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Version:1.0 StartHTML:000000261 EndHTML:000235168 StartFragment:000067324 EndFragment:000235112 StartSelection:000067324 EndSelection:000235102 SourceURL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections2015[edit]June 16: Donald Trump announces his candidacy for president.[56]June 17: In an interview on the Fox News show Hannity, Sean Hannity asks Trump if he has talked to Putin. Trump replies, "I don't want to say. But I got to meet all of the leaders. I got to meet all — I mean, everybody was there. It was a massive event. And let me tell you, it was tremendous."[57]July onward: Thousands of fake Twitter accounts run by the Kremlin's Internet Research Agency begin to praise Trump over his political opponents by a wide margin, according to a later analysis by The Wall Street Journal.[58][59]July: George Papadopoulos contacts Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski about joining the campaign as a policy advisor.[60]July 11: Maria Butina attends FreedomFest in Las Vegas, where Trump is speaking and taking questions. She asks Trump his stance on continuing sanctions; he replies he knows Putin and doesn't think sanctions are needed.[61] Reviewing a video of the encounter, Steve Bannon points out that "Trump had a fully developed answer".[62]July 13: Maria Butina is present at Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's presidential candidacy announcement.[61]July 24: Rob Goldstone emails Trump's assistant Rhona Graff, suggesting that Emin Agalarov could arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump.[63]Summer: Hackers linked to the Russian FSB gain access to the Democratic National Committee's computer network.[64] Dutch intelligence services alert their U.S. counterparts that a hacking group known as Cozy Bear has penetrated the DNC servers.[65]August: Papadopoulos emails Michael Glassner, the executive director of Trump's campaign committee, expressing further interest in joining the campaign as a policy advisor. He continues corresponding with Glassner and Lewandowski for months, but is repeatedly told no position is available for him.[60]August 8: Roger Stone leaves the Trump campaign. The campaign says it fired Stone, but Stone insists he quit. He subsequently gives the press a resignation letter that the campaign says it never received.[66]August 21: Sessions makes his first appearance at a Trump campaign rally.[67]September: An FBI special agent reports to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that at least one of its computer systems has been hacked by an espionage team linked to the Russian government. The agent is transferred to a tech-support contractor at the help desk, who makes a cursory check of DNC server logs and does not reply to the agent's follow-up calls, allegedly because of a belief that the call might have been a prank.[68]Jill Stein speaks briefly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a Russia Today gala in New York City.[69]September–October: The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website primarily funded by billionaire Paul Singer, hires Fusion GPS to perform opposition research on Trump. Initially a Marco Rubio supporter, Singer continues to fund the research after Rubio withdraws from the race.[70][71]September 4–5: At the 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit, Obama confronts Putin about Russian cyber attacks, telling him to stop. Putin explains Russia's stance on the issue.[72]September 11: Trump speaks at the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kiev via satellite. The organizer of the event, Victor Pinchuk, donates $150,000 to Trump's charity, the Trump Foundation.[73][74]September 21: On Hugh Hewitt's radio program, Trump says, "The oligarchs are under [Putin's] control, to a large extent. I mean, he can destroy them, and he has destroyed some of them... Two years ago, I was in Moscow... I was with the top-level people, both oligarchs and generals, and top-of-the-government people. I can't go further than that, but I will tell you that I met the top people, and the relationship was extraordinary."[75]October: For his remarks during a cybersecurity forum in Washington, D.C., Flynn receives $11,250 from Kaspersky Government Security Solutions Inc., the American subsidiary of Kaspersky Lab, owned by Eugene Kaspersky.[76][77]October 28: Trump signs a letter of intent to construct a Trump-branded building in Moscow, a fact made public in August 2017.[78][79]November: Trump associate Felix Sater emails Trump lawyer Michael Cohen: "Michael, I arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putin's private chair at his desk and office in the Kremlin [...] Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putin's team to buy in on this".[80][29] Sater also tells Cohen that the Kremlin's VTB Bank is ready to finance a Trump Tower project in Moscow.[22]November 19: The Russian Internet Research Agency creates the @TEN_GOP Twitter account. Purporting to be the “Unofficial Twitter account of Tennessee Republicans,” it peaks at over 100,000 followers.[81]December: Unable to find a position in the Trump campaign, Papadopoulos joins the Ben Carson campaign.[60]December 8–13: Outspoken Trump supporter Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, former NRA President David Keene, future NRA President Pete Brownell, NRA Golden Ring of Freedom Chair Joe Gregory, major NRA donor Arnold Goldschlager, and Paul Erickson travel to Moscow for the Right to Bear Arms convention. They meet Russian government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and a gun manufacturer. Rogozin is under U.S. sanctions. Clarke later files an ethics report showing that Maria Butina's organization, Right to Bear Arms, covered $6,000 of his expenses.[61][82][83]December 10: Flynn gives a paid speech on world affairs in Moscow, at a gala dinner organized by RT News.[84] Flynn had appeared on RT as an analyst after retiring from the U.S. Army. Putin is the dinner's guest of honor.[85] Flynn is seated next to Putin; also seated at the head table are Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and members of Putin's inner circle, including Sergei Ivanov, Dmitry Peskov, Victor Vekselberg, and Alexey Gromov.[86][87] For his speech, Flynn nets $33,500 of the $45,000 paid to his speakers’ bureau.[88] For all of 2015, Flynn receives more than $65,000 from companies linked to Russia.[89]December 21: John Podesta receives an email, which is later leaked by Wikileaks, advising the Hillary Campaign on how to approach the issue of Trump, recommending that the "best approach is to slaughter Donald for his bromance with Putin".[90]January–March 2016[edit]January: Cohen attempts to contact Putin's personal spokesman Dmitry Peskov to request assistance with construction of a Trump-branded building in Moscow. Cohen asks in an email what it will take to move the project forward because "the communication between our two sides has stalled".[91][92]Flynn applies to renew his security clearance for five years. In an interview with security investigators, he claims U.S. companies paid for his trip to the RT dinner in Moscow. Documents subsequently obtained by the House Oversight Committee show that RT paid for the trip.[93]January 19: Konstantin Sidorkov, executive at Vkontakte (VK, Russia’s equivalent of Facebook), emails Donald Trump Jr. and social media director Dan Scavino offering to help promote Trump’s campaign to its nearly 100 million users. Goldstone brokered the overture. Sidorkov emails again on November 5, 2016.[94]February: Paul Erickson and Maria Butina form Bridges LLC. Erickson later tells McClatchy the South Dakota-based company was created to provide financial assistance for Butina's graduate school tuition.[61] As of January 2018, McClatchy was unable to find any of the company's financial transactions.[95]February 28: Trump is formally endorsed by Jeff Sessions.[67]February 29: Paul Manafort submits a five-page proposal to Trump outlining his qualifications to help Trump secure enough convention delegates and win the Republican presidential nomination. Manafort describes how he assisted several business and political leaders, notably in Russia and Ukraine.[96]March: Carter Page begins working for the Trump campaign as an unpaid foreign policy adviser.[97][98][99]Early March: Papadopoulos contacts Michael Glassner saying he is free again to join Trump's campaign. Glassner connects Papadopoulos with campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis. Clovis tells Papadopoulos that improving Russia relations is a top foreign policy goal for the campaign.[60]March 3: Jeff Sessions is appointed to the Trump campaign's national security advisory committee.[67]March 6: Papadopoulos learns he will be a foreign policy advisor for the Trump Campaign.[100][101][102] The campaign hires Papadopoulos on Ben Carson's recommendation.[103]March 14: George Papadopoulos first meets Maltese academic Joseph Mifsud while traveling in Italy.[100][104]March 16: The FBI releases its Report of Investigation on Flynn's security clearance renewal application.[93]March 19: Clinton presidential campaign chairman John Podesta is asked to change his email password in an apparent phishing attempt, believed to be spearheaded by Russian hackers. They gain access to his account.[64]March 21: In a Washington Post interview,[105][106] Trump says Carter Page and George Papadopoulos are among his foreign policy advisers. Page had helped open the Moscow office of investment banking firm Merrill Lynch and advised Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, in which Page is an investor. He had blamed 2014 US sanctions relating to Russia’s annexation of Crimea for driving down Gazprom’s stock price.[107] Earlier in March 2016, Iowa tea party activist Sam Clovis had recommended Page to the Trump campaign.[108]March 24: In London, Papadopoulos meets Mifsud and Olga Polonskaya, who falsely claims to be Putin's niece.[109] Polonskaya is in regular email contact with Papadopolous, in one message writing, "We are all very excited by the possibility of a good relationship with Mr. Trump".[104]March 29: On Roger Stone's recommendation,[110] Manafort joins the Trump campaign as convention manager, tasked with lining up delegates.[111]March 30: Alexandra Chalupa, who worked in the White House Office of Public Liaison during the Clinton administration, briefs the DNC's communications staff on Manafort's and Trump's ties to Russia.[112]March 31: At the first meeting of Trump's foreign policy team, which includes Trump and Sessions, Papadopoulos speaks of his connections with Russia, and offers to negotiate a meeting between Trump and Putin. Sessions later states he opposed the idea.[104][113][114][115] The meeting is held at the yet-to-open Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C..[60]Spring: U.S. intelligence officials’ suspicions of Russian meddling in the presidential election grow after their counterparts in Europe warn that Russian money might be flowing into the election.[49]Roger Stone tells associates he is in contact with Julian Assange.[116]April–June 2016[edit]April: Between April and November 2016, there are at least 18 further exchanges by telephone and email between Russian officials and the Trump team.[117][118]Hackers linked to the GRU gain access to the DNC computer network.[64]Russian social media company SocialPuncher releases an analysis showing that Trump has quoted or retweeted Twitter bots 150 times since the beginning of 2016.[119][120]Rohrabacher meets with Natalia Veselnitskaya in Moscow to discuss the Magnitsky Act. Vladimir Yakunin, under U.S. sanctions, is also present.[121] Rohrabacher later says he met Yakunin at the request of Kislyak.[122] He also meets with officials at the Russian Prosecutor General's office, where he receives a document full of accusations against Sergei Magnitsky. U.S. Embassy officials are worried Rohrabacher may be meeting with FSB agents. The meeting at the prosecutor's office is not on his itinerary.[121] The document is given to Rohrabacher by Deputy Prosecutor Viktor Grin, who is under U.S. sanctions authorized by the Magnitsky Act. Rohrabacher subsequently uses the document in efforts to undermine the Magnitsky Act.[122] His accepting the document from Grin, a sanctioned individual, and using it to influence U.S. government policy leads to a July 21, 2017, complaint being filed against Rohrabacher and his staff director, Paul Brends, for violating Magnitsky Act sanctions.[123]The Russian Internet Research Agency starts buying online ads on social media and other sites. The ads support Trump and attack Clinton.[39][40]Marc Elias, a lawyer at Perkins Coie and general counsel for the Clinton campaign, takes over funding of the Fusion GPS Trump investigation. He uses discretionary funds at his disposal and does not inform the campaign about the research.[124][125][71]April 4: A rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Cummings was a black woman who had recently died in police custody. The Russian Internet Research Agency's "Blacktivist" account on Facebook actively promotes the event, reaching out directly to local activists on Facebook Messenger asking them to circulate petitions and print posters for the event. Blacktivist supplies the petitions and poster artwork.[126]April 11: Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, his old lieutenant, exchange emails about whether recent press coverage of Manafort joining the Trump campaign can be used to make them "whole" with Russian oligarch Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska. Manafort is in debt to Deripaska for millions of dollars at the time.[127]April 16: A rally protesting the death of Freddie Gray attracts large crowds in Baltimore. The Russian Internet Research Agency's Blacktivist Facebook group promotes and organizes the event, including reaching out to local activists.[128]April 18: Mifsud introduces Papadopoulos to Ivan Timofeev, program director of the Kremlin-sponsored Valdai Discussion Club. Papadopoulos and Timofeev communicate for months about potential meetings between Russian government officials and members of the Trump campaign. Later records indicate that Timofeev discussed Papadopoulos with former Russian Foreign Minister Igor S. Ivanov.[109][104][102]April 20: Manafort becomes Trump’s campaign manager. Reports surface about his 2007 to 2012 ties to former President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych, whom Manafort helped elect.[129]April 23: A small group of white-power demonstrators hold a rally they call "Rock Stone Mountain" at Stone Mountain Park near Stone Mountain, Georgia. They are confronted by a large group of protesters, and some violent clashes ensue. The counterprotest was heavily promoted by the Russian Internet Research Agency's accounts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, and the IRA website http://blackmatters.com. The IRA uses its Blacktivist account on Facebook to reach out, to no avail, to activist and academic Barbara Williams Emerson, the daughter of Hosea Williams, to help promote the protests. Afterward, RT blames anti-racist protesters for violence and promotes two videos shot at the event.[126]April 26: Papadopoulos meets Mifsud in London again. Mifsud claims that he has learned that Russians are in possession of thousands of stolen emails that may be politically damaging to Clinton.[130][104][109]Before the second Mifsud meeting, Papadopoulos emails Stephen Miller, informing him that Putin has extended an "open invitation" to Trump. After the meeting, Papadopoulos tells Miller that he has "some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right."[109]April 27: Trump, Sessions and Jared Kushner greet Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. This contact is repeatedly omitted from testimony or denied.[106][131][132] Afterward, Kislyak reports the conversation with Sessions to Moscow.[133] Kushner is the first to publicly admit the Kislyak meeting took place in his prepared statement for Senate investigators on July 24, 2017.[134]Trump delivers a speech edited by Papadopoulos that calls for improved relations between the US and Russia. Papadopoulos brings the speech to the attention of Mifsud and Polonskaya, and tells Timofeev that it should be considered "the signal to meet".[104]Papadopoulos tells Lewandowski via email that Putin wants to meet Trump.[102]Late April: The DNC's IT department notices suspicious computer activity. Within 24 hours, the DNC contacts the FBI, and hires a private cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, to investigate.[135]May: CrowdStrike determines that sophisticated adversaries—denominated Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear—are responsible for the DNC hack. Fancy Bear, in particular, is suspected of affiliation with Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).[136]In London, during a night of heavy drinking, Papadopoulos tells the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Alexander Downer, that the Russians have politically damaging material on Hillary Clinton. Two months later, Australian officials pass this information to American officials.[104]Paul Erickson, a member of the NRA, contacts Trump campaign advisor Rick Dearborn. In an email headed "Kremlin Connection", Erickson seeks the advice of Dearborn and Sessions about how to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin. Erickson suggests making contact at the N.R.A.’s annual convention in Kentucky. The communication refers to Alexander Torshin, who is under instructions to contact the Trump campaign.[137][138]Papadopoulos travels to Greece and meets with Greece's president, defense minister, foreign minister, and a former prime minister. Putin makes an official visit to Athens during Papadopoulos's trip.[139]May 2: A second rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Like the rally on April 4, the event is heavily promoted by the Russian Internet Research Agency's Blacktivist account on Facebook, including attempted outreach to local activists.[126]May 4: Papadopoulos forwards an email from his MFA connection to Lewandowski that offers a meeting between the MFA and Papadopoulos in Moscow. The next day, campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis replies, “[t]here are legal issues we need to mitigate, meeting with foreign officials as a private citizen.”[102]Trump becomes the only remaining candidate for the Republican presidential nomination when John Kasich withdraws.[140]May 19–22: The N.R.A. annual conference is held in Louisville, Kentucky. Trump and Donald Trump Jr. attend. Trump Jr. speaks with Torshin.[141][142][143]May 21: Papadopoulos forwards a note from Timofeev to Paul Manafort stressing the Russian Foreign Ministry's desire to meet with Trump. Manafort shoots down the idea in an email to Rick Gates.[60][102]Two competing rallies are held in Houston to alternately protest against and defend the recently opened Library of Islamic Knowledge at the Islamic Da'wah Center. The "Stop Islamization of Texas" rally is organized by the Facebook group "Heart of Texas". The Facebook posting for the event encourages participants to bring guns. A spokesman for the group converses with the Houston Press via email but declines to give a name. The other rally, "Save Islamic Knowledge", is organized by the Facebook group "United Muslims of America" for the same time and location. Both Facebook groups are later revealed to be Russian Internet Research Agency accounts.[144][145]May 25: The Westboro Baptist Church holds its annual protest of Lawrence High School graduation ceremonies in Lawrence, Kansas. The "LGBT United" Facebook group organizes counterprotesters to confront the Westboro protest, including by placing an ad on Facebook and contacting local people. About a dozen people show up. Lawrence High School students do not participate because they are "skeptical" of the counterprotest organizers. LGBT United is a Russian Internet Research Agency account that appears to have been created specifically for this event.[146]May 26: The Associated Press reports that Trump has secured enough delegates to become the presumptive Republican nominee.[64]May 27–28: Putin makes an official visit to Greece and meets with Greek government leaders. His visit overlaps with a trip to Greece by Papadopoulos.[139][147]May 29: The Russian Internet Research Agency hires an American to pose in front of the White House holding a sign that says, “Happy 55th Birthday, Dear Boss.” "Boss" is a reference to Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.[39][40]June: The FBI sends a warning to states about "bad actors" probing state voter-registration databases and systems to seek vulnerabilities; investigators believe Russia is responsible.[148]At Maria Butina's urging, Christian activist Rick Clay emails Dearborn with the subject "Kremlin connection" offering a meeting between Trump and Alexander Torshin.[95] Dearborn, then Sessions's Chief of Staff, sends an email mentioning a person from West Virginia seeking to connect Trump campaign members with Putin. Dearborn appears "skeptical" of the meeting request.[149] Jared Kushner rejects the request. Alexander Torshin and Donald Trump Jr. later meet at the N.R.A. convention.[95]Fusion GPS hires Christopher Steele to research Trump's activities in Russia. A resultant 35-page document, later known as the Trump–Russia dossier or Steele dossier, is published on January 10, 2017, by BuzzFeed News.[150]Early June: At a closed-door gathering of foreign policy experts visiting with the Prime Minister of India, Page hails Putin as stronger and more reliable than Obama and touts the positive effect a Trump presidency would have on U.S.-Russia relations.[151]June 1: Based upon a referral from Lewandowski, Papadopoulos emails Sam Clovis about more interest from the Russian government to set up a Trump meeting in Russia. He writes, "I have the Russian MFA asking me if Mr. Trump is interested in visiting Russia at some point."[152][153]The Russian Internet Research Agency plans a Manhattan rally called "March for Trump" and buys Facebook ads promoting the event.[39][40]June 3: Trump Jr. receives an e-mail from Goldstone offering, on behalf of Emin Agalarov, to meet an alleged Russian government official who “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father”, as "part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Trump Jr. responds, "I love it," and schedules the meeting. Goldstone also offers to relay the information to Trump through his assistant.[154]June 4: The Russian Internet Research Agency email account [email protected] sends news releases about the "March for Trump" rally to Space media outlets.[39][40]June 5: The Russian Internet Research Agency contacts a Trump campaign volunteer to provide signs for the "March for Trump" rally.[39][40]June 9: Kushner, Manafort and Trump Jr. meet in Trump Tower with Goldstone, Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya,[155] Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin,[156] Ike Kaveladze of Aras Agalarov's Crocus Group,[157] and a translator.[158] Veselnitskaya is best known for lobbying against the Magnitsky Act, an American law that blacklists suspected Russian human rights abusers.[159] Trump Jr. later acknowledges that he asked Veselnitskaya for damaging information about the Clinton Foundation and says she had none.[160]June 11–12: The DNC expels Russian hackers from its servers. Some of the hackers had been accessing the DNC network for over a year.[161]June 12: Julian Assange appears on the ITV television show Peston on Sunday. He tells Robert Peston that emails related to Clinton are "pending publication" and says, "WikiLeaks has a very good year ahead."[162][163]June 14: The DNC publicly alleges that they have been hacked by Russian state-backed hackers.[162][161]June 15: Guccifer 2.0 claims credit for the DNC hacking and posts some of the stolen material to a website. CrowdStrike stands by their "findings identifying two separate Russian intelligence-affiliated adversaries present in the DNC network in May 2016."[164]House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker Paul Ryan meet separately with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman at the Capitol. Groysman describes to them how the Kremlin is financing populist politicians in Eastern Europe to damage democratic institutions. McCarthy and Ryan have a private meeting afterwards with GOP leaders that is secretly recorded. Toward the end of their conversation, after laughing at the DNC hacking, McCarthy says, "there's two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump...[laughter]...swear to God." Ryan then tells everyone to keep this conversation secret. A transcript of the recording becomes public a year later.[165][166]June 19: After communicating with the MFA via email and Skype, Papadopoulos emails Lewandowski saying that the MFA is interested in meeting with a "campaign rep" if Trump can't meet with them. Papadopoulos offers to go in an unofficial capacity.[152][153]June 20: Trump fires his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.[167]June 23: The Internet Research Agency persona "Matt Skiber" contacts an American to recruit for the "March for Trump" rally.[39][40]June 24: The Internet Research Agency Facebook group "United Muslims of America" buys Facebook ads for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally.[39][40]June 25: The Internet Research Agency's "March for Trump" rally occurs.[39][40]The Internet Research Agency Facebook group LGBT United organizes a candlelight vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting victims in Orlando, Florida.[168][169]June 29: Goldstone emails Trump campaign social media director Dan Scavino about promoting Trump on the Russian social media site VK. He says the email is a follow-up to his recent conversation with Trump Jr. and Manafort.[94]Summer: Papadopoulos is approached via LinkedIn by American-Belarussian Sergei Millian of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. Papadopoulos and Millian meet repeatedly in Manhattan to discuss starting an energy business together, to be financed by Russian billionaires "who are not under sanctions". They also discuss the possibility of a Trump Tower in Moscow.[104]Internet Research Agency employees use the stolen identities of four Americans to open PayPal and bank accounts to act as conduits for funding their activities in the United States.[39][40]July 2016[edit]July: The Internet Research Agency translator project grows to over 80 employees.[39][40]Carter Page makes a five-day trip to Moscow.[170] The Trump–Russia dossier alleges that in July, Carter Page secretly met Rosneft chairman Igor Sechin in Moscow, together with a "senior Kremlin Internal Affairs official, DIVYEKIN", that Sechin offered Trump a 19% stake in Rosneft (worth about $11 billion) in exchange for lifting the sanctions against Russia after his election,[171][172] and that Page confirmed, on Trump's "full authority", that he intended to lift the sanctions.[173][174][175]July 5: At Steele's London office, Steele reveals to an FBI agent from Rome some of his findings that indicate a wide-ranging Russian conspiracy to elect Trump.[104][176]"United Muslims of America", an Internet Research Agency group, orders posters with fake Clinton quotes promoting Sharia Law. The posters are ordered for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally they are organizing.[39][40]July 6: Guccifer 2.0 releases another cache of DNC documents and sends copies to The Hill.[177][178]July 6–10: The Internet Research Agency's "Don't Shoot" Facebook group and affiliated "Don't Shoot Us" website try to organize a protest outside the St. Paul, Minnesota police headquarters on July 10 in response to the July 6 fatal police shooting of Philando Castile. Some local activists become suspicious of the event because St. Paul police were not involved in the shooting: Castile was shot by a St. Anthony police officer in nearby Falcon Heights. Local activists contact Don't Shoot. After being pressed on who they are and who supports them, Don't Shoot agrees to move the protest to the St. Anthony police headquarters. The concerned local activists investigate further and urge protesters not to participate after deciding Don't Shoot is a "total troll job." Don't Shoot organizers eventually relinquish control of the event to local organizers, who subsequently decline to accept any money from Don't Shoot.[179][180]July 7: In a lecture at the New Economic School in Moscow,[181] Page criticizes American foreign policy, saying that many of the mistakes spoiling relations between the US and Russia “originated in my own country.”[182] Page had received permission from the Trump campaign to make the trip.[183] Page also meets Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich during the visit.[184]Paul Manafort exchanges emails with his former deputy Konstantin Kilimnik using his official Trump campaign email address. In the emails, he asks Kilimnik to forward an offer to provide "private briefings" to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.[185][186]July 8: Page emails Trump campaign officials about his presentation at the New Economic School in Moscow. He describes meeting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. He says Dvorkovich "expressed strong support for Mr. Trump and a desire to work together toward devising better solutions in response to the vast range of current international problems."[187]July 9: The Washington Post reports that Trump is considering Flynn as his running mate, with support from Senator Jeff Sessions.[188] Trump eventually selects Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana.The “Support Hillary, Save American Muslims” rally occurs in Washington, D.C. The rally is organized by the Internet Research Agency group “United Muslims of America."[39][40]July 10: A Black Lives Matter protest rally is held in Dallas. A "Blue Lives Matter" counterprotest is held across the street. The Blue Lives Matter protest is organized by the "Heart of Texas" Facebook group, controlled by the Internet Research Agency.[189][168][145]July 12: An Internet Research Agency group buys ads on Facebook for the "Down with Hillary" rally in New York City.[39][40]July 13: A hacker or group calling themselves Guccifer 2.0 releases over 10,000 names from the DNC in two spreadsheets and a list of objectionable quotes from Sarah Palin.[178]July 16: The Internet Research Agency's Blacktivist Facebook group organizes a rally in Chicago to honor Sandra Bland on the first anniversary of her death. The rally is held in front of the Chicago Police Department's Homan Square building. Participants pass around petitions calling for a Civilian Police Accountability Council ordinance.[190][191]July 18: Guccifer 2.0 dumps a new batch of documents from the DNC servers, including personal information of 20,000 Republican donors and opposition research on Trump.[192] Further information: 2016 Democratic National Committee email leakJuly 18–21: Republican Convention in Cleveland[193] July 18: Kislyak attends the convention, meeting Page and J. D. Gordon;[1] as Trump's foreign policy advisers, they stress that he would like to improve relations with Russia.[194] Sessions speaks with Kislyak at a Heritage Foundation event.[1][67]Gordon lobbies to remove arms sales to Ukraine from the Republican platform, citing concerns over conflict escalation in Donbass.[195][196] In December 2017, Diana Denman, a Republican delegate who supported the weapons sale, says that Trump directed Gordon to weaken that position.[197]July 21: Trump formally accepts the Republican nomination.[198]July 22: WikiLeaks publishes 20,000 emails from seven key DNC officials. The emails show them disparaging Bernie Sanders and favoring Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential primaries.[199]July 23: The Internet Research Agency-organized "Down with Hillary" rally is held in New York City. The Agency sends 30 news releases to media outlets using the email address [email protected].[39][40]July 24: DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is forced to resign because of the WikiLeaks email publication.[200]Appearing on This Week With George Stephanopoulos, Manafort denies there are any links between him, Trump, or the "campaign and Putin and his regime".[201]July 25–28: Democratic Convention in Philadelphia.[202]July 25: Based on assessments from cybersecurity firms, the DNC and the Clinton campaign say that Russian intelligence operators have hacked their e-mails and forwarded them to WikiLeaks.[203]July 27: Trump calls for Russia to give Clinton's missing emails to the FBI. His tweet is before his statements on the matter to the press.[204]Trump tells a CBS affiliate in Miami, “I have nothing to do with Russia. Nothing to do. I never met Putin. I have nothing to do with Russia whatsoever.” This contradicts his many claims since 2013 to have met Putin and done business in Russia.[20]At a news conference, Trump says he "hopes" Russia can find Clinton's missing emails. The remark triggers a backlash from media and politicians who criticize Trump's "urging a foreign adversary to conduct cyberespionage" against his political opponent.[205][206] Trump responds that he was being "sarcastic".[207]July 28: Clinton formally accepts the Democratic nomination.[208]July 31: The FBI starts a counter-intelligence investigation into Russian interference, including possible coordination between Trump associates and Russia.[209][210]In an interview on This Week, Trump told George Stephanopoulos that people in his campaign were responsible for changing the GOP's platform stance on Ukraine, but that he was not personally involved.[211]End July: CIA Director John Brennan, alarmed at intelligence that Russia is trying to "hack" the election, forms a working group of officials from the CIA, FBI, and NSA.[212]August 2016[edit]August: Trump donor Rebekah Mercer asks the CEO of Cambridge Analytica whether the company could better organize the Clinton-related emails being released by WikiLeaks.[213]August 2–3: The Internet Research Agency's "Matt Skiber" persona contacts the real "Florida for Trump" Facebook account. The "T.W." persona contacts other grassroots groups.[39][40]August 4: Brennan calls his Russian counterpart Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), to warn him against meddling in the presidential election.[212]The Internet Research Agency Facebook account "Stop AI" accuses Clinton of voter fraud during the Iowa Caucuses. They buy ads promoting the post.[39][40]Internet Research Agency groups buy ads for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. The 8,300 people who click on the ads are sent to the Agency's "Being Patriotic" Facebook page.[39][40]August 5: Roger Stone writes an article published by Breitbart News in which he insists Guccifer 2.0 hacked the DNC, using statements by Guccifer 2.0 on Twitter and to The Hill as evidence for his claim. He tries to spin the DNC's Russia claim as a coverup for their supposed embarrassment over being penetrated by a single hacker.[214][215] The article leads to Guccifer 2.0 reaching out to and conversing with Stone via Twitter.[216]In response to questions about Carter Page's July 7 speech in Moscow, Hope Hicks describes Page as an “informal foreign policy adviser [who] does not speak for Mr. Trump or the campaign.”[151]The Internet Research Agency Twitter account @March_For_Trump hires an actress to play Hillary Clinton in prison garb and someone to build a cage to hold the actress. The actress and cage are to appear at the "Florida Goes Trump" rally in West Palm Beach, Florida on August 20.[39][40]August 6: By videolink, Julian Assange addresses the Green Party National Convention in Houston about the hacked DNC documents published by WikiLeaks.[217] Green candidate Jill Stein later states she does not know why or how this address was arranged.[69]August 8: Roger Stone, speaking in Florida to the Southwest Broward Republican Organization, claims he is in contact with Assange, saying, "I actually have communicated with Assange. I believe his next tranche of his documents pertain to the Clinton Foundation."[218][215] Stone later claims the communications were through an intermediary.[219]August 9: WikiLeaks denies having communicated with Roger Stone.[220]August 11: The Internet Research Agency Twitter account @TEN_GOP claims that voter fraud is being investigated in North Carolina.[39][40]August 12: In a #MAGA Podcast, Stone says Assange has all the emails deleted by Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills.[221]Journalist Emma Best has two simultaneous conversations by Twitter direct message with Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks. Best tries to negotiate the hosting of stolen DNC emails and documents on archive.org. WikiLeaks wants Best to act as an intermediary to funnel the material from Guccifer 2.0 to them. The conversation ends with Guccifer 2.0 saying he will send the material directly to WikiLeaks.[222]August 14: The New York Times reports that Manafort's name has been found in the Ukrainian "black ledger". The ledger, belonging to the Ukrainian Party of Regions, shows $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments to Manafort from 2007 to 2012. Manafort's lawyer, Richard A. Hibey, says Manafort never received "any such cash payments".[5] The Associated Press later verifies some of the entries against financial records.[223]August 15: After several weeks of communications between Papadopoulos and his campaign superiors about an unofficial trip to Russia to meet with the MFA, Sam Clovis tells Papadopoulos, "I would encourage you [and Walid Phares to] make the trip[], if it is feasible." The trip never occurs.[152][153]A Trump campaign county chair contacts the Internet Research Agency through their phony email accounts to suggest locations for rallies.[39][40]August 16: Stone tells Alex Jones that he is in contact with Assange, claiming he has "political dynamite" on Clinton.[224]The Internet Research Agency buys ads on Instagram for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies.[39][40]August 17: Trump is warned in an FBI briefing that foreign adversaries including Russia would likely attempt to infiltrate his campaign. This is Trump's first classified briefing. Clinton receives a similar briefing in the same month.[225][226][227]Steve Bannon is named Trump campaign CEO.[228]Kellyanne Conway is named Trump campaign manager.[228]August 18: The FBI issues a nationwide "flash alert" warning state election officials about foreign infiltration of election systems in two states, later reported to be Arizona and Illinois. The alert includes technical evidence suggesting Russian responsibility, and urges states to boost their cyberdefenses. Although labeled for distribution only to "NEED TO KNOW recipients," a copy is leaked to the media.[229]The Internet Research Agency uses its [email protected] email account to contact a Trump campaign official in Florida. The email requests campaign support at the forthcoming "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. It is unknown whether the campaign official responded.[39][40]The Internet Research Agency pays the person they hired to build a cage for a "Florida Goes Trump" rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.[39][40]August 19: Manafort resigns as Trump's campaign manager.[230]A Trump supporter suggests to The Internet Research Agency Twitter account "March for Trump" that it contact a Trump campaign official. The official is emailed by the Agency's [email protected] account.The Internet Research Agency's "Matt Skiber" persona contacts another Trump campaign official on Facebook.[39][40]August 20: 17 "Florida Goes Trump" rallies are held across Florida. The rallies are organized by Russian trolls from the Internet Research Agency.[40][231]August 25: Trump names Sam Clovis as a campaign national co-chairman.[232]August 26: After Clinton claims that Russian intelligence was behind the leaks, Assange says she is causing "hysteria" about Russia, adding, "The Trump campaign has a lot of things wrong with it, but as far as we can see being Russian agents is not one of them."[233]August 27: The Internet Research Agency Facebook group "SecuredBorders" organizes a "Citizens before refugees" protest rally at the City Council Chambers in Twin Falls, Idaho. Only a small number of people show up for the three-hour event, most likely because it is Saturday and the Chambers are closed.[234]August 31: Guccifer 2.0 leaks campaign documents stolen from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's hacked personal computer.[235][236]An American contacts the Internet Research Agency's "Being Patriotic" account about a possible September 11 event in Miami.[39][40]The Internet Research Agency buys ads for a September 11 rally in New York City.[39][40]Late August: CIA director John Brennan gives individual briefings to the Gang of Eight on links between the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the election.[237]September 2016[edit]September The Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., reaches out to Papadopoulos expressing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's interest in meeting Trump. With Steve Bannon's approval, Papadopoulos arranges a meeting between Trump and el-Sisi at the Plaza Hotel in Space.[60] While the meeting does not appear to relate to campaign contacts with Russia, it highlights that Papadopoulos was more than a "coffee boy", as Trump campaign officials later claim.[104]The CIA gives a secret briefing to congressional leaders on Russian interference in the election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voices doubts about the intelligence.[238]September 2: Lisa Page writes in a text message to Peter Strzok that a meeting at the FBI was set up "because Obama wanted 'to know everything we are doing'."[239] Lisa Page was referring to the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, not the Clinton emails investigation, which had concluded months earlier.[240][239]September 3: The Internet Research Agency Facebook group "United Muslims of America" organizes a "Safe Space for Muslim Neighborhood" rally outside the White House, attracting at least 57 people.[241]September 3–5: Wealthy Republican donor Peter W. Smith gathers a team to try to acquire the 30,000 deleted Clinton emails from hackers. He believes Clinton's private email server was hacked and copies of the emails were stolen.[242] Among the people recruited is Matt Tait, a former information-security specialist for the GCHQ.[243] The team creates "KLS Research", an LLC registered in Delaware, as a vehicle "to avoid campaign reporting."[244] The team finds five groups of hackers claiming to have the emails. Two of the groups are Russian. Flynn is in email contact with the team. Smith commits suicide on May 14, 2017, about ten days after telling the story to The Wall Street Journal but before the story is published in June.[242]September 8: Sessions meets with Kislyak a third time, in Sessions's office;[1] he later says they discussed Ukraine and terrorism.[245]September 9 Papadopoulos contacts deputy communications director Bryan Lanza about a request from Interfax for an interview with Ksenia Baygarova. Lanza approves the interview.[60]The Internet Research Agency sends money to its American groups to fund the September 11 rally in Miami, and to pay the actress who portrayed Clinton at the West Palm Beach, Florida, rally.[39][40]Mid-September: Papadopoulos approaches British government officials asking for a meeting with senior ministers. He is given a meeting with a mid-level Foreign Office official in London. Papadopoulos mentions he has senior contacts in the Russian government. British officials conclude he is not a major player and discontinue contact.[246]September 20: Flynn meets with Dana Rohrabacher. On November 10, 2017, the Mueller investigation is reported to have asked questions about this meeting.[247]September 20–26: BlackMattersUS, an Internet Research Agency website, recruits activists to participate in protests over the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina. The IRA pays for expenses such as microphones and speakers.[248]September 22 Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Adam Schiff issue a statement warning that Russia is trying to undermine the election. Their warning is based on what they learned from intelligence briefings as members of the Gang of Eight.[249]The Internet Research Agency buys ads on Facebook for "Miners for Trump" rallies in Pennsylvania.[39][40]September 23: Yahoo News reports that U.S. intelligence officials are investigating whether Carter Page has set up private communications between the Trump campaign and senior Russian officials, including talks on possibly lifting sanctions if Trump is elected.[250]September 25 When asked by CNN about allegations linking Page to Russia, Conway denies that Page is part of the Trump campaign.[251][252]Page sends Comey a letter asking that the FBI drop the reported investigation into his activities in Russia. He denies meeting with sanctioned Russian officials.[253]September 26: Carter Page tells Josh Rogin in an interview for The Washington Post that he is taking a leave of absence from the Trump campaign. He denies meeting with sanctioned individuals in Moscow.[254]September 29: Comey testifies before the House Judiciary Committee, confirming that federal investigators have detected suspicious activities in voter registration databases, as stated in the August 18 alert.[255]September 30: Ksenia Baygarova interviews Papadopoulos for Interfax on Trump's foreign policy positions in relation to Russia.[256] The interview was approved by Trump campaign deputy communications director Bryan Lanza. Baygarova later tells The Washington Post that she had been tasked to interview a representative from each campaign. She says Papadopoulos was the only person from the Trump campaign to respond. She describes him as not very experienced.[60]October–November 2016[edit]October: The FBI obtains a FISA warrant to monitor the communications of Carter Page as well as two Russian banks suspected of being part of the Russian interference in the election.[18][257]Early October: A team of FBI agents travel to Europe to speak with Steele about his dossier.[104] On or about the same date, Steele gives the FBI a dossier of allegations compiled by Cody Shearer, which corresponded "with what he had separately heard from his own independent sources." It includes the unverified allegation that Trump was sexually compromised by the Russian secret service at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Moscow in 2013.[258][259]October 2: "Miners for Trump" rallies are held across Pennsylvania. The Internet Research Agency uses the same techniques to organize the rallies as they used for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies, including hiring a person to wear a Clinton mask and a prison uniform.[39][40]October 7: The DHS and the ODNI issue a joint statement[260] accusing the Russian government of breaking into the computer systems of several political organizations and releasing the obtained material via DCLeaks, WikiLeaks, and Guccifer 2.0, with the intent "to interfere with the U.S. election process."[261]The Washington Post publishes a raw video tape from the television show Access Hollywood of Trump bragging about grabbing women by their genitals.[262] While the tape is not relevant to the Russian interference in the election, the distraction of its release lessens the public impact of the joint intelligence report released hours earlier and may have triggered WikiLeaks' Podesta emails release two hours later.[263][215]WikiLeaks begins publishing thousands of emails from Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, revealing excerpts from Clinton's paid speeches to Wall Street.[264][265]October 8: Kushner's company receives $370 million in new loans, including $285 million from Deutsche Bank, to refinance his portion of the former New York Times building. The size and timing of the Deutsche Bank loan draws scrutiny from the House Financial Services Committee, the Justice Department, and, later, the Mueller investigation. The concern is that the transaction may be related to Russian money laundering through Deutsche Bank.[266][267]October 11: Donald Trump Jr. travels to Paris to give a paid speech at the Ritz Hotel. The dinner event is sponsored by the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs, a group founded by Fabien Baussart and his business partner. Baussart is openly linked to Russian government officials. Randa Kassis, one of the hosts, travels to Moscow after the election and reports the details of the event to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.[268]October 12: WikiLeaks writes to Trump Jr., “Hey Donald, great to see you and your dad talking about our publications” and “Strongly suggest your dad tweets this link if he mentions us.”[269] Fifteen minutes later, Donald Trump tweets, "Very little pick-up by the dishonest media of incredible information provided by WikiLeaks. So dishonest! Rigged system!"[270]October 13: Roger Stone and WikiLeaks communicate directly using private tweets.[271]October 14: Trump Jr. tweets a specific WikiLeaks link.[272]Pence denies that the Trump campaign is working with WikiLeaks, stating that "nothing could be further from the truth".[273]October 16: The Internet Research Agency Instagram account "Woke Blacks" makes a post aimed at suppressing black voter turnout.[39][40]October 19: Senator Harry Reid Letter to FBI Director James B. Comey[274]The FBI and the DoJ apply for a FISA warrant to conduct surveillance on Page.[275]During the third presidential debate, Clinton blames Russia for the DNC email leaks and accuses Trump of being a "puppet" of Putin.[276] Trump denies ever having met Putin and any connection to him.[277]A Financial Times probe finds evidence a Trump venture has links to alleged laundering network.[278]October 21: WikiLeaks sends Trump Jr. private tweets suggesting that the campaign give them Trump's tax returns to publish so that they seem less of a "‘pro-Trump’ ‘pro-Russia’" source.[270]October 22: A large rally is held in Charlotte, North Carolina, protesting the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The Internet Research Agency website BlackMattersUS recruits unwitting local activists to organize the rally.[279] BlackMattersUS provides an activist with a bank card to pay for rally expenses.[248]October 24: Trump announces at a Florida campaign rally, "I have nothing to do with Russia, folks. I’ll give you a written statement."[280]October 27: At the Valdai Discussion Club yearly forum, Putin denounces American "hysteria" over accusations of Russian interference, saying “Does anyone seriously think that Russia can influence the choice of the American people?”[281]October 30: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid sends FBI Director James Comey a letter, asking him to reveal Trump's ties to the Russian Federation.[282]October 31: Through the "red phone", Obama tells Putin to stop interfering or face consequences.[283]Mother Jones magazine's David Corn reports that a veteran spy, later publicly identified as Steele, gave the FBI information alleging a Russian operation to cultivate Trump, later known as the "Steele dossier".[284]Slate publishes an article by Franklin Foer alleging that a Trump server was in suspicious contact with Alfa-Bank in Russia.[285] Snopes examined the story and rated it "Unproven". Several cyber security experts saw nothing nefarious, while the FBI was still investigating the matter: "One U.S. official said investigators find the server relationship 'odd' and are not ignoring it. But the official said there is still more work for the FBI to do. Investigators have not yet determined whether a connection would be significant."[286]November 2: The Internet Research Agency Twitter account @TEN_GOP alleges “#VoterFraud by counting tens of thousands of ineligible mail in Hillary votes being reported in Broward County, Florida.”[citation needed] It is retweeted by Donald Trump Jr.[39][40]November 3: The Internet Research Agency Instagram account "Blacktivist" suggests people vote for Jill Stein instead of Hillary Clinton.[39][40]November 5: Konstantin Sidorkov again emails Trump Jr. and Trump campaign social media director Dan Scavino. He again offers to promote Trump to VK's 100 million users. His previous email was sent on January 19, 2016.[94]Anti-Hillary Clinton "Texit" rallies are held across Texas. The Internet Research Agency's "Heart of Texas" Facebook group organizes the rallies around the theme of Texas seceding from the United States if Clinton is elected. The group contacts the Texas Nationalist Movement, a secessionist organization, to help with organizing efforts, but they decline to help. Small rallies are held in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and other cities. No one attends the Lubbock rally.[287][288][289]Post-election transition[edit]November–December 2016[edit]November 8: Trump is elected President of the United States.[290]Rospatent, the Russian government agency responsible for intellectual property, grants 10-year extensions on four of Trump's trademarks.[291]Hours after the polls close, the hashtag #Calexit becomes one of the top trends on Twitter. Within a few hours of the initial tweet,[292] #Calexit is mentioned over 100,000 times, including thousands of retweets by Internet Research Agency accounts.[289]November–December: Michael Flynn serves as an advisor to SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica.[293][294]November–January: During the transition period, the FBI warns Trump aide Hope Hicks at least twice that she may be approached by Russian government operatives using fake identities.[295][296]November 10: Kislyak states that Russia was not involved with U.S. election hacking.[297]In a private Oval Office meeting, Obama warns Trump against hiring Flynn.[298]Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov tells the Interfax news agency "there were contacts" with the Trump team during the campaign.[299]Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova tells Bloomberg News that it was "normal practice" for Russian Embassy staffers to meet with members of the Trump campaign. She says the Clinton campaign declined requests for meetings.[299]Mark Zuckerberg describes the idea that "fake news" on Facebook could have influenced the election as "crazy."[300][301]November 11: Hicks denies claims by the Kremlin that Trump officials met with its staff.[280]House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes is named to the executive committee of the Trump transition team.[302]Mike Pence replaces Chris Christie as chairman of the Trump transition team. Christie later claims he was fired for opposing Michael Flynn becoming the National Security Advisor. Steve Bannon and Flynn celebrate Christie's firing by ceremonially throwing binders full of administration candidates into the trash.[303][304]November 12: Maria Butina holds a birthday party at Cafe Deluxe in Washington, D.C., attended by Paul Erickson and Trump campaign aides. Butina brags about being part of Russian communications with the Trump campaign, something she has bragged about for months.[305]A Trump protest called "Trump is NOT my President" attracts 5,000-10,000 protestors in Manhattan who march from Union Square to Trump Tower. The protest is organized by the Internet Research Agency using a Facebook account they control called BlackMattersUS.[39][40][306]November 13 Maria Zakharova, the Kremlin's official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, jokingly comments on the Rossiya 1 show Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov that our people in Brighton Beach won the election for Donald Trump.[307]November 15: Devin Nunes replaces former Representative Mike Rogers as a Trump transition team national security advisor.[308]November 18: Trump announces he will nominate Sessions as Attorney General[309] and Flynn as National Security Adviser.[310]Elijah Cummings, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, writes a letter to Pence warning that Flynn's connections to Russia and Turkey might create conflicts of interest. He asks the Trump administration's transition team for documents related to Flynn.[311] Receipt of the letter is acknowledged on November 28.[117]November 19: The Internet Research Agency organizes the "Charlotte Against Trump" rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.[39][40]Barack Obama has a private meeting with Mark Zuckerberg at a gathering of world leaders in Lima, Peru. Obama urges Zuckerberg to take the threats of political disinformation and "fake news" seriously. Obama warns Zuckerberg that doing nothing will cause problems in the next election. Zuckerberg responds that there were only a few messages and doing something about the problem would be difficult.[301]Late November: Senior members of Trump's transition team warn Flynn about the dangers of contacting Kislyak, including that Kislyak's conversations are probably being monitored by the FBI and the NSA. Flynn is recorded a month later discussing lifting sanctions with Kislyak.[312]November 30: On a recommendation from the GSA, Trump transition team members discuss installing Signal, an encrypted messaging app, on Flynn's phone to encrypt his communications.[313]December: Concerned that the incoming Trump administration will suppress the information collected in the Russia investigation, the White House spreads it across government agencies to leave a trail for future investigators.[314]December 1: According to an anonymous letter to The Washington Post citing leaked intercepts of Russian diplomatic communications, during a transition team meeting at Trump Tower, Kushner asks Kislyak about the potential to communicate directly with the Kremlin over a Russian-encrypted channel. Flynn also attends the meeting.[315][316]Early December: In Russia, FSB cyber chief Sergei Mikhailov, senior Kaspersky Lab researcher Ruslan Stoyanov, and hacker Dmitry Dokuchayev (known as “Forb”) are arrested for treason.[317][318]December 9: Republican Senator John McCain delivers the Steele dossier to Comey.[319]The Trump transition team dismisses reported intelligence assessments finding Russian interference in the election. Their statement says, "These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It’s now time to move on and ‘Make America Great Again.’"[238]December 12: Kislyak meets with Kushner's assistant, Avi Berkowitz, to arrange a meeting between Kushner and the FSB-connected Sergey Gorkov of the Kremlin's Vnesheconombank.[22][320][321][322]December 13: Gorkov, the head of sanctioned Russian bank Vnesheconombank, arrives from Moscow to secretly meet Kushner in New York, before flying to Japan, where Putin is holding a summit. The meeting is first reported in March 2017, and attracts the interest of federal and congressional investigators in May. Kushner later characterizes the meeting as brief and meaningless. The White House later describes the meeting as a diplomatic encounter. The bank later says they discussed Kushner's real estate business.[22][321][323]Trump picks Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State; Russian officials praise the decision.[324]December 15: Clinton tells a group of donors in Manhattan that Russian hacking was ordered by Putin "because he has a personal beef against me" due to her accusation in 2011 that Russian parliamentary elections that year were rigged.[325][326] Clinton's comment is backed by U.S. Intelligence reports.[327]December 18: Speaking to CBS News, Conway says it is "false" and "dangerous" to suggest that members of the Trump campaign spoke to any Russians during the campaign.[280][328]December 22: At the direction of a very senior member of the transition team, Flynn asks Kislyak to delay or defeat a pending vote on a United Nations Security Council resolution. Flynn later pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about the effort to defeat the resolution.[329][330]December 23: Kislyak calls Flynn and tells him Russia will not vote against the United Nations Security Council resolution they spoke about the day before.December 26: Oleg Erovinkin, a former KGB official, is found dead in the back seat of his car in Moscow. He was suspected of assisting former MI-6 agent Christopher Steele in compiling Steele's dossier.[331]December 29: Following Executive Order 13757 signed the previous day, Obama's administration expels 35 Russian diplomats, locks down two Russian diplomatic compounds, and expands sanctions against Russia.[332][333][334][335] Flynn consults with the Trump transition team,[336][337] then speaks with Kislyak by telephone to request that Russia not escalate matters in response to Obama's actions.[338][339] Flynn later pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Kislyak regarding the new sanctions.[330]Before Flynn's call to Kislyak, K. T. McFarland emails other Trump transition officials saying that Flynn will be speaking to Kislyak to try to prevent a cycle of retaliation over the newly imposed sanctions. The email is forwarded to Flynn, Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, and Sean Spicer.[340]The NCCIC releases a joint analysis report titled "GRIZZLY STEPPE – Russian Malicious Cyber Activity" as a follow-up to the October 7, 2016, joint statement on election security. The report describes methods used by Russian intelligence groups APT29 and APT28 to penetrate election-related servers.[341]December 30: Putin announces he will not retaliate against the U.S. expulsions, contrary to recommendations from Lavrov.[342] In reply, Trump tweets "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!"[343]December 31: Kislyak calls Flynn to tell him that Russia has decided not to retaliate based upon Flynn's request. Afterward, Flynn tells senior members of the transition team about his conversations with Kislyak and Russia's decision not to escalate.[330]January 2017[edit]Early January: At a meeting in Langley, Mossad agents are warned by a U.S. spy chief that Putin may have "leverages of pressure" over President-elect Trump and that intelligence should be shared cautiously with the coming White House and United States National Security Council for fear of leaks to the Russians and thereby Iran.[344][345][346]January 4: The FBI begins investigating Flynn's December phone calls with Kislyak.[347]January 5: Obama is briefed on the intelligence community’s findings.[348]Flynn, Kushner and Steve Bannon meet with the King of Jordan. According to BuzzFeed, they discuss a plan to deploy American nuclear power plants in Jordan with security support from a Russian company. "People close to the three Trump advisers" deny the allegations.[349][350]R. James Woolsey Jr., who became a senior adviser to Trump in September 2016, resigns amid Congressional hearings into cyber attacks and public statements by Trump critical of the United States Intelligence Community.[351]January 6: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) publishes an unclassified report[352] about Russian meddling in the 2016 election stating that "Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election".[353] While the report says Russian hackers did not change votes, it ignores the security of back-end election systems.[354] Putin was personally involved in the Russian interference, per a CIA stream of intelligence.[327]Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, NSA Director Michael Rogers, and FBI Director James Comey travel to Trump Tower in Space to brief Trump and senior members of the transition team on the classified version of the ODNI report on Russian interference in the election.[355][356] In addition to Trump, the other people present are incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, incoming CIA Director Mike Pompeo, incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. After the briefing, Comey stays behind to privately brief Trump on the salacious allegations in the Steele dossier. While cordial during the briefings, Trump still refuses to accept the intelligence on Russian interference.[327] The meeting unsettles Comey and prompts him to write a memo documenting the conversation.[357]January 9: Kushner is named Senior Advisor to the President.[358]Profexer, a Ukrainian hacker who is the author of a hacking tool described in the December 29, 2016, NCCIC report on Russian cyber attacks, goes dark. He turns himself in to the Ukrainian police and becomes a cooperating witness for the FBI. The Ukrainian police say he was not placed under arrest.[359]January 10: In a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sessions denies communicating with the Russian government during Trump's election campaign.[360]BuzzFeed publishes the unverified Steele dossier alleging various misdeeds by Trump and associates in Russia.[361] Trump dismisses the dossier as "fake news."[362]January 11: Trump tweets "Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!".[363] USA Today says this is "not exactly true".[364]Erik Prince, a Trump campaign donor and brother of forthcoming Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, meets in the Seychelles with Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian government's $10bn Russian Direct Investment Fund. Prince will claim in August that he scarcely remembers Dmitriev. Dmitriev's identity is revealed in November 2017, and Prince confirms the meeting in an interview with House investigators on November 30.[365][366] The meeting was organized by the United Arab Emirates and reportedly includes talks of a "back channel" with Moscow to try to influence Russian policy in the Middle East.[367][368] George Nader, an adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, is also in attendance.[369]January 13: President-elect Trump nominates U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein as Deputy Attorney General.[370]Sean Spicer claims in a press conference that Flynn had only one call with Kislyak, about setting up a call between Trump and Putin.[371] Emails from December show Spicer most likely knew Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak on December 29, 2016, and may have known about the purpose of the call in advance.[340]January 15: Interviewed on CBS's Face the Nation and Fox News Sunday, Vice President-elect Pence repeatedly denies any connection between the Trump campaign team and Russians.[117] He also denies Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak.[371]January 17: Sessions states in writing that he has not been "in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election."[372] Sessions had been accused of failing to disclose two meetings with Kislyak.[373]January 18: Jared Kushner files his security clearance application without listing his meetings with Russians.[374]January 18/19: McClatchy[375] and The New York Times report that Manafort, Page and Stone have been under investigation by the FBI, NSA, CIA, and FinCEN,[376] based on intercepted Russian communications and financial transactions.[377] Sources say "the investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing."[376]January 20: Barack Obama leaves office.[378]

You do not clarify what kind of threat. Of the soccer type already has been answered, although I must say that we would fear more Brazil than Chile.If you mean an economic or military threat, I'll answer it, no. I will go into detail why, but mainly we are not in the 70s or early 80s as they said. The countries were subject to military dictatorships. The mentality has changed a lot. Partly because of that Argentina decreased its army (in my opinion) and because there is no direct threat to our sovereignty.Economic threatChile is in part, for example, to our manufacturers of household appliances and some measures have already been taken so that this does not affect us as much, but it is compensated with other things. I am from Argentina.Argentina and Chile compete in the wine market.Purchases of Argentines in Chile doubledThey leave four out of every $ 10 spent by foreign tourists.Purchases of Argentines in Chile grew by 104 percent in the last year and it is expected that in 2017, the Andes will cross just over 3.7 million people from our country.According to Chilean data, Argentines spent US $ 1 billion in Chile in one year, 30% of what the shopping malls of the City of Buenos Aires sold in that same period. The total consumption would be 25% higher.It is competition in some commercial matters, rival in football, but a threat, no. Here you can see a part of the economic interaction between the four countries. We benefit each other and when necessary we help each other.About one thousand Chileans every month arrive at the pharmacies in Mendoza, Argentina, to buy medicines at much lower prices than those charged in Chile for them. In general, these are remedies for serious and chronic illnesses -such as cancer or Parkinson's disease- that require permanent medication and compromise a significant proportion of the monthly income of an average family.Chilean tourists are the most visited and spend in ArgentinaAccording to the Argentina Chamber of Tourism, Chile overtook Brazil as the main issuing market. In 2015, more than 1.6 million Chileans traveled, a figure that Argentina wants to double in five years."The Chilean today consumes much more than the Brazilian and all the neighbors of South America. For Argentina the Chilean is a very good tourist, he knows how to enjoy, he has a high purchasing power, and he also tends to repeat his visits, which makes him much more interesting ".According to CAT studies, the average stay in Chile is six days with an average expenditure of more than US $ 400.Bolivia imports drugs from Chile and Argentina. Since last year, Argentina is leading the list with the entry of 1.1 million kilograms of drugs that came in at a value of 25 million dollars.Chile is another of the large Latin American pharmaceutical industries that sold drugs to Bolivia for 23 million dollars.Argentina started importing gas from Chile for the second year in a row."Gas deliveries from Chile to Argentina began this Friday through the GasAndes gas pipeline," which links the Argentine town of Mendoza and the San Bernardo district of Santiago, announced the National Petroleum Company of Chile (ENAP).The company explained that "it acted as an articulator of the agreement, which considers the shipment of 3 million cubic meters a day during the trans-Andean winter." "This export accounts for the energy integration that we, as a government, are promoting," said Chile's energy minister, Andrés Rebolledo, who was present at the ceremony.Taking advantage of the extensive infrastructure built, Chile and Argentina managed last year to unlock an energy integration paralyzed for years, with the start of exports of natural gas and electricity.During 2016, Chile exported to Argentina 101 GWh of electricity and 361 million cubic meters (cubic meters) of natural gas. Of them, 86 million m3 transported by the Norandino gas pipeline and 275 million m3 through GasAndes, both built a decade ago to bring gas to Chile from Argentina but now began to operate in the opposite direction.Argentina expects to resume gas exports to Chile in 2019.The Minister of Energy, Juan José Aranguren, said yesterday that Argentina could begin to export gas back to Chile "as of summer 2018-2019".Argentina also builds satellites and nuclear reactors.Free Trade Agreement between Peru and ChileThe Free Trade Agreement between Peru and Chile was signed on August 22, 2006, in the city of Lima and is effective as of March 1, 2009. This Agreement is an extension of Economic Complementation Agreement No. 38 (ACE Nº 38) in force since 1998 and developed within the framework of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI). In this sense, the tariff liberalization program foreseen in ACE No. 38 was maintained and the services and investment disciplines were included.The reduction schedule contained in ACE No. 38 provides for the elimination of customs duties and equivalent charges of a fiscal, monetary, exchange or any other nature for the formation of a Free Trade Zone. In this regard, the 15-year tariff reduction schedule will be completed as of July 1, 2013 for our exports, and trade between both countries will be fully released as of July 1, 2016.In addition, the Agreement includes provisions on access to merchandise markets, regime of origin, customs procedures, safeguards, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, competition policies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, investment, cross-border trade in services, temporary entry of business persons, cooperation and commercial promotion, dispute resolution, transparency and administration provisions of the Agreement.It should be noted that between the year of entry into force of the ACE N ° 38 (1998) and 2011, the bilateral commercial exchange had a growth of 702%, at an average annual rate of 17%. In that period, Peru's exports to Chile grew 1327% and imports 380% This has placed Chile as the seventh destination country for Peru's exports to the world, and the first in Latin America.Likewise, Chile is the first Latin American country of origin of foreign investment in Peru, with a 6.1% share. Chile's investment in Peru is present in almost all sectors of destination, especially commerce, construction, energy, finance, industry, mining and housing.As you can see, we need each other and it makes much more sense, to trade and create organizations like MERCOSUR, the ANDEAN COMMUNITY to collaborate with each other, to promote tourism that fight each other.Andean Community - WikipediaActually, we are increasing trade for all of Latin America.Argentina/Chile working on tunnel under the Andes linking the Atlantic and PacificTunneling through Andes to speed global tradeSwitzerland to Take Part in Bi-Oceanic Train Route Through 5 South American CountriesPhotobucketNeither of the two countries would project a work of this magnitude or spend so much money if we were not in good relations and discarded the idea of a conflict.Chile and Argentina to increase connectivityOne thing in common that we have Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, is the large amount of lithium. Actually it is known as the triangle of lithium and among the 3 we own more than half of the world's stocks of that metal. It is used to treat depression and especially for batteries. It would be much more interesting to agree on how to get the most out of this fact.A battle for supremacy in the lithium triangleMilitary threatThere may have been an incident that made that impression, like this:Puricelli: Chilean marines xenophobic chantings 'unacceptable'The dissemination of a video in which Chilean marines are seen marching while chanting “Argentines I will kill, Bolivians I will shoot, Peruvians I will cut their throats”The three countries have also had territorial conflicts with Chile, but if another one were to arise, they would resort to diplomatic means rather than to war.The art of war, is a book of the Chinese general Sun Tzu that could be written between 400 a. C. and 320 a. C. seen as the best strategy book of all time."War is a serious matter of the state, it is a place of life and death, a path to survival and extinction, a matter that must be carefully considered."Weapons are fatal instruments that should only be used when there is no other alternative."Anger can turn into joy, and anger can turn into pleasure, but a nation can never be rebuilt, and a life can not be reborn."He makes it clear that war should be seriously considered in all its implications and as a last resort. We know that a nation can be rebuilt, but it will take time, money and a lot of sacrifice. Lost lives can not be recoveredThere is no country that has benefited from prolonged wars.A war carried out against 3 neighboring countries is hardly fast, especially when the difference is not so great. Combat on three different fronts is exhausting for an army.Generals who know the possible variables to take advantage of the terrain know how to handle the armed forces. If the generals do not know how to adapt advantageously, even if they know the condition of the terrain, they can not take advantage of it.In general, locals always know more about the terrain than the invader. Argentina is large and with many different climates and regions. Peru and Bolivia have the problem of altitude, in addition to the jungle.It is imperative to fight against all enemy factions to obtain a complete victory.They would always be fighting against attacks and attacks by the resistance of the three countries.The military strategy deals with the planning and direction of the war campaigns, as well as the movement and strategic disposition of the armed forces.It is one of the three facets of the art of war, the other two would be:Military tactics, which consist of the correct execution of military plans and the maneuvers of combat forces in battle.The third component would be military logistics, aimed at maintaining the army and ensuring its availability and fighting capacity.The logistics, bringing things from Chile is not so easy, there are not many steps, the Andes are a natural deterrent. In each country they would attack their supplies and try to make it impossible to have food or attack them. Argentina has the capacity to produce food for some 400 million people, our population is one tenth of that amount, we could even provide the other two if necessary, although it would greatly affect exports.Argentina is transforming itself from “the granary of the planet” to a producer of food products | ExpoNetA natural barrier:The Andes or Andean Mountains (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes) are the longest continental mountain range in the world. They form a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. This range is about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long, about 200 to 700 km (120 to 430 mi) wide (widest between 18° south and 20° south latitude), and of an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft). The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.Andes - WikipediaArgentinaThe second-largest country in South America. Argentina is slightly less than three-tenths the size of the United States with a total area of 2,766,890 sq km (1,068,302 sq mi). Eight largest country in the world.It is not an easy task to fight in all that territory, much less maintain control.One of the steps between Argentina and Chile is not so strange that it can not be used for days due to snowstorms.“The passes between Salta and Chile can not be used due to a landslide. The storm in Salta and Jujuy generated the cut the international steps that unite those provinces with Chile.The international pass Sico is interrupted by three cuts on National Route 51, at the height of El Mollar, El Candado and Incamayo.Dozens of cars are stranded and it is expected that it will be possible to travel in the afternoon hours. The interrupted passage is the only one used by tourists in Chile in Volcán.The Secretary of Civil Defense, Ernesto Flores, told Cadena 3 that the town of Iruya was also isolated by the flooding of the Coranzulí River.El Paso de Jama in Jujuy still can not be used because of the cut of National Route 9, following the avalanche that struck Tumbaya and Barcena Volcanoes. The storm of the weekend did not cause landslides, but delayed the clearing of the route.”That has happened and it can happen again.My country, Argentina, has many types of climates and geographies. In one part you can sun yourself while in another you freeze.Absolute maximum temperature:It was 49.1 ° C (120.38 Fahrenheit), on January 2, 1920, in Villa de María del Río Seco, Córdoba. This is also the highest temperature ever recorded in South America. Prior to this registration, the record was 48.9 ° C on December 11, 1905 in Rivadavia, Salta.Rio de los Patos, San Juan. In the upper valley of this river the absolute minimum temperature of South America was recorded.Absolute minimum temperature regardless of altitude:It was -39.0 ° C (-38.2 Fahrenheit) on July 17, 1972, at the meteorological station of the Valle de los Patos Superior, San Juan, at 2880 masl. This is also the lowest official temperature ever recorded in Latin America.The National Meteorological Service ran a ranking with the coldest cities in the country.At 8 in the morning, the city with the lowest temperature was Santa Rosa de Conlara, in San Luis, with 11°C below zero. (12.2 Fahrenheit)In the second place-according to the SMN-there are Bariloche and Córdoba with 7.8 degrees below zero (Córdoba Observatorio registered -3.6 degrees).Chapelco, in Neuquén, is in third place with 5.9 degrees zero. Marcos Juárez (Córdoba) and Esquel (Chubut) have rooms with 5.6 degrees below zero.San Martin de Mendoza is in fifth place with 4.8 degrees below zero.According to information provided by the National Meteorological Service (SMN), the hottest place in the country is the department of Rivadavia, in the province of Salta, where - on average! - 35.2 ° C (95.36 degrees Fahrenheit) is recorded. ) during the full extension of summer. The thermal sensation comfortably exceeds 40 ° C (104 Fahrenheit) and up to 50 ° C (122 Fahrenheit) some days.The "ranking" of the most burdensome places according to the average maximum temperature recorded in summer- is as follows:1. Rivadavia, province of Salta: 35.2 ° C.2. Las Lomitas, Formosa and La Rioja, Capital: 34.4 ° C.3. San Juan, Capital: 33.9 ° C4. Santiago del Estero, Capital: 33.4 ° C5. Catamarca, Capital: 33.4 ° C6. Roque Sáenz Peña, province of Chaco: 33.3 ° C.7. Formosa, Capital: 33 ° C.8. Tinogasta, Catamarca: 32.9 ° C.9. Resistance, Chaco: 32.4 ° C.10. Currents, Capital: 32.3 ° C.This is ArgentinaAnd this. This region is known as The ImpenetrableAlso, like thisAndPeru and Bolivia have their challenges too.Peru is South America's third-largest country, with an area of 1,285,220 sq km (496,226 sq mi)Bolivia has a total area of 1,098,580 sq km (424,164 sq mi)Altitude Sickness Peru & Bolivia: How to Prevent it - Bolivia HopThe jungle of Peru (Amazonas)Bolivian Amazon-JungleChileEven Chile has its challenges, Atacama DesertChile: 756.102 km²PopulationArgentina 44,477,266Bolivia 11,134,151Peru 32,360,133Almost 88 million inhabitants among the three. About five times the Chilean population.Chile 18,125,105ArmiesArgentina Army38,500 active personnel (2014)16,000 reservists (20142017 Argentina Military StrengthPerú Army78,400 active2017 Peru Military StrengthBolivia Army2017 Bolivia Military StrengthIf you put the three army together, it's not a good chance against them.Chile Army50,000 (9,200 conscripts)2017 Chile Military StrengthThat without taking into account the political and economic sanctions that Chile would suffer.UNASUR Constitutive Treaty - WikipediaOn November 26, 2010, during the 2010 South American Summit, representatives introduced a democratic clause to the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations. The amendment specifies measures to be taken against member-states whose political processes are not respected. The clause establishes sanctions, such as shutting down borders and the suspension of trade against the country that suffers an attempted coup.In addition to NATO, there are those who compare the South American Defense Council with the United Nations Security Council. Which one is more like?"It is more like the Security Council, because it is more a multilateral mechanism to prevent and resolve conflicts than a military alliance," Fraga explained."It serves for confrontations like the one that occurred recently between Colombia, on the one hand, and Ecuador and Venezuela, on the other, or the one that can happen in Bolivia if the autonomy of Santa Cruz advances."In any case, peace agreements between countries have been ratified. A war would be the stupidest thing we could do. All our countries would go backwards.Do You see this link (below), it shows a photograph of the commemorative plaque of the treaty with Chile, it says: "These mountains will collapse first, before Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer."https://img263.imageshack.us/img263/206/mendozauspallataroad048.jpgIf a war were unleashed, the peace treaty would be broken.We do not want that to happen. People around the world would have to change all the atlases and maps to remove The Andes, rewrite the geography books. We would be without the Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia. Where would the climbers go? We would be without tourism, jobs, Malbec. Argentina and Chile would be sued by other countries for the destruction of the Andes in their territory but above all, do you have any idea what it would mean to clean and collect billions of tons of rocks? That's a mess.We trade among ourselves, we go on vacation to neighboring countries, we help each other when is needed.Chile's neighbors send help to fight worst forest fires in its history | News | DW | 29.01.2017Humanitarian response to the 2010 Chile earthquake - WikipediaNeuquén (province of Argentina) asks Chile for help in the fires in Aluminé.Neuquén pide ayuda a Chile por los incendios en AluminéChile offers Argentina help in hunt for missing submarinePeru Supports Chile in Fighting FiresAnd this is how it should always be.

4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, 4chan hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from anime and manga to video games, music, literature, fitness, politics, and sports, among others.Registration is not possible, and the site's users generally post anonymously; threads receiving recent replies are "bumped" to the top of their respective board and old threads are automatically deleted as new ones are created. As of June 2020, 4chan receives more than 22 million unique monthly visitors, with approximately 900,000 posts made daily.The site was created as a counterpart to the Japanese imageboard Futaba Channel, also known as 2chan,and the first boards were created for posting images and discussion related to anime. 4chan has been described as a hub of Internet subculture, with 4chan's community being influential in the formation and spread of prominent Internet memes, including lolcats, Rickrolling, and rage comics, as well as activist and political movements, such as Anonymous and the alt-right.4chan has often been the subject of media attention as a source of numerous controversies, including the coordination of pranks, harassment, attacks against other websites and Internet users and the posting of illegal content, threats of violence, misogyny and racism. The Guardian once summarized the 4chan community as "lunatic, juvenile ... brilliant, ridiculous and alarming".BackgroundChristopher Poole, 4chan's founder, at XOXO Festival in 2012The majority of posting on 4chan takes place on imageboards, where users have the ability to share images and create threaded discussions.The site's homepage lists 70 imageboards and one Flash animation board, divided into seven categories: Japanese Culture, Video Games, Interests, Creative, Other, Misc. (NSFW), and Adult (NSFW). Each board has its own set of rules and is dedicated to a specific topic, variously including anime and manga, video games, music, literature, fitness, politics, and sports, among others. As of 2019, the /pol/ (Politically Incorrect), /v/ (Video Games), /vg/ (Video Games Generals), and /b/ (Random) boards receive the most daily posts.4chan is the Internet's most trafficked imageboard, according to the Los Angeles Times.4chan's Alexa rank is 1042 as of June 2020 though it has been as high as 56.It is provided to its users free of charge and consumes a large amount of bandwidth; as a result, its financing has often been problematic. Poole has acknowledged that donations alone could not keep the site online, and turned to advertising to help make ends meet.However, the explicit content hosted on 4chan has deterred businesses who do not want to be associated with the site's content.In January 2009, Poole signed a new deal with an advertising company; in February 2009, he was $20,000 in debt, and the site was continuing to lose money.The 4chan servers were moved from Texas to California in August 2008, which upgraded the maximum bandwidth throughput of 4chan from 100Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s.Unlike most web forums, 4chan does not have a registration system, allowing users to post anonymously.Any nickname may be used when posting, even one that has been previously adopted, such as "Anonymous" or "moot".In place of registration, 4chan has provided tripcodes as an optional form of authenticating a poster's identity.As making a post without filling in the "Name" field causes posts to be attributed to "Anonymous", general understanding on 4chan holds that Anonymous is not a single person but a collective (hive) of users.Moderators generally post without a name even when performing sysop actions. A "capcode" may be used to attribute the post to "Anonymous ## Mod", although moderators often post without the capcode.In a 2011 interview on Nico Nico Douga, Poole explained that there are approximately 20 volunteer moderators active on 4chan.4chan also has a junior moderation team, called "janitors", who may delete posts or images and suggest that the normal moderation team ban a user, but who cannot post with a capcode. Revealing oneself as a janitor is grounds for immediate dismissal.4chan has been the target of occasional denial of service attacks. For instance, on December 28, 2010, 4chan and other websites went down due to such an attack, following which Poole said on his blog, "We now join the ranks of MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, et al.—an exclusive club!"HistoryThe site was launched as http://4chan.net on October 1, 2003 by Christopher Poole, a then-15-year-old student from New York City using the online handle "moot".Poole had been a regular participant on the Something Awful subforum "Anime Death Tentacle Rape Whorehouse", where many users were familiar with the Japanese imageboard format and Futaba Channel ("双葉ちゃん♪").When creating 4chan, Poole obtained Futaba Channel's open source code and translated the Japanese text into English using AltaVista's Babel Fish online translator.After the site's creation, Poole invited users from the ADTRW subforum, many of whom were dissatisfied with the site's moderation, to visit 4chan, which he advertised as an English-language counterpart to Futaba Channel and a place for Western fans to discuss anime and manga.At its founding, the site only hosted one board: /b/ (Anime/Random).Before the end of 2003, several new anime-related boards were added, including /h/ (Hentai), /c/ (Anime/Cute), /d/ (Hentai/Alternative), /w/ (Wallpapers/Anime), /y/ (Yaoi), and /a/ (Anime). Additionally, a lolicon board was created at /l/ (Lolikon),but was disabled following the posting of genuine child pornography and ultimately deleted in October 2004, after threats of legal action.In February 2004, GoDaddy suspended the http://4chan.net domain, prompting Poole to move the site to its current domain at 4chan. On March 1, 2004, Poole announced that he lacked the funds to pay the month's server bill, but was able to continue operations after receiving a swarm of donations from users.In June 2004, 4chan experienced six weeks of downtime after Paypal suspended 4chan's donations service after receiving complaints about the site's content.Following 4chan's return, several non-anime related boards were introduced, including /k/ (Weapons), /o/ (Auto), and /v/ (Video Games).In 2008, nine new boards were created, including the sports board at /sp/, the fashion board at /fa/ and the "Japan/General" (the name later changed to "Otaku Culture") board at /jp/.In January 2011, Poole announced the deletion of the /r9k/ ("ROBOT9000") and /new/ (News) boards, saying that /new/ had become devoted to racist discussions, and /r9k/ no longer served its original purpose of being a test implementation of xkcd's ROBOT9000 script. During the same year, the /soc/ board was created in an effort to reduce the number of socialization threads on /b/. /r9k/ was restored on October 23, 2011, along with /hc/ ("Hardcore", previously deleted), /pol/ (a rebranding of /new/) and the new /diy/ board, in addition to an apology by Poole where he recalls how he criticized the deletion of Encyclopedia Dramatica and realized that he had done the same.In 2010, 4chan had implemented reCAPTCHA in an effort to thwart spam arising from JavaScript worms. By November 2011, 4chan made the transition to utilizing Cloudflare following a series of DDoS attacks. The 4chan imageboards were rewritten in valid HTML5/CSS3 in May 2012 in an effort to improve client-side performance.On September 28, 2012, 4chan introduced a "4chan pass"that, when purchased, "allows users to bypass typing a reCAPTCHA verification when posting and reporting posts on the 4chan image boards"; the money raised from the passes will go towards supporting the site.Hiroyuki Nishimura, the owner of 4chan since 2015On January 21, 2015, Poole stepped down as the site's administrator, citing stress from controversies such as Gamergate as the reason for his departure.On September 21, 2015, Poole announced that Hiroyuki Nishimura had purchased from him the ownership rights to 4chan, without disclosing the terms of the acquisition.Nishimura was the former administrator of 2channel between 1999 and 2014, the website forming the basis for anonymous posting culture which influenced later websites such as Futaba Channel and 4chan;Nishimura lost 2channel's domain after it was seized by his registrar, ex-US Army officerJim Watkins,after the latter alleged financial difficulties.In October 2016, it was reported that the site was facing financial difficulties that could lead to its closure or radical changes.In a post titled "Winter is Coming", Hiroyuki Nishimura said, "We had tried to keep 4chan as is. But I failed. I am sincerely sorry", citing server costs, infrastructure costs, and network fees.On November 17, 2018, it was announced that the site would be split into two, with the work-safe boards moved to a new domain, 4chan, while the NSFW boards would remain on the 4chan domain. In a series of posts on the topic, Nishimura explained that the split was due to 4chan being blacklisted by most advertising companies, and that the new 4channel domain would allow for the site to receive advertisements by mainstream ad providers.Christopher PoolePoole kept his real-life identity hidden until it was revealed on July 9, 2008, in The Wall Street Journal. Prior to that, he had used the alias "moot".In April 2009, Poole was voted the world's most influential person of 2008 by an open Internet poll conducted by Time magazine.The results were questioned even before the poll completed, as automated voting programs and manual ballot stuffing were used to influence the vote.4chan's interference with the vote seemed increasingly likely, when it was found that reading the first letter of the first 21 candidates in the poll spelled out a phrase containing two 4chan memes: "mARBLECAKE. ALSO, THE GAME."On September 12, 2009, Poole gave a talk on why 4chan has a reputation as a "Meme Factory" at the Paraflows Symposium in Vienna, Austria, which was part of the Paraflows 09 festival, themed Urban Hacking. In this talk, Poole mainly attributed this to the anonymous system, and to the lack of data retention on the site ("The site has no memory.").In April 2010, Poole gave evidence in the trial United States of America v. David Kernell as a government witness.As a witness, he explained the terminology used on 4chan to the prosecutor, ranging from "OP" to "lurker". He also explained to the court the nature of the data given to the FBI as part of the search warrant, including how users can be uniquely identified from site audit logs.Notable imageboards/pol/Main article: /pol//pol/ ("Politically Incorrect") is 4chan's political discussion board. A stickied thread on its front page states that the board's intended purpose is "discussion of news, world events, political issues, and other related topics."/pol/ was created in October 2011 as a rebranding of 4chan's news board, /new/,which was deleted that January for a high volume of racist discussion.Media sources have characterized /pol/ as predominantly racist and sexist, with many of its posts taking an explicitly neo-Nazi bent.The Southern Poverty Law Center regards /pol/'s rhetorical style as widely emulated by white supremacist websites such as The Daily Stormer; the Stormer's editor, Andrew Anglin, concurred./pol/ was where screenshots of Trayvon Martin's hacked social media accounts were initially posted.The board's users have started antifeminist, homophobic, transphobic, and anti-Arab Twitter campaigns.Many /pol/ users favored Donald Trump during his 2016 United States presidential campaign. Both Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., appeared to acknowledge the support by tweeting /pol/-associated memes. Upon his successful election, a /pol/ moderator embedded a pro-Trump video at the top of all of the board's pages./b/Main article: /b/The "random" board, /b/, follows the design of Futaba Channel's Nijiura board. It was the first board created, and was described in 2009 as 4chan's most popular board, accounting for 30% of site traffic at the time.Gawker's Nick Douglas summarized /b/ as a board where "people try to shock, entertain, and coax free porn from each other."/b/ has a "no rules" policy, except for bans on certain illegal content, such as child pornography, invasions of other websites (posting floods of disruptive content), and under-18 viewing, all of which are inherited from site-wide rules. The "no invasions" rule was added in late 2006, after /b/ users spent most of the summer "invading" Habbo Hotel. The "no rules" policy also applies to actions of administrators and moderators, which means that users may be banned at any time, for any reason, including no reason at all.Due partially to its anonymous nature, board moderation is not always successful—indeed, the site's anti-child pornography rule is a subject of jokes on /b/. Christopher Poole told The New York Times, in a discussion on the moderation of /b/, that "the power lies in the community to dictate its own standards" and that site staff simply provided a framework.The humor of /b/'s many users, who refer to themselves as "/b/tards",is often incomprehensible to newcomers and outsiders, and is characterized by intricate inside jokes and dark comedy.Users often refer to each other, and much of the outside world, as fags.They are often referred to by outsiders as trolls, who regularly act with the intention of "doing it for the lulz", a corruption of "LOL" used to denote amusement at another's expense.The New York Observer has described posters as "immature pranksters whose bad behavior is encouraged by the site's total anonymity and the absence of an archive".Douglas said of the board, "reading /b/ will melt your brain", and cited Encyclopedia Dramatica's definition of /b/ as "the asshole of the Internets [sic]".Mattathias Schwartz of The New York Times likened /b/ to "a high-school bathroom stall, or an obscene telephone party line",while Baltimore City Paper wrote that "in the high school of the Internet, /b/ is the kid with a collection of butterfly knives and a locker full of porn."Wired describes /b/ as "notorious".Each post is assigned a post number. Certain post numbers are sought after with a large amount of posting taking place to "GET" them. A "GET" occurs when a post's number ends in a special number, such as 12345678, 22222222, or every millionth post.A sign of 4chan's scaling, according to Poole, was when GETs lost meaning due to the high post rate resulting in a GET occurring every few weeks. He estimated /b/'s post rate in July 2008 to be 150,000–200,000 posts per day.Internet cultureEarly internet memesMany early memes that originated at 4chan have gained media attention. This included "So I herd u liek mudkipz" [sic], which involved a phrase based on Pokémon and which generated numerous YouTube tribute videos, and the term "an hero" [sic] as a synonym for suicide, after a misspelling in the Myspace online memorial of seventh grader Mitchell Henderson.4chan and other websites, such as the satirical Encyclopedia Dramatica, have also contributed to the development of significant amounts of leetspeak.A lolcat image using the "I'm in ur..." formatA lolcat is an image combining a photograph of a cat with text intended to contribute humour. The text is often idiosyncratic and grammatically incorrect. In 2005, the meme was widely popularized by 4chan in the form of "Caturday". Every Saturday, users posted pictures of cats with image macros relating to that day's theme.In 2005, a meme known as the "duckroll" began, after Poole used a word filter to change "egg" to "duck" across 4chan. Thus, words such as "eggroll" were changed to "duckroll". This led to a bait-and-switch in which external links disguised as relevant to a discussion instead led to a picture of a duck on wheels.[90]An unidentified 4chan user applied the concept of the duckroll to a 2007 post relating to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. In March of that year, the game's trailer had been released, and the game's immense popularity caused publisher Rockstar Games' website to crash. The user posted a YouTube link that purportedly led to the trailer, but in reality directed users to the music video for Rick Astley's 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up". Thus, the "rickroll" was born.In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Astley said he found the meme "bizarre and funny".A link to the YouTube video of Tay Zonday's song "Chocolate Rain" was posted on /b/ on July 11, 2007.The Age reported that 4chan posters urged each other to "swarm" the video on YouTube and thus increase its ranking.The video became an immensely popular Internet meme, resulting in cover versions by John Mayer and Green Day drummer Tré Cool.The portion of the song in which Zonday turns away from the microphone, with a caption stating "I move away from the mic to breathe in", became an oft-repeated meme on 4chan and inspired remixes.The character of Boxxy is portrayed by Catherine "Catie" Wayne, an American Internet celebrity known for her highly energetic vlogs.Her rise to exposure began in late 2008 and early 2009, surrounding self-made videos that were initially made to be posted to her Gaia Online profile.They then spread to 4chan and other sites, resulting in a large online following.In his American incarnation, Pedobear is an anthropomorphic bear child predator that is often used within the community to mock contributors showing a sexual interest in children.Pedobear is one of the most popular memes on non-English imageboards, and has gained recognition across Europe. In February 2010, a photoshopped version of Pedobear appeared along with mascots of the 2010 Winter Olympics in an article on the games in Gazeta Olsztyńska, a Polish newspaper. This was done accidentally; due to the image being used from Google Images, the authors were unaware of the joke.Similarly, the Dutch television guide Avrobodeused one of the images. It has been used as a symbol of pedophilia by Maltese graffiti vandals prior to a papal visit.Anonymous and anti-Scientology activismProtests against ScientologySee also: Anonymous (group) and Project Chanology4chan has been labeled as the starting point of the Anonymous meme by The Baltimore City Paper,due to the norm of posts signed with the "Anonymous" moniker. The National Post's David George-Cosh said it has been "widely reported" that Anonymous is associated with 4chan and 711chan, as well as numerous Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels.Through its association with Anonymous, 4chan has become associated with Project Chanology, a worldwide protest against the Church of Scientology held by members of Anonymous. On January 15, 2008, a 4chan user posted to /b/, suggesting participants "do something big" against the Church of Scientology's website. This message resulted in the Church receiving threatening phone calls. It quickly grew into a large real-world protest. Unlike previous Anonymous attacks, this action was characterized by 4chan memes including rickrolls and Guy Fawkes masks. The raid drew criticism from some 4chan users who felt it would bring the site undesirable attention.My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fandomThe adult fandom and subculture dedicated to the children's animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic began on the "Comics & Cartoons" (/co/) board of 4chan. The show was first discussed with some interest around its debut in October 2010.In an article published on the animation website Cartoon Brew, titled The End of the Creator-Driven Era in TV Animation, the writer Amid Amidi referenced the then-recent debut of the show as an example of how the talent of creators such as Lauren Faust was being used to work on behalf of an established toy-centric property rather than original ideas developed by creators themselves.The article was shared on /co/, where the alarmist tone of the essay provoked heightened interest in the show, resulting in praise for its plot, characters, and animation style.The moderation of My Little Pony related topics on 4chan became controversial; discussion of the show extended to the /b/ board, reaching a volume and intrusiveness that was eventually met with hostile reactions from other 4chan users. This resulted in intervention from a moderator, with an introduction of automatic one day ban on the use of the word "pony", to prevent discussion of the show. Discussion of the show began to spread to communities external to 4chan in reaction, including the establishment of the fan news website Equestria Daily, causing the show to reach a wider audience across the internet. These events were described as a "civil war" internal to 4chan.The site administrator moot eventually settled the matter by creating the board dedicated to discussion of the show, "Pony" (/mlp/), and apologised on behalf of the moderation team for neglecting "one of the largest subcultures in 4chan's history".There is a ban on discussion of the show globally on the site outside of this board.