Sam Nunberg's wild week, a mysterious Seychelles meeting, and a critical new witness - here's the latest in the Russia investigation
On Monday, Sam Nunberg, a former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, sent shockwaves through Washington when he made the rounds on cable news to lash out at the special counsel Robert Mueller and members of the Trump administration, including the president himself.
Several of the interviews went off the rails, with Nunberg taunting Mueller by announcing he would not cooperate with the investigation. But two days later, Nunberg had an apparent change of heart, saying he would hand over email communications with Trump and other witnesses to Mueller. On Friday, Nunberg testified before a grand jury.
Nunberg's antics, however, weren't the only - or biggest - developments this month.
Here's what else you may have missed recently in the Russia probe:
- Mueller ensnares Trump in the collusion inquiry: The investigation saw a huge shake-up early this month, when it emerged that Mueller is examining whether Trump knew about, or had any role in, the Russian campaign to hack into the Democratic National Committee and disseminate stolen materials in 2016. Trump has long been a subject of the obstruction investigation, but this is the first time he seems to be a focus of the collusion thread.
- Details emerge about a secret rendezvous in the Seychelles: George Nader, a top adviser to the Emirati crown prince, testified to a grand jury that Trump associate Erik Prince met in the Seychelles islands with an Emirati delegation and Kremlin ally Kirill Dmitriev as part of an effort to establish a backchannel between the US and Russia and to discuss US-Russia relations going forward. The UAE and Russia are close economic allies, and both would stand to benefit financially if the US and Russia resumed normal trade relations and sanctions were lifted.
- Trump goes against his lawyers' advice: Trump reportedly ignored his lawyers' advice and had at least two conversations with witnesses in the investigation to discuss issues they spoke to Mueller about. Trump's reported behavior added yet another piece of evidence to Mueller's growing arsenal in the obstruction-of-justice case.
- Mueller eyes Trump's attacks on Sessions: Mueller is said to be scrutinizing a key period between late July and early August of last year, during which Trump significantly ramped up his attacks against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has recused himself from the Russia probe.
- A new proposal: Trump's legal team is reportedly considering allowing Mueller to question Trump, as long as he either pledges that the portions of the Russia probe related to Trump will conclude within 60 days, or that he will limit the scope of questioning. But Mueller holds more leverage over Trump than the other way around, and he is unlikely to accept either stipulation.
- A communication breakdown: The House and Senate intelligence committees have virtually zero communication amid partisan infighting on the House panel. Things escalated when it emerged that members of the House committee leaked Senate co-chair Sen. Mark Warner's texts to the press in February.
- Another Steele memo surfaces: Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence officer who compiled the now infamous Trump-Russia dossier, reportedly wrote another unverified memo alleging the Russian government persuaded Trump against nominating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to secretary of state because Russian officials wanted someone more sympathetic to their interests.
- A funding debacle: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was reportedly offered $120 million to combat Russian meddling, but the offer was withdrawn after Tillerson delayed approving the funding. In the end, the State Department received $40 million, a fraction of the original amount.
- Hope Hicks testifies, then announces resignation: Hicks, the White House communications director, testified before the House Intelligence Committee on February 27 but refused to answer a series of questions. When asked if she ever lied on Trump's behalf she admitted she told "white lies," but never related to the Russia investigation. A day after testifying, Hicks announced her resignation.
- Confusion over Russia's election hacks: Russian-backed operatives compromised voter registration systems in seven US states ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The Department of Homeland Security rejected the report, calling it "factually inaccurate and misleading."
Sonam Sheth and Eliza Relman contributed to this report.