Trump and Russia: Who are the people in the spotlight?
Investigations into alleged links between the US President and Moscow continue to dog the White House

In another twist in the already lengthy tale of the alleged ties between Donald Trump's administration and Vladimir Putin and Russia, former acting attorney general Sally Yates has revealed she warned the White House in January about concerns over then national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Yates told the Senate judiciary subcommittee she had been concerned that he "could be blackmailed by the Russians"
She added: "Logic would tell you that you don't want the national security adviser to be in a position where the Russians have leverage over him."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Flynn was forced to resign after just 24 days in the role after he misled colleagues over meetings with the Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
Yates's testimony was part of the Senate intelligence committee's investigation into alleged links between the Washington administration and Russia, allegations Trump has been unable to shake off in the first 100 days of his presidency.
Her comments "represented the latest incremental step toward a broader understanding of why so many links have surfaced between Trump world and Russia", says CNN.
"Alone, her appearance didn't prove much. But collectively with the other multiple channels of investigation, it could add up to more."
Investigations are underway in both the committee and the FBI.
The Senate is scrutinising contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Moscow, while the Bureau is focusing on a CIA report that Russia intervened to help Trump win.
A number of countries have provided the US with "information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials - and others close to Russia's president, Vladimir V. Putin - and associates of President Trump", the New York Times says.
The White House has downplayed the investigations, saying they are an invention of Democrats, while Trump has repeatedly dismissed any collusion between himself and Moscow as "fake news."
So who are the main players in the spotlight?
Michael Flynn
Trump's initial pick for national security adviser resigned after a Washington Post report revealed he had discussed the potential lifting of sanctions with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office.
Flynn repeatedly denied all dealings with Moscow, officials but later admitted he had "inadvertently briefed the vice-president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador".
"We still don't know who else in the White House knew that Flynn wasn't telling the truth. Or, who in the White House knew that Flynn was talking about lifting sanctions on Russia all along?" says the Washington Post.
Paul Manafort
Trump's campaign chairman was also forced to quit after he was "accused of accepting millions of dollars in cash for representing Russian interests in Ukraine and US, including dealings with an oligarch with close ties to President Putin", says the BBC.
It was reported that in 2005, Manafort sent Russian billionaire and aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska an ambitious proposal to promote the interests of "the Putin government" and undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics.
"Like Flynn, Manafort, a political operative with more than 40 years' experience, was supposed to marshal some of the chaos and controversy around Mr Trump, but ended up falling prey to it," says the BBC.
Jared Kushner
Trump's son-in-law, the husband of his elder daughter Ivanka Trump, has been thrown into the spotlight after it was revealed he met with executives of the Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB), which is on a US list of sanctioned organisations following Russia's incursion into Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Kushner met chairman Sergei Gorkov, a graduate of Russia's FSB internal security agency, who was "appointed head of VEB in early 2016 by Russian President Vladimir Putin".
Trump's son-in-law has previously disclosed he was also present at a meeting between Flynn and Kislyak, but a source close to the investigations told CNN that "neither of Kushner's meetings were about sanctions", and were instead an "effort to engage with Russia".
Kushner has said he will voluntarily appear at the Senate hearings.
Jeff Sessions
Trump's attorney general faces scrutiny after the Washington Post revealed he had twice met Kislyak during the election campaign despite denying any such meetings at his confirmation hearing in the Senate.
"The details of the meetings were not clear," says the New York Times, "but the contact appeared to contradict testimony Mr Sessions provided Congress during his confirmation hearing in January when he said he 'did not have communications with the Russians'."
Sessions says his meetings with the Russian ambassador were related to his role as a member of the Senate armed services committee and had nothing to do with the election campaign.
Carter Page
Trump's main foreign policy adviser "met with a Russian intelligence operative in 2013 and provided him documents about the energy industry, according to court documents from a 2015 prosecution alleging a Cold War-style spy ring in New York", says Capitol Hill Blue.
Page, who is not accused of wrongdoing, said in a statement that he shared "basic immaterial information and publicly available research documents."
However, says the Washington Post, in the summer of 2016, Page "stunned a gathering of high-powered Washington foreign policy experts meeting with the visiting prime minister of India" by "hailing Vladimir Putin as stronger and more reliable than President [Barack] Obama and touting the positive effect that a Trump presidency would have on US-Russia relations".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why does Donald Trump want Greenland?
The Explainer Trump is not the only US president who has tried to gain control of Greenland
By The Week UK Published
-
What dangers does the leaked Signal chat expose the US to?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The White House's ballooning group chat scandal offered a masterclass in what not to say when prying eyes might be watching
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Even authoritarian regimes need a measure of public support — the consent of at least some of the governed'
instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
USPS Postmaster General DeJoy steps down
Speed Read Louis DeJoy faced ongoing pressure from the Trump administration as they continue to seek power over the postal system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'There is a certain kind of strength in refusing to concede error'
instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published