection that followed, Zeldin says Trump had told the protesters “to go peacefully and patriotically to the Capitol.” Zeldin has since told reporters that he accepts that Biden is president. 

Electability

Zeldin says he most electable because of his background. He says he has wide support upstate and on Long Island among Republicans and is focused on issues — rising crime and taxes — that cuts across political lines. He also served in the State Senate where he sponsored the popular repeal of the commuter payroll tax in the many counties served by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

What to watch for in tonight’s VP debate

The VP debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris comes amid campaign turmoil.

Here is what to watch for during tonight’s encounter at the University of Utah.

After the combative presidential debate, the candidates’ tone will be under scrutiny.

How will they deal with the issue of Covid-19 after President Trump’s diagnosis?

Pence and Harris are skilled debaters. This will test their ability to get their messages across.

Take a deeper dive into the key issues in tonight’s crucial VP debate.

TAKE ME THERE

A timeline of Mueller’s Russia investigation

Special counsel Robert Mueller concluded his investigation into whether President Donald Trump and his campaign coordinated with Russia to help him win the 2016 presidential election — and also whether Trump tried to obstruct that investigation. But the story did not end with the delivery of the report to Attorney General William Barr.

Over the past two years, the complex investigation led to charges, guilty pleas, cooperation deals and prison sentences, while dominating political headlines worldwide. Since the delivery of the report and its release to the public, Democrats and Republicans have debated what it means and fought over a variety of ongoing investigations into Trump and his associates.

Here is a look at some of the key events and developments before, during and after Mueller’s investigation.

2006: Manafort and Gates begin work for a pro-Russian political party

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates begin work as consultants for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Photo credit: Getty

February 2010: Yanukovych elected president of Ukraine

Viktor Yanukovych

Viktor Yanukovych is elected president of Ukraine. Photo credit: Getty

February 2014: Yanukovych flees Ukraine

Violence flared between police and anti-government protesters in Ukraine.

After violent clashes between protesters and police, Yanukovych flees Ukraine and enters exile in Russia. The U.S. government later opens an investigation into Manafort’s foreign lobbying and political work. Photo credit: Getty

June 2015: Trump announces candidacy

Trump announces he's running for president

Donald Trump announces his candidacy for president as a Republican. Photo credit: Getty

September 2015: FBI warns DNC about Russian hackers

The FBI contacts the Democratic National Committee’s IT help desk, cautioning that at least one computer has been compromised by Russian hackers. A technician scans the system but fails to find evidence of the intrusion.

March 2016: Papadopoulos meets with associates of Russian government

Manafort joins Trump campaign as a volunteer consultant. George Papadopoulos is named one of five foreign policy advisers to the campaign and meets with people associated with the Russian government amid discussions to set up a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

April 2016: Papadopoulos meets with Russian national offering ‘dirt’ on Clinton

Hillary Clinton at Brooklyn event

Papadopoulos meets with a Russian national who he says offered “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, including “thousands of emails. Papadopoulos emails other members of Trump campaign about the Russian offer of dirt on Clinton and the offer for Trump to meet with Putin. The Democratic National Committee becomes aware of the scope of the monthslong intrusion into its email systems by hackers who U.S. intelligence agencies later linked to the Russian government. Photo credit: Getty

May 2016: Manafort promoted

Manafort is promoted to campaign chairman and chief strategist.

June 2016: Meeting at Trump Tower with Russian lawyer

Natalia Veselnitskaya

Manafort attends a meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan with a Russian lawyer named Natalia Veselnitskaya, who promised to provide the Trump campaign damaging information about Clinton. Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner are also in the meeting. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says his website will publish a batch of Clinton emails. Photo credit: Getty

July 2016: Trump gets GOP nomination

Trump gets GOP nomination

Trump becomes the Republican nominee for president. In a speech the following week, Trump encourages Russians to release hacked Clinton emails. The FBI opens an investigation into the Russian government’s attempt to influence the election, including whether members of Trump’s campaign are involved. Photo credit: Getty

August 2016: NYT reports that Manafort’s name is on secret list

The New York Times reports that Manafort’s name appears on a secret list of payments made by the Yanukovych regime. Manafort resigns from the Trump campaign the day after The Associated Press reports he failed to register as a foreign agent after arranging a covert lobbying campaign in the United States on behalf of the Ukrainian party.

November 2016: Trump elected president

Trump elected president

Donald Trump wins the presidential election. Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 6, 2017: Comey briefs Trump on dossier

FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, briefs Trump on contents of unverified dossier that contains salacious allegations about him and his campaign.

Jan. 13, 2017: Senate launches probe

Comey testifies to Senate committee

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence launches an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and possible links between Russia and political campaigns. Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 20, 2017: Trump’s inauguration

Trump's inauguration

Trump is inaugurated as 45th president of the United States. Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 25, 2017: House announces its investigation

The House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence announces its own investigation.

Jan. 27, 2017: Papadopoulos interviewed by FBI

Papadopoulos is interviewed by the FBI about his contacts with Russians.

May 2017: Comey out, Mueller in

Protests after Trump fires Comey

Trump fires Comey. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is appointed as special counsel to take over the probe. Photo credit: Getty

June 2017: Manafort files paperwork with DOJ

Manafort files paperwork with the Justice Department retroactively disclosing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act that his firm received more than $17 million working for the government of Ukraine between 2012 and 2014. The Washington Post reports that Mueller is investigating Trump for obstruction of justice.

July 2017: FBI conducts raid at Manafort’s home

Manafort's apartment raided

FBI agents conduct a raid at former Trump campaign chairman Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Virginia. Papadopoulos is arrested by the FBI at Dulles International Airport. Photo credit: Getty

August 2017: Mueller impanels grand jury

Mueller impanels a criminal grand jury in Washington, D.C.

October 2017: Papadopoulos pleads guilty

Papadopoulos at sentencing

Papadopoulos pleads guilty to making false statements to the FBI, as part of apparent agreement to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation. Mueller files 12-count criminal indictments against Manafort and Gates. Photo credit: Getty

Oct. 30, 2017: Manafort, Gates charged

Manafort arrested

Manafort and Gates plead not guilty after their arrest on charges related to conspiracy against the United States and other felonies. The charges are the first from the special counsel investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. Photo credit: Getty

Dec. 1, 2017: Flynn pleads guilty

Michael Flynn pleads guilty

Michael Flynn, the retired general who vigorously campaigned at Trump’s side and then served as his first national security adviser, pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about reaching out to the Russians on Trump’s behalf and says members of the president’s inner circle were intimately involved with — and at times directing — his contacts. He agrees to cooperate with the special counsel’s office. Photo credit: Getty

Feb. 20, 2018: Prominent attorney pleads guilty

Alex van der Zwaan charged

Mueller charges a prominent attorney with lying to authorities about his work with two of Trump’s former campaign aides. Alex van der Zwaan, 33, a Dutch national, pleads guilty in federal court to charges that he lied to investigators about his conversations with Gates. Photo credit: Getty

Feb. 23, 2018: Gates pleads guilty

Gates pleads guilty to federal conspiracy and false-statements charges. With his cooperation, Gates gives Mueller a witness willing to provide information on Manafort’s finances and political consulting work in Ukraine — and someone who had access at the highest levels of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

April 3, 2018: First punishment handed down

Alex van der Zwaan sentenced

Alex van der Zwaan is sentenced to 30 days in prison in the first punishment handed down in the investigation. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. Photo credit: Getty

July 13, 2018: 12 Russian officers charged with hacking

A Mueller indictment charges 12 Russian military intelligence officers with hacking into the Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic Party and releasing tens of thousands of private communications in a sweeping conspiracy by the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 election. The indictment represents Mueller’s first charges against Russian government officials.

July 16, 2018: Trump meets with Putin

Trump meets with Putin

Trump meets with Putin in Helsinki, Finland. Trump says Putin made an “incredible offer” to help American investigators in their prosecution of the 12 Russian intelligence officers. Photo credit: Getty

Aug. 21, 2018: Manafort found guilty

Manafort guilty

Manafort is found guilty of eight financial crimes in the first trial victory of the special counsel investigation into the president’s associates. A judge declares a mistrial on 10 other counts the jury could not agree on. Photo credit: Getty

Sept. 14, 2018: Manafort agrees to cooperate

Manafort agrees to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation as he pleads guilty to federal crimes and avoids a second trial that could have exposed him to more time in prison. Manafort pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy in relation to his lobbying work with pro-Russian groups in Ukraine.

Oct. 10, 2018: California man sentenced to prison

Richard Pinedo, a California man who pleaded guilty in February 2018 to unwittingly helping the Russian election disruption efforts by trading in stolen identifications and bank account numbers, is sentenced to 6 months in prison.

Nov. 6, 2018: Democrats retake the House

Nancy Pelosi

Democrats retake the House of Representatives in midterm elections, gaining control of key investigatory committes. Photo credit: Getty

Nov. 7, 2018: Sessions resigns

Jeff Sessions

Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns as the country’s chief law enforcement officer at Trump’s request. Sessions announced his plan to resign in a letter to the White House, the day after the midterm election. Trump announces in a tweet that Sessions’ chief of staff Matt Whitaker would become the new acting attorney general with authority to oversee the remainder of Mueller’s investigation. Photo credit: Getty

Nov. 16, 2018: Trump cooperates with the investigation

Trump says he has finished his answers to questions posed by Mueller. He says four days later that he has provided them to the special counsel, the first time he has directly cooperated.

Nov. 23, 2018: Corsi reportedly in plea talks with Mueller’s team

Jerome Corsi, a conservative writer and associate of Trump confidant Roger Stone, tells The Associated Press that he is in plea talks with Mueller’s team. Mueller’s team questioned Corsi as part of an investigation into Stone’s connections with WikiLeaks.

Nov. 26, 2018: Mueller accuses Manafort of violating plea agreement

Mueller accuses Manafort of violating his plea agreement by repeatedly lying to federal investigators, an extraordinary allegation that could expose him to a lengthier prison sentence and potentially more criminal charges. Papadopoulos begins serving his 2-week prison sentence after a judge rejects his last-minute bid to remain free.Corsi tells The Associated Press that he is rejecting a plea offer in Mueller’s investigation.

Nov. 29, 2018: Cohen confesses

Michael Cohen confesses

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, confesses in an unexpected guilty plea that he lied to Congress in 2017 out of “loyalty” to Trump about a project his company tried to develop in Moscow in 2016 as he ran for president. Cohen says he falsely claimed that talks about the project ended in January 2016, when they in fact continued until that June. Photo credit: Getty

Dec. 3, 2018: Trump weighs in on Cohen

Trump tweets about Cohen

Trump calls for a “full and complete” sentence for Cohen. Photo credit: Twitter

Dec. 4, 2018: Prosecutors speak out on Flynn’s cooperation

Prosecutors say Flynn provided so much information to the investigation that he shouldn’t do any prison time.

Dec. 7, 2018: Court filings reveal contact between Trump associates, Russian intermediaries

Federal prosecutors urge a “substantial” prison term for Cohen. Court filings from New York prosecutors and Mueller’s office reveal for the first time contacts between Trump associates and Russian intermediaries, with Cohen described as being in touch with a Russian offering “political synergy” as far back as 2015. In describing how Manafort breached a plea agreement, Mueller says Manafort told “multiple discernible lies” to prosecutors about his contacts with the Trump administration and an associate with alleged ties to Russian intelligence. Papadopolous is released from jail after serving a two-week sentence.

Dec. 12, 2018: Cohen sentenced to prison

Michael Cohen sentenced

Cohen is sentenced to 3 years in prison in federal court in Manhattan for crimes that included efforts to hide the president’s Russia business dealings and alleged extramarital affairs with a porn star and a model. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III’s sentence dashed Cohen’s bid to avoid prison by aiding federal prosecutors and Mueller. Cohen accused Trump of directing hush-money payments to the two women that violated election laws. Cohen also pleaded guilty to tax and bank fraud charges and lying to Congress.

“While Mr. Cohen has taken steps to mitigate his criminal conduct … that does not wipe the slate clean,” said Pauley, blasting Cohen’s “greed and ambition” and the “insidious harm” he inflicted on democratic institutions. The judge also ordered a $100,000 fine and a March 6 surrender.

Cohen, in an emotional statement before the judge sentenced him, apologized to his family and denounced Trump for inspiring “blind loyalty” that led down a “path of darkness over light.” Photo credit: Getty

Dec. 18, 2018: Flynn’s sentencing delayed

A federal judge sharply rebukes Flynn and unexpectedly delays sentencing him after warning he could go to prison for lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. Prosecutors from Mueller’s team had recommended leniency.

Dec. 20, 2018: Whitaker chose not to recuse himself from probe, AP reports

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker

A senior official tells The Associated Press that Whitaker chose not to recuse himself from the Russia investigation even though a top Justice Department ethics official advised him to step aside out of an “abundance of caution.” Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 4, 2019: Grand jury’s term extended

The chief federal judge in Washington extends the term of the grand jury used by Mueller, a sign that the probe will continue for at least several months.

Jan. 8, 2019: Filing reveals Manafort shared polling data

Paul Manafort

A defense filing inadvertently reveals that Manafort shared polling data during the 2016 presidential campaign with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian-Ukrainian business associate accused of having ties to Russian intelligence, and prosecutors say he lied to them about it. It is the first time that prosecutors with Mueller’s office have accused Trump’s chief campaign aide of sharing election-related information with his Russian contacts. Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 9, 2019: Rosenstein expected to leave, AP reports

Rod Rosenstein

A person familiar with the plans tells The Associated Press that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave his position soon after William Barr, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, is confirmed. Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 10, 2019: Cohen says he will testify before House committee

Cohen says he will testify publicly before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, newly led by Democrats, on Feb. 7.

Jan. 11, 2019: NYT reports FBI began investigating Trump

The New York Times reports that FBI officials began investigating whether Trump “had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests” after he fired Comey. Mueller took over the investigation, and it is unclear whether Mueller is still investigating that, The Times reported.

Jan. 12, 2019: Washington Post reports Trump concealed details of Putin talks

The Washington Post reports that Trump concealed details of his conversations with Putin, including taking the notes of an interpreter.

Jan. 15, 2019: Barr’s confirmation hearing

William Barr's confirmation hearing

Barr appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing. He says he doesn’t believe Mueller “would be involved in a witch hunt.” Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 18, 2019: Mueller’s office responds to BuzzFeed News report

Mueller’s office issues a rare public statement disputing the accuracy of a BuzzFeed News report that said Cohen told Mueller that the president directed him to lie to Congress.

BuzzFeed, citing two unidentified law enforcement officials, reported that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate project and that Cohen told Mueller the president personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the deal. The report said Mueller’s investigators learned about Trump’s directive “through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents.”

 

Mueller’s office does not cite specific errors, but the special counsel’s spokesman, Peter Carr, says, “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the special counsel’s office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony are not accurate.”

Jan. 23, 2019: Cohen postpones testimony to Congress

Michael Cohen postpones his testimony to Congress,”due to ongoing threats against his family from President Trump and Giuliani,” Cohen’s spokesman says.

Jan. 25, 2019: FBI arrests Roger Stone

Roger Stone

Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser, is arrested by the FBI in a predawn raid at his Florida home on several criminal charges stemming from Mueller’s investigation. Stone is charged in a seven-count indictment with witness tampering, obstruction and false statements about his interactions related to the release by WikiLeaks of hacked emails during the 2016 presidential election. Some of those false statements were made to the House intelligence committee, according to the indictment. Stone had said for months that he was prepared to be charged, though he denied any wrongdoing. Photo credit: Getty

Jan. 28, 2019: The investigation is ‘close to being completed’

Whitaker speaks

Whitaker says of Mueller’s probe, “The investigation is, I think, close to being completed,” at an unrelated news conference. He says he has been “fully briefed,” but does not elaborate or give any timetable. Photo credit: Getty

Feb. 5, 2019: Trump’s State of the Union

Trump State of the Union

In his State of the Union address, Trump takes aim at Mueller’s Russia probe and a series of other investigations House Democrats have promised, labeling them “ridiculous partisan investigations.” Photo credit: Getty

Feb. 8, 2019: National Enquirer secretly assisted Trump’s campaign 

THe National Enquirer

Two people tell The Associated Press that federal prosecutors are looking into the National Enquirer’s handling of a story about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ extramarital affair to see if the tabloid’s publisher violated a cooperation agreement with prosecutors. The tabloid acknowledged secretly assisting Trump’s White House campaign by paying $150,000 to Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. The company then buried the story until after the 2016 election. Cohen pleaded guilty to charges that included helping to broker that transaction. Photo credit: Getty

Feb. 11, 2019: Cohen delays testimony

Cohen again delays his testimony.

Feb. 13, 2019: Judge rules Manafort intentionally lied

A district judge rules that Manafort intentionally lied to investigators and a federal grand jury in the Mueller investigation. The four-page ruling hurts Manafort’s chance of receiving a reduced sentence. The ruling was largely a rejection of Manafort’s attorneys’ argument that he hadn’t intentionally misled investigators about his interactions with Kilimnik but rather forgot some details until his memory was refreshed.

Feb. 14, 2019: Barr sworn in as attorney general

Barr is sworn in for his second stint as the nation’s attorney general, taking the helm of the Justice Department and overseeing Mueller’s investigation. The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Barr, who also served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 during President George H.W. Bush’s administration. Barr had promised to be as transparent as possible but said he takes seriously the Justice Department regulations that dictate Mueller’s report should be treated as confidential. “I don’t know what, at the end of the day, what will be releasable. I don’t know what Bob Mueller is writing,” Barr said at the hearing.

Feb. 17, 2019: A ‘crime may have been committed,’ ex-FBI official says 

Andrew McCabe

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe says in an interview that a “crime may have been committed” when Trump fired Comey and tried to publicly undermine an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. McCabe also says in the interview with “60 Minutes” that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of Comey. Photo credit: Getty

Feb. 22, 2019: NY prosecutors pursue case, Bloomberg reports

Bloomberg News reports that New York prosecutors have put together a criminal case against Manafort that they could file quickly if he receives a presidential pardon. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is said to be ready to file an array of tax and other charges against Manafort, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Feb. 23, 2019: Mueller’s office weighs in on Manafort crimes

In a sentencing memo, Mueller’s office says Manafort committed crimes that cut to “the heart of the criminal justice system” and over the years deceived everyone from bookkeepers and banks to federal prosecutors and his own lawyers. Prosecutors do not yet take a position on how much prison time he should serve or whether to stack the punishment on top of a separate sentence he will soon receive in a Virginia prosecution. “For over a decade, Manafort repeatedly and brazenly violated the law,” prosecutors wrote. “His crimes continued up through the time he was first indicted in October 2017 and remarkably went unabated even after indictment.”

March 7, 2019: Manafort sentenced to 47 months

Manafort is sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, a break from sentencing guidelines that called for a 20-year prison term. The sentence caps the only jury trial after indictments from Mueller’s investigation.

March 13, 2019: Manafort sentenced in separate case

Manafort attorney Kevin Downing

Manafort is sentenced to an additional 3 1/2 years in prison on conspiracy charges related to his foreign lobbying work and witness tampering. He is also indicted on mortgage fraud, conspiracy and other state charges in New York that could put him outside the president’s power to pardon. Photo credit: Getty

March 14, 2019: House votes to make Mueller report public

The House votes unanimously for a resolution calling for any final report in Mueller’s investigation to be made public, a symbolic action designed to pressure Barr into releasing as much information as possible when the probe is concluded. The Democratic-backed resolution passes 420-0.

March 22, 2019: Mueller delivers report to attorney general

Mueller turned over his long-awaited final report on the Russia investigation to Attorney General William Barr, and officially concluded his probe of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates, according to the Justice Department. The still confidential report will now be reviewed by Barr, who has said he will write his own account communicating Mueller’s findings to Congress and the American public. Barr said he could release his account to Congress as soon as this weekend.

March 24, 2019: Barr writes letter summarizing report

William Barr

Mueller found that Trump and his campaign did not coordinate with Russia during his campaign and the report also resulted in no obstruction-of-justice charges against him, Barr writes in a four-page summary to Congress. Those conclusions to the two most significant issues in the investigation were delivered by Barr in a letter that he and Rosenstein wrote.

“The Special Counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” Barr’s letter said.

But Mueller reached no decision on whether Trump obstructed the investigation, Barr wrote, quoting Mueller’s submission saying that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Barr wrote that he and Rosenstein decided that the evidence that Mueller had gathered about the president’s actions “is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.” Photo credit: Getty

March 25, 2019: Democrats demand release

House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and other top Democrats set a deadline of April 2 for the release of the full Mueller report. The deadline is later missed, and the committee approves giving Nadler permission to issue subpoenas for the report on April 3.

March 29, 2019: Barr sets expectations

Barr says a redacted version of Mueller’s report will be sent to Congress by mid-April and will not be shared with the White House beforehand.

April 10, 2019: Dispute deepens

Barr tells Congress he thinks “spying did occur” against Trump’s presidential campaign, suggesting the origins of the Russia investigation may have been mishandled in remarks that aligned him with the president. In an interview with The Associated Press, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) says, “I don’t trust Barr, I trust Mueller.”

April 11, 2019: Assange arrested

Assange arrested

Assange is arrested, accused of conspiring in 2010 to release classified information through WikiLeaks. The charges are not in relation to any role Assange may have had in the release of stolen Democratic emails leading up to the 2016 presidential election, part of Mueller’s investigation. Photo credit: Getty

April 12, 2019: Ex-Obama counsel indicted

Former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig is indicted on charges of making false statements and concealing information in a federal foreign lobbying investigation that intersected with the Mueller probe.

April 15, 2019: Justice sets deadline

The Justice Department announces that it expects to release the redacted version of Mueller’s report on April 18. The redacted report would be sent to Congress and also made available to the public.

April 18, 2019: Mueller’s report released

Barr discusses Mueller report

Mueller’s report is released, revealing Trump’s efforts to seize control of the Russia probe and force the special counsel’s removal. The 10 episodes scrutinized by Mueller include Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, the president’s directive to subordinates to have Mueller fired and efforts to encourage witnesses not to cooperate. The report is two volumes and 448 pages long including attachments. At a news conference before the report’s release, Barr says “no material has been redacted based on executive privilege” and “I have no objection to Bob Mueller personally testifying” to Congress. Barr says he and Rosenstein disagreed with some of Mueller’s “legal theories” pertaining to obstruction of justice, but that didn’t influence their decision that Trump didn’t commit a crime. Nadler writes to Mueller that he wants the former special counsel to testify by May 23. Trump says, “This should never happen to another president again, this hoax.” Photo credit: Getty

April 29, 2019: Rosenstein submits resignation

Rosenstein submits his resignation after a two-year run defined by his appointment of the special counsel. His last day will be May 11.

April 30, 2019: Mueller expressed frustration, Justice says

A Justice Department official says Mueller expressed frustration to Barr in March about how the findings of the Russia investigation were being portrayed. Mueller reportedly said he worried that a letter summarizing the main conclusions of the probe lacked the necessary context and was creating public confusion about his team’s work. Mueller communicated his agitation in a letter to the Justice Department just days after Barr issued the four-page document that summarized the special counsel’s conclusions, showing tensions between them, particularly on the key question of obstruction. Mueller and Barr then had a phone call about the same concerns.

May 1, 2019: Barr speaks to Senate Judiciary Committee

Barr speaks to Senate

Barr defends his handling of the Mueller report and rejects Mueller’s complaints about his summary of its conclusions. He also criticizes the special counsel for failing to make a judgment on obstruction. “I think that the government did not have a prosecutable case,” Barr tells a sometimes testy Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Barr also dismisses the Mueller letter, saying it is “a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people.” Barr cancels his planned appearance the next day before the House Judiciary Committee after its chairman, Nadler, insists on having the panel’s lawyers question him. Photo credit: Getty

May 2, 2019: Barr skips House hearing

Barr does not attend a House hearing on Mueller’s report, escalating an already acrimonious battle between Democrats and Trump’s Justice Department. The department misses a committee deadline to provide it with a full, unredacted version of Mueller’s report and its underlying evidence. The moves are likely to prompt a vote on holding Barr in contempt and possibly the issuance of subpoenas.

May 3, 2019: Trump talks to Putin

Trump and Putin discuss what Trump calls the “Russian Hoax” in their first known phone call since the release of Mueller’s report. Putin chuckled about Mueller’s conclusions, Trump said. Trump said that at no point did he warn Putin not to meddle in the next election.

May 6, 2019: Ex-prosecutors sign letter

Hundreds of former federal prosecutors sign onto a letter, released by an advocacy group that is critical of the administration, saying Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice if he were anyone other than the president.

May 7, 2019: McGahn defies subpoena

The White House orders former White House counsel Don McGahn not to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents, escalating its fight with House Democrats over their post-Mueller report investigations. White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to Nadler that cited “executive privilege” in part for its direction to McGahn “not to produce” any records related to special counsel Mueller’s Russia investigation.

May 8, 2019: Panel holds Barr in contempt

Barr held in contempt

House Judiciary Committee Democrats vote to hold Barr in contempt of Congress after Trump made his first assertion of executive privilege for the entire Mueller report and underlying evidence. Following more than five hours of contentious debate, the committee votes along party lines, 24-16, to approve a motion to the House to cite Barr for contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over special counsel Mueller’s complete, unredacted report and evidence. “We are now in a constitutional crisis,” Nadler says. Pelosi echoes that wording the next day. Photo credit: Getty

May 13, 2019: Barr opens investigation into probe

Barr appoints John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was “lawful and appropriate,” a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press.

May 14, 2019: Panel reaches deal with Trump Jr.

The Senate Intelligence Committee strikes a deal with Trump Jr. to appear for a closed-door interview in June, pulling the two sides back from a confrontation over a subpoena as part of the panel’s Russia investigation. The deal comes after the panel subpoenaed the president’s eldest son to discuss answers he gave the panel’s staff in a 2017 interview. Trump Jr. had backed out of interviews twice, prompting the subpoena, people familiar with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr’s remarks tell The Associated Press.

May 15, 2019: WH rejects House committee’s request

The White House rejects an expansive House Judiciary Committee records request, accusing the Democratic-led committee of attempting a “do-over” of Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference. White House counsel Pat Cipollone, in a 12-page letter sent to Nadler, calls on the panel to “discontinue” its investigation and urges it to “narrow the sweeping scope” of its request for a trove of documents related to Trump’s Oval Office dealings, including his communications with McGahn.

May 16, 2019: Flynn described efforts to interfere with cooperation

Flynn told the special counsel’s office that people connected to the Trump administration and Congress sought to influence his cooperation with the Russia investigation, and he provided a voicemail recording of one such communication, prosecutors say in a court filing made public. Meanwhile, the judge in the case orders that portions of Mueller’s report that relate to Flynn be unredacted and made public by the end of the month, the first time a judge is known to have directed the Justice Department to make public any portion of the report that the agency had kept secret.

May 18, 2019: GOP congressman says conduct ‘impeachable’

A Republican congressman from Michigan becomes the first member of Trump’s party on Capitol Hill to accuse him of engaging in “impeachable conduct” stemming from Mueller’s investigation. But Rep. Justin Amash stops short of calling on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump.

May 20, 2019: Judge sides with Congress

A federal judge rules against Trump in a financial records dispute with Congress and says lawmakers should get the documents they have subpoenaed. Trump calls it a “crazy” decision that his lawyers would appeal. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes amid a widespread effort by the White House and Trump’s attorneys to refuse to cooperate with congressional requests for information and records. Earlier, Trump directed McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena that had compelled McGahn to testify before the House Judiciary Committee the next day.

May 21, 2019: McGahn skips hearing

Don McGahn skips hearing

McGahn defies a House Judiciary subpoena for his testimony on orders from the White House. Nadler says the committee would vote to hold McGahn in contempt and take the issue to court. Photo credit: Getty

May 29, 2019: Mueller says his probe did not exonerate Trump

Robert Mueller

Mueller, while announcing he’s closing his office and returning to private life, says that his report found that a legal opinion barred him from charging a sitting president and that his probe did not exonerate President Trump.

In his first public statement in two years, Mueller defendsed his most controversial decision — to not make a prosecutorial judgment on whether Trump criminally obstructed the investigation — and suggestsed that that determination is now up to Congress. Photo credit: Getty

June 3, 2019: House plans hearings on Mueller’s report

The House Judiciary Committee announces it’s planning a series of hearings on Mueller’s report, starting with an appearance by Nixon White House counsel John Dean on June 10. “Russia attacked our elections to help President Trump win, Trump and his campaign welcomed this help and the president then tried to obstruct the investigation into the attack,” committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York said in a statement. “Mueller confirmed these revelations and has now left Congress to pick up where he left off.” The committee also plans to consider in these hearings “targeted legislative, oversight and constitutional remedies designed to respond to these matters,” according to a statement.

June 4, 2019: White House tells former aides not to cooperate

The White House again directs former employees not to cooperate with a congressional investigation, this time instructing former aides Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson not to provide documents to the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler issued subpoenas for Hicks and Donaldson, who are mentioned frequently in Mueller’s report. Hicks had agreed to turn over documents related to her time on President Trump’s presidential campaign, which are not covered by executive privilege.

Separately, lawyers for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign asked a judge to penalize the Democratic National Committee for alleging in a lawsuit a conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, saying Mueller’s findings revealed the “doomed effort to prove a falsehood.” But lawyers for the Democratic Party responded by saying Mueller’s report confirms and bolsters their claims by detailing the campaign’s repeated suspicious interactions with Russian agents, proving the campaign participated in Russia’s election interference.

June 8, 2019: Clinton says Mueller report shows obstruction occurred

Hillary Clinton says Mueller’s report shows that Russia conducted a sweeping and systemic interference into the 2016 election and that obstruction of justice occurred. “You cannot read the report, chapter and verse, fact after fact, without reaching those conclusions,” Clinton said.

June 10, 2019: Justice Department agrees to hand over evidence

House Democrats reach an agreement with the Justice Department to view underlying documents behind the redacted Mueller report, partially defusing an impasse between Congress and the Trump administration.

June 11, 2019: Chairman says panel will move quickly on McGahn

The House Judiciary Committee chairman says his panel will move “as quickly as possible” to seek court enforcement of a subpoena against former White House Counsel Don McGahn. His remarks came after the House approved a resolution that makes it easier to file lawsuits against witnesses who defy subpoenas. That includes McGahn, who declined to provide documents or testimony at the urging of the White House. McGahn is the most-cited witness in Mueller’s report.

June 12, 2019: Donald Trump Jr. testifies to Senate

Donald Trump Jr.

Donald Trump Jr. testifies to the Senate intelligence committee for around three hours, following up on a 2017 interview with the same panel as part of its two-year-long Russia investigation. Trump Jr. said after the interview that he was happy to clarify answers from the earlier interview with the panel’s staff, but told reporters, “I don’t think I changed any of what I said because there was nothing to change.”

Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director who also worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign, agrees to a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee in its investigation of President Trump. Photo credit: Getty

June 13, 2019: House subpoenas Flynn, Gates

The House Intelligence Committee issues subpoenas to former national security advisoer Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign deputy chairman Rick Gates for documents and testimony, marking the first time House Democrats have tried to compel testimony from people who pleaded guilty during the Russia investigation.

“Both Michael Flynn and Rick Gates were critical witnesses for special counsel Mueller’s investigation, but so far have refused to cooperate fully with Congress. That’s simply unacceptable. The American people, and the Congress, deserve to hear directly from these two critical witnesses,” said a statement from the committee chairman.

June 18, 2019: Trump kicks off re-election bid

President Trump kicks off his re-election campaign. If he wins a second term, Trump would retain the legal protections of the Office of the Presidency. Mueller cited much-discussed 1973 Justice Department guidelines that state that “the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting president would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions” in his final report when explaining his reasons for not suggesting criminal charges against Trump on obstruction of justice.

June 19, 2019: Hicks testifies to Congress

Hope Hicks testifies

Hicks appears for her closed-door testimony with members and staff of the House Judiciary Committee, but angers Democrats by declining to answer some questions related to her time as senior adviser to Trump. Trump tweets as the questioning went on for hours, “So sad that the Democrats are putting wonderful Hope Hicks through hell, for 3 years now, after total exoneration by Robert Mueller & the Mueller Report.”

Also, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says Russia-born business executive Felix Sater will talk to House intelligence committee staff behind closed doors as part of its investigation into Russian election interference. Sater worked with President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, on a Trump Tower deal in Moscow before the 2016 election. The project was later abandoned. Photo credit: Getty

June 20, 2019: Hicks defends use of hacked emails

A transcript from Hicks’ closed-door testimony shows she defended the Trump campaign’s use of hacked emails released by Russians during the 2016 presidential race, calling them “publicly available information.”

Meanwhile, prosecutors in the Roger Stone case say President Trump’s longtime ally violated the terms of his release with posts on social media in recent days targeting Mueller’s investigation. Stone was indicted for lying to Congress and obstructing lawmakers’ probe into the Russian meddling, including its hack into the Democratic National Committee’s servers.

June 24, 2019: Ex-White House aide to answer written questions

The House Judiciary Committee says that former White House aide Annie Donaldson won’t appear for a scheduled deposition because she is in her third trimester of pregnancy but she will instead answer written questions.

The former aide to former White House Counsel Donald McGahn appears frequently in Mueller’s report. She took frequent notes about what was happening in the White House as President Trump reacted to the unfolding Russia probe.

June 26, 2019: Trump comments on Mueller’s upcoming testimony

President Trump describes former special counsel Mueller’s upcoming testimony before two Democratic-led House panels as merely part of a phony probe that “never ends.” “We had no obstruction … no collusion,” he told Fox Business. “It’s hard to have obstruction when you have no crime.”

June 28, 2019: Trump to Putin: ‘Don’t meddle in our election’

Vladimir Putin

Smiling together on a global stage, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin cheerfully dismissed Russian interference in U.S. elections. As the two leaders sat down for their first meeting in nearly a year, a reporter asked Trump if he would warn Putin not to meddle in America’s upcoming 2020 election. “Of course,” the president replied. Then he turned to Putin and facetiously said, “Don’t meddle in the election.” He playfully repeated the request while pointing at Putin, who laughed. Photo credit: Getty

July 8, 2019: Barr says Mueller’s testimony will be ‘public spectacle’

Barr accuses Democrats of trying to create a “public spectacle” by subpoenaing Mueller to testify before Congress about the Russia investigation.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Barr said the Justice Department would support Mueller if he decides he “doesn’t want to subject himself” to congressional testimony. Barr also said the Justice Department would seek to block any attempt by Congress to subpoena members of the special counsel’s team.

Rep. Peter King, in a morning radio interview, says he believes “there was no legal basis” for the FBI to open an investigation into then-candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and its purported ties to Russia.

July 10, 2019: Flynn’s no-prison deal in jeopardy

Michael Flynn

Prosectuors say that Flynn’s new legal strategy is prompting them to reassess their 2-year-old cooperation agreement. Trump’s former national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI had been expected to testify against his former business partner, Bijan Kian, but Flynn has backed away from his earlier statements to authorities since changing lawyers and retained an attorney harshly critical of Mueller’s investigation. Those changes were widely viewed as a possible attempt to secure a presidential pardon and prosecutors say that Flynn’s role in the Kian case has changed from cooperator to co-conspirator. They asked the judge to delay Flynn’s sentencing until the Kian case is completed. Photo credit: Getty

July 11, 2019: Committee votes on subpoenas

The House Judiciary Committee votes to authorize subpoenas for 12 people mentioned in Mueller’s report, including President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler will make the final decision about issuing the subpoenas and has said they can be avoided if witnesses and the administration cooperate voluntarily. President Trump says the witnesses “have already spent hours with Robert Mueller, and spent a fortune on lawyers in so doing.”

Meanwhile, Flynn’s lawyers say he is still cooperating with investigations by the government and deserves to be treated with leniency when it comes time for his sentencing.

July 12, 2019: Mueller’s testimony postponed

Mueller’s testimony to Congress is delayed until July 24 under an agreement that gives lawmakers more time to question him. Mueller had been scheduled to testify July 17 about the findings of his Russia investigation, but lawmakers in both parties complained that the short length of the hearings would not allow enough time for all members to ask questions.

Under the new arrangement, Mueller will testify for an extended period of time with the House Judiciary and intelligence committees. Mueller has expressed his reluctance to testify and said he won’t go beyond what’s in his report.

July 22, 2019: Justice Department to Mueller: Don’t go beyond report

The Justice Department tells former special counsel Robert Mueller not to stray beyond his report on Russian election interference when he testifies to Congress. In a letter sent to Mueller two days before his scheduled testimony, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer said he should not speak about redacted material from his report — including material pertaining to pending criminal prosecutions, “uncharged third-parties” and “executive privilege,” such as “presidential communications privileges.”

The letter is entirely in line with what Mueller has already said — that he doesn’t intend to speak beyond his report’s findings during the hearings before the House Judiciary and intelligence committees. But it gives Mueller a formal directive to point to if he faces questions he does not want to answer.

Timeline of the Iran nuclear deal

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, in Vienna, Austria on Jan. 16, 2016. Credit: AP

President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum Tuesday withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. The deal was negotiated and entered into in July 2015 with the aim of reducing Iran’s ability to develop a mass nuclear weapons program.

Here’s a look at the history of the agreement.

July 14, 2015

Iran, the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China — after 17 days of negotiations in Vienna — agree to the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.” Under the JCPOA, commonly referred to as the Iran deal, Iran agrees to reduce its nuclear facilities; in return, the other nations agree to lift economic sanctions.

March 21, 2016

Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, in a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, says his “number one priority” is to “dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.” On the campaign trail, Trump frequently criticizes the agreement as “weak,” and the “worst deal ever.”

Jan. 28, 2017

Days after Trump is sworn into office, Iran tests a medium-range ballistic missile. The administration responds by stating that Iran has been put “on notice,” and will be held accountable for its actions.

July 10

At the G-20 summit, Trump urges foreign leaders not to do business with Iran, according to White House officials. Iran takes issue with the move, saying it violates the United States’ end of “the bargain.”

July 18

A day after renewing the United States’ role in the agreement, the administration unveils a series of non-nuclear related sanctions against Iran, arguing that Iran’s actions “undermine regional stability.”

Jan. 12, 2018

Trump says he will withdraw unless flaws in the deal are reworked. He says his administration is in talks with European allies on a revised deal that would impose sanctions if Iran tests long-range missiles.

April 24-27

French President Emmanuel Macron, pictured above, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in back-to-back visits to the White House, urge Trump to remain in the deal or risk destabilizing the multinational accord.

April 30

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a dramatic televised presentation accusing Iran of lying about its nuclear weapons capabilities and urging the United States to withdraw from the deal. Trump, asked about the speech, says it “showed that I’ve been 100 percent right.”

May 8

Trump announces that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose economic sanctions.

Eric Schneiderman on women’s rights: In his own words

His office fought for reproductive rights and equality for women in the workplace, and he often spoke about the need to protect sexual assault survivors. Then on Monday evening State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman resigned after four women accused him in The New Yorker magazine of physically assaulting them.

Here’s a look back at what Schneiderman has said about women’s rights and violence against women during his time as attorney general.

April 16, 2018:

Schneiderman applauded The New York Times and New Yorker journalists who won the Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the #MeToo movement. He noted their work spurred a “national reckoning,” Schneiderman said in a tweet.


Feb. 12, 2018:

Schneiderman’s office filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Weinstein Company, to ensure victims be compensated following a sale of the company. Speaking at a news conference, he said:

“We have never seen anything as despicable as what we’ve seen right here.”

Jan. 21, 2018:

“Women led the way yesterday, and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers followed. Keep marching, keep speaking out, and keep standing up for each other,” Schneiderman tweeted about the Women’s March.


Dec. 18, 2017:

Schneiderman spoke out about efforts to keep an undocumented minor who was raped from receiving an abortion. He said in a statement at the time:

“We will not allow this administration to prey on young and vulnerable women in pursuit of a radical anti-abortion agenda.”

Nov. 28, 2017:

Schneiderman announced a settlement with Brooklyn Hospital after it illegally charged sexual assault survivors for rape kits.


Nov. 4, 2017:

Schneiderman tweeted about his experience working at an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., after graduating high school.


Aug. 25, 2017:

“It is 2017. It is long past time that women and men enjoy the same rights, privileges, and treatment,” Schneiderman tweeted in honor of #WomensEqualityDay.


Aug. 9, 2017:

“I’m proud that in my office, two-thirds of our bureaus are led by outstanding women attorneys,” Schneiderman said in a series of tweets on the topic. “We won’t stop striving for gender equality.”


July 19, 2017:

Schneiderman and 19 other attorneys general sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rebuking the potential roll back of Title IX guidelines on campus sexual assault investigations. He said in a statement:

“Secretary DeVos and the Trump administration must ensure student safety and send a clear message: sexual assault has no place on our campuses or anywhere.”

April 29, 2015:

“Today, we stand with victims to share 1 clear message: There’s no excuse for committing acts of sexual violence,” Schneiderman tweeted.

He shared the message on Denim Day, an annual event that started after an Italian court overturned a rape conviction because the victim wore jeans during the assault. The justices believed that because the jeans were tightfitting the victim had to have removed them herself, implying her consent.


Sept. 13, 2014:

On the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, Schneiderman said in a statement that safety is a “fundamental right.”

“Basic safety is not a privilege: It is a fundamental right. Protecting all Americans from harm, regardless of their relationship to their abuser or their gender, is and will remain one of the most important aspects of our ongoing pursuit of equal justice under law.”

March 16, 2010:

As a state senator, Schneiderman sponsored a bill that made strangulation a violent felony. He said his recent investigation of former Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who was expelled from the Senate following a misdemeanor conviction for assaulting his girlfriend, brought domestic violence issues “closer to home” for him, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported.

“Very simply, somewhat remarkably and perhaps disgracefully, in New York right now, strangulation to the point of rendering someone unsconscious is not treated as an assault. This bill would correct that fundamental error.”

She said, he said: The progressive issues taken up by Nixon and Cuomo

When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo first came into office seven years ago he was viewed as a moderate who ever since has inched further left.

He’s raised the minimum wage and expanded a version of free college tuition for middle-class families. But recent policy moves, including uniting Senate Democrats and a proposed plastic bag ban, are seen by some as a fending off of his progressive challenger.

The governor’s been criticized for lurching further left and moving in on progressive issues that have been taken up by Cynthia Nixon, who announced her candidacy in March.

Read more here about how the Cuomo-Nixon contest could echo that of Clinton-Sanders in 2016.

Here’s a look at some of the issues they’ve sparred over in recent weeks.

On unifying Senate Democrats

March 29, Nixon

Nixon tweeted out a video about the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of senators who broke with mainline Democrats in 2011 and formed a power-sharing agreement with Republicans in 2012 to give the GOP control of the Senate.

April 4, Cuomo

Cuomo and legislators announced the dissolution of the IDC at a news conference at his Manhattan gubernatorial office.

“What we’re saying here today is, we have a common enemy, and the common enemy is defeating Trump…and their agenda,” Cuomo said. “So, we call for Democratic unity for the greater good.”

On empowering black women:

April 4, Nixon:

In the candidate’s first national television interview on “The Wendy Williams Show,” Nixon called black women the “backbone” of the Democratic party and said that “we need to let them lead.”

April 23, Cuomo:

Cuomo announced initiatives to address high maternity-mortality rates among African-American women.

On legalizing marijuana:

April 11, Nixon:

Nixon has strongly supported legalizing marijuana, calling it a social justice issue and a “key front in the racist war on drugs.”

“There are a lot of good reasons for legalizing marijuana. But for me it comes down to this: We have to stop putting people of color in jail for something that white people do with impunity,” Nixon said. “If there was more political courage coming out of Albany, we would have done this already.”

April 20, Cuomo:

A Cuomo spokesman said the Governor would support Sen. Chuck Schumer’s federal bill to decriminalize marijuana for recreational use. Cuomo has previously opposed legalizing marijuana and in February 2017 called it a “gateway drug.”

On protecting the environment:

April 21, Nixon:

Nixon said Cuomo has not done enough to increase the state’s use of renewable energy as

“At a time when Donald Trump has pulled out of the Paris accords, we can lead not only for our own state, but we can show the nation how to lead in renewable energy,” Nixon said.

April 21, Cuomo:

As Nixon and about 1,000 environmental activists arrived at the Capitol, Cuomo announced a proposal to ban plastic shopping bags throughout the state. A spokeswoman also pointed to the governor’s strong environmental record, which includes banning hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and moving to shutter the Indian Point nuclear plant.

“The blight of plastic bags takes a devastating toll on our streets, our water and our natural resources, and we need to take action to protect our environment,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Cuomo aides said the proposal had been in the works for months, well ahead of Nixon’s entry into the governor’s race. But some noted that in 2017 Cuomo killed a proposal that would impose a 5-cent fee on plastic bags in New York City.

On teacher evaluations:

April 26, Nixon:

Nixon called on Cuomo to end the use of tests in job evaluations. She said using standardized test scores to judge teacher performance has led to more standardized testing, which has prompted many parents statewide to opt their children out of state tests.

“A few years ago Andrew Cuomo described teacher evaluation based on high stakes testing as one of his greatest legacies,” Nixon tweeted. “Now he’s hoping that parents and teachers have forgotten all about it. Enough of the delays and excuses: it’s time to repeal the [Annual Professional Performance Review] now.”

April 26, Cuomo:

Legislation to end the use of state test scores in job evaluations for teachers and principals was introduced hours after Nixon’s call to end the practice.

“We have been working the legislature and education community for months to address this issue and would like to reach a resolution this session,” said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.

Cuomo has sought to make evaluations for teachers and principals more rigorous, including the use of student performance.

In 2015, the state, with a strong push from Cuomo, changed its requirements for evaluations, placing a greater emphasis on student test scores.

Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota’s career

1971-1982

Serves as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County. Includes stint as chief of homicide bureau, where he prosecuted high-profile cases, including the murder of 13-year-old John Pius in Smithtown. That case featured teenage witness and later Spota protégé James Burke, who would go on to work as Spota’s chief investigator before becoming Suffolk police’s chief of department in 2012.

1982-2001

James McCready hugs his attorney Spota after he's ruled a free man on May 25, 1993.

Works in private practice. Gains political prominence representing county law enforcement unions.

2001

Switches party affiliation from Republican to Democrat to run for Suffolk district attorney against longtime Republican DA James Catterson. After bruising campaign, Spota wins by a large margin.

2003

Releases grand jury report on sexual abuse by 58 priests in the Diocese of Rockville Centre dating back decades. Wins national attention for issuing one of the first such reports in the country.

2005

Suffolk County Democratic chairman Rick Schaffer congratulates Spota after he received the Republican party's nomination for reelection.

Wins first re-election, without an opponent and endorsed by all major and minor parties.

2006

Wins conviction of Islip Town Supervisor Peter McGowan, a Republican, on corruption charges stemming from illegal use of $1.2 million campaign fund.

2009

Wins second re-election, again without an opponent and endorsed by all major and minor parties.

2011

Brokers deal with County Executive Steve Levy that results in Levy not seeking a third term and turning over his $4 million campaign war chest to Spota’s office. Spota closes a criminal investigation into Levy’s fundraising. Neither Spota nor Levy has ever provided a detailed explanation of the agreement.

2013

The state’s highest court rules that Suffolk’s 12-year term limit does not apply to the district attorney’s office, allowing Spota to run for a fourth term. He again receives cross-endorsements from all major parties, defeats a GOP primary challenger and wins re-election.

2014

Secures guilty plea of Suffolk information technology commissioner Donald Rodgers on misdemeanor counts related to his failing to disclose business interests on his county financial disclosure form and his work on a multimillion-dollar county software deal.

2014

Begins investigating then-Babylon Democratic chairman Robert Stricoff for alleged irregularities in campaign committee expenses. He later refers the case to the state Board of Elections.

2015

Burke is joined at a news conference by Burke, center. Credit: James Carbone

His protégé Burke is charged by federal prosecutors with beating a man who had broken into his SUV and then orchestrating a departmentwide cover-up. Burke pleaded guilty and later is sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.

2016

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone stands on the steps of Spota’s office and asks for his resignation, saying Spota was heading a “criminal enterprise” that used the prosecutor’s office to punish enemies and protect friends. Spota accuses Bellone of having a “personal vendetta against me for investigating and prosecuting people he is close to.”

2016

Newsday reports that federal prosecutors had opened a criminal investigation into the actions of Spota’s office, including handling of the Levy and Burke cases, those involving Stricoff and Rodgers, and a 2011 shooting of an unarmed cabdriver by an off-duty Nassau police officer who had been drinking heavily and was never charged. Spota has denied wrongdoing.

May 12, 2017

Spota announces he will not seek a fifth term.

Oct. 25, 2017

Spota and one of his chief aides, Christopher McPartland, are indicted on federal charges in a cover-up of Burke’s assault of a suspect in 2012. Both plead not guilty.

Oct. 26, 2017

Spota announces he will leave office.

Nov. 10, 2017

Spota officially retires as Suffolk County district attorney.

Patrick Vecchio: 40 years in Long Island politics

Smithtown politician Patrick Vecchio, the longest-serving town supervisor in Long Island history, will leave office at the end of this year, after losing a close vote to a rival from his own party last week.

When he began overseeing Smithtown in 1978, he embarked on a political career that ultimately would span seven U.S. presidents and witness a world of change over four decades.

Below, see milestones from Vecchio’s career on the left, and, on the right, major world events that occurred during the course of his time as Smithtown town supervisor.

Dec. 8, 1977

Vecchio defeats Republican town Supervisor Charles Cacciabaudo by 67 votes.

Jan. 20, 1981

Ronald Reagan becomes president. Iran hostage crisis ends.

1982

Wages unsuccessful campaign to unseat state Sen. James Lack.

Nov. 5, 1985

Wins fifth two-year term as supervisor.

January 28, 1986

Space shuttle Challenger disaster

May 25, 1989

At Smithtown Town Hall, 1989

Endorsed by Smithtown Republicans for re-election, the first time he receives bipartisan backing.

Nov. 7, 1989

Wins seventh term – and first four-year term. (Voters in 1988 had approved extending the supervisor’s term.)

Nov. 9, 1989

Berlin Wall falls.

Feb. 13, 1990

Switches parties in bid to unseat Democratic County Executive Patrick Halpin.

Sept. 12, 1991

Loses both Republican and Conservative county executive primaries.

July 17, 1996

TWA Flight 800 crashes off Long Island.

Sept. 11, 2001

Credit: AP

World Trade Center attacks.

June 29, 2007

The first iPhone is released.

Nov. 3, 2009

Vecchio in 2006.

Wins 12th term as supervisor, defeating Democrat Patricia Biancaniello.

Nov. 6, 2012

Barack Obama is elected president for a second term.

Sept. 10, 2013

Defeats Councilman Robert Creighton in Republican primary. Goes on to win November general election.

Jan. 20, 2017

Donald Trump becomes president.

Sept. 25, 2017

Concedes defeat in Republican primary to Councilman Edward Wehrheim.