Who's who in the Russia investigation?

Russia probe growing

Numerous people are now somehow connected to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and connections between Trump associates and the Russian government. They range from Congressmen to White House aides to Russian diplomats and Justice Department officials.

Here are 21 people currently involved in the investigation into the Russia matter -- including President Donald Trump -- and how they all fit into the big picture.

Jared Kushner

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner arrives to join U.S. President Donald Trump and the rest of the U.S. delegation to meet with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. Jonathan Ernst
  • Trump son-in-law and senior adviser to President Trump
  • Kushner, 36, is the husband of Ivanka Trump
  • In 2008, he became CEO of Kushner Companies, a real estate business founded by his father, after the elder Kushner was sentenced to prison for tax evasion and other charges by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie
  • Along with campaign adviser Michael Flynn, Kushner met with Russian Envoy Sergey Kislyak on Dec. 2, 2016, during the presidential transition. He discussed setting up a "back channel" to Kremlin, a story first reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by CBS News
  • The conversations between Kushner and Kislyak were intercepted by American intelligence
  • Kushner urged Mr. Trump to fire FBI Director James Comey
  • On Tuesday, Mr. Trump retweeted a Fox News story that cited an unnamed source in saying that Kushner and Kislyak's conversation "focused on Syria"
  • Met with Russian banker Sergey Gorkov, another meeting that has attracted scrutiny. The New York Times reports that investigators want to know more about his motives for meeting with Gorkov, who heads the sanctioned Russian bank VEB and is close to Vladimir Putin
  • Despite his family ties to Mr. Trump, there is a growing sense in the White House that Kushner is now "vulnerable" due to a recent spate of negative stories about him

Michael Flynn

White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn arrives prior to a joint news conference between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2017. Reuters
  • President Trump's former National Security Adviser
  • Spoke on the phone with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about sanctions against Russia before Mr. Trump took office
  • Was paid over $30,000 for attending and speaking at event organized by Russian media outlet RT, and received tens of thousands of dollars from entities with Russian ties during the 2016 campaign when he acted as a Trump surrogate
  • Flynn resigned from his White House position after 'misleading' Vice President Pence and not disclosing discussions with Russia
  • Flynn invoked the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and did not initially comply with a Senate subpoena seeking documents on Russian interference

Paul Manafort

In this July 17, 2016 file photo, Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort talks to reporters on the floor of the Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland as Rick Gates listens at back left. AP
  • Former Trump campaign chairman
  • Citing three current and former U.S officials, The New York Times reported that Manafort used to lobby for deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's political party
  • CBS News confirmed that a secret, handwritten ledger earmarking billions of dollars in undisclosed cash that were allegedly given out by Yanukovych's party exists. Manafort's name appeared in the ledger 12 times, for a sum of $12.7 million between 2007 and 2012.
  • Manafort resigned from the Trump campaign after mounting pressure and scrutiny over his ties to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine
  • Manafort then took steps to register as a foreign agent with the federal government
  • Manafort sent documents to the Senate Intelligence Committee related to the Russian meddling investigations, and sources familiar with Manafort's thinking say he will volunteer to be interviewed

Carter Page

Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, speaks at a news conference at RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. Page said he was in Moscow on a visit to meet with businessmen and politicians. AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin
  • Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser
  • Page visited Moscow in July 2016 for a speech at the New Economic School where he criticized the U.S.
  • Page spoke with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak at an event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention along with then-Senator Jeff Sessions
  • The Washington Post reported that FBI officials obtained a secret court order during the campaign to monitor Page's communications because the government had reason to believe Page was acting as a Russian agent, including contacts Page had with Russian intelligence operatives in 2013
  • Page informed Congressional committee members that he is willing to testify before lawmakers about his knowledge of any Russian interference, but only in the form of an open hearing

Sergey Kislyak

Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S. speaks with reporters following his address on the Syrian situation, on Fri., Sept. 6, 2013, at the Center for the National Interest in Washington. AP

Sergey Gorkov

FILE PHOTO: Chairman of Russian state development bank VEB Sergei Gorkov takes part in the Week of Russian Business, organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), in Moscow, Russia March 16, 2017. Sergei Karpukhin
  • Considered one of Putin's associates, but he has not played a distinct diplomatic role in the past
  • Currently, he heads Russian development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB), which was sanctioned by the Obama administration after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, and formerly he worked for Russian businesses such as Menatep Bank, Yukos Oil Company, and Sberbank of Russia
  • Gorkov studied law at the Academy of the Federal Security Service (FSB), a Russian spy agency, in the early '90s and studied finance in the early 2000's at Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics
  • He reportedly met Jared Kushner in December 2016 after Sergey Kislyak requested the engagement, and according to White House spokesperson Hope Hicks, it lasted around 30 minutes and ended with Gorkov requesting continued open dialogue

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump talks to reporters during a meeting with Dr. Henry Kissinger. Evan Vucci / AP
  • A New York real estate-mogul-turned-president, who won the 2016 race with approximately 56.88 percent of the electoral vote, while losing the popular vote
  • Fired Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, who warned the White House that Michael Flynn could be compromised by Russia and was lying to the Vice President; U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, who was leading its own investigations into possible ties to Russia and alleged wiretapping of Trump Tower; FBI Director James Comey, who led a probe into any communications between the Trump team and Russian officials
  • Mr. Trump has called the several ongoing investigations into this campaign, transition and White House team's alleged ties to Russia a "witch hunt" and an "excuse for [a] big election loss"

Robert Mueller

James Comey

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee during an oversight hearing on the FBI on Capitol Hill on May 3, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Getty

Richard Burr

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, joins Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2013, following a Republican strategy session. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) AP
  • Serves as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a position he took in January 2015
  • Burr has invited James Comey to testify about his dismissal as FBI director several times. He and his Democratic counterpart, Mark Warner, said that Comey has agreed to testify after the Memorial Day recess, though a date hasn't been set yet
  • Burr and Warner have been praised for working closely together on a bipartisan basis in their panel's investigation of Russian interference in the election
  • The Intelligence Committee has issued two new subpoenas for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. The panel also recently received documents from Mr. Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort related to the Russia probe

Mark Warner

Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) participates in a hearing to Senate Intelligence Committee on Russia's intelligence activities, at Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10, 2017. AP

Jeff Sessions

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself Thu., March 2, 2017, from investigations involving the Trump campaign. CBS News

Adam Schiff

House Benghazi Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, where Democratic presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testified before the committee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) AP
  • Democratic representative of California's 28th congressional district and the ranking Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own investigation into potential Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election
  • Called for a review of White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's security clearance after reports that Kushner attempted to set up secretive communication channels with Russian officials -- CBS News confirmed the validity of these reports
  • Schiff said that the U.S. government needs to "get to the bottom" of Kushner's proposed back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team "to find out whether he was truthful"

Devin Nunes

FILE: House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., speaks as CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director James Comey, National Counterterrorism Center Director Nicholas Rasmussen, NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart appear at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on world wide threats on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
  • Republican representative of California's 22nd congressional district and Chairman of the House Intelligence committee
  • In April, Nunes recused himself from his committee's Russia investigation after reports of secret meetings between the California representative and White House officials surfaced and prompted an investigation by the House Ethics Committee into his own behavior
  • In these meetings, it is reported that the Trump administration officials provided intelligence reports containing highly classified information to Nunes
  • The House Ethics Committee, a separate organization from the House Intelligence Committee, released a statement that they were investigating the "public allegations that Representative Devin Nunes may have made unauthorized disclosures of classified information"

Michael Conaway

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 23: Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX), now leading the House Intelligence investigation after Devin Nunes was forced to recuse himself, arrives for a hearing featuring former Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan at the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill, May 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Brennan is discussing the extent of Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible ties to the campaign of President Donald Trump. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Drew Angerer / Getty Images
  • Republican Representative for Texas's 11th congressional district
  • After Nunes recused himself from the House Intelligence Committee's investigation regarding Russian interference in the presidential election, Conaway took over as leader of the investigation

Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee, responds during a TV news interview to a question about President Donald Trump's administration and ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. J. Scott Applewhite, AP
  • South Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime and terrorism, which is investigating Russian election meddling
  • Known for his aggressive approach to foreign policy and tough-on-crime mentality
  • Initially said the FBI needs a "fresh start" after Mr. Trump fired Comey
  • As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham said the U.S. must "punish Russia" for meddling in the election
  • After Rosenstein briefed him on the FBI's Russia probe, Graham said it appears to be a "criminal investigation"
  • Has said the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller in may hinder the House and Senate intelligence committee investigations into Russian election meddling

Sheldon Whitehouse

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 08: The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism ranking member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) delivers opening remarks during a hearing about Russian interference in the 2016 election in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill May 8, 2017 in Washington, DC. Before being fired by U.S. President Donald Trump, Yates testified that she had warned the White House about contacts between former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Russia that might make him vulnerable to blackmail. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
  • Rhode Island Democrat and ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime and terrorism, which is investigating Russian election meddling
  • Said Russia "trolled the FBI pretty good" after a report that the Russians introduced a dubious document influenced the FBI's handling of the Clinton email investigation
  • Strongly supported the appointment of Mueller to be special counsel

Jason Chaffetz

In this June 16, 2015, file photo, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. AP
  • Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee who recently announced he will not be running for reelection in 2018 and is resigning from office next month
  • At first, was hesitant to become involved in matters related to any ties between Russia and Trump associates and Comey's firing, but in recent weeks has become more active in those matters
  • Asked the Department of Justice's inspector general to expand its ongoing investigation into the FBI's handling of the Clinton email probe to also include the decision to fire Comey
  • Requested memos Comey reportedly wrote describing how Mr. Trump asked him to end the Russia investigation -- but the FBI rejected that request
  • Has invited Comey to testify before the oversight panel

Elijah Cummings

  • As the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Cummings pushed for tougher oversight of Mr. Trump and any ties between Russia and Trump associates earlier than Chaffetz did
  • Has said the White House is "stonewalling" the FBI's investigation into Trump associates' alleged ties to Russia and has called for an independent commission -- arguably stronger than a special counsel -- to investigate any ties between Mr. Trump or his associates and Russia
  • Has called the Russia probe a "fight for the soul of our democracy"

Don McGahn

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 9: Don McGahn, lawyer for Donald Trump and his campaign, leaves the Four Seasons Hotel after a meeting with Trump and Republican donors, June 9, 2016 in New York City. Trump previously stated he planned to raise one billion dollars, but has since pulled back on his fundraising goal. Drew Angerer / Getty Images
  • White House Counsel for President Trump and a former commissioner of the Federal Election Commission
  • Met with then-acting attorney general Sally Yates in January to discuss her belief that Michael Flynn was misleading White House officials about the nature of his discussions with Russian diplomats
  • Has instructed White House aides to preserve emails and other materials that could be connected to various probes regarding Russian interference

Sally Yates

Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates testifies about potential Russian interference in the presidential election before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., on Mon., May 8, 2017. Reuters
  • Before joining the Department of Justice, Yates spent around 20 years as a federal prosecutor in her home state of Georgia, most notably working white-collar crime cases, many in Atlanta
  • Was fired by President Trump as acting attorney general when she refused to defend the president's first executive order travel ban
  • In testimony before the Senate on May 8, Yates said she believed Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn was compromised by Russia
  • Informed the White House in January through White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had been compromised and was lying to Vice President Pence about his previous contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak
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