--- title: Robert Mueller Investigation Filings Show the Facts description: Robert Mueller and other federal prosecutors on related cases have put significant chunks of the investigation in the public record. canonical: https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-14T22:55:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:24:04.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's What Robert Mueller Has Uncovered So Far, In His Own Words og:description: The special counsel lets his legal filings speak for him og:url: https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbac1fe47643e3150/6989409afb4eac0cf98985c3/robert-mueller-the-breakdown.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: robert-mueller-the-breakdown og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What Robert Mueller Has Uncovered So Far, In His Own Words twitter:description: The special counsel lets his legal filings speak for him twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbac1fe47643e3150/6989409afb4eac0cf98985c3/robert-mueller-the-breakdown.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Robert Mueller Has Uncovered So Far, in His Own Words ## Video: Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy, But Stops Short of Exonerating Trump on Obstruction: Attorney General [Watch (HLS stream): Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy, But Stops Short of Exonerating Trump on Obstruction: Attorney General](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zQrWlDSf.m3u8) (1:16)  _Published 2019-03-22. Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday delivered a long-awaited report to the Department of Justice about his investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election_ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:24 AM CUTPublished: Dec 14, 2018 10:55 PM CUT  In this June 21, 2017 file photo, Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the 2016 election at the Capitol in Washington. In this June 21, 2017 file photo, Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the 2016 election at the Capitol in Washington.J Scott Applewhite—AP/REX/Shutterstock by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:24 AM CUTPublished: Dec 14, 2018 10:55 PM CUT When Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel in 2017, he was given several subjects to investigate: Russian meddling in the election, any coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign and any other crimes arising from the investigation. So far, he has delivered a lot of detail about the first and the last, but has not said much about any Trump coordination. To Trump and his supporters, that has provided a vindication of sorts. Trump has [repeatedly argued](http://time.com/5290531/donald-trump-robert-mueller-russia-investigation-arguments/ "undefined") that guilty pleas and successful prosecutions from Mueller’s team actually show that there was “no collusion.” The special counsel’s office has regularly declined to comment on its findings, but some of the details provided so far provide hints that there may be more to the story. Still, understanding all of the findings in light of the dizzying array of charges and countercharges can be difficult. So we’ve pulled all of the most relevant legal findings together in one place. Overall, they sketch a suggestive picture. According to the legal documents, Russia began a massive project to sow political discord in the United States, eventually deciding to support Trump and disparage Clinton in the 2016 election. As part of that project, the documents show, Russian nationals made repeated efforts to reach out to members of the Trump campaign which were met with interest, in part because Trump was pursuing a real estate deal in Moscow until the eve of the Republican convention. On more minor notes, the court filings also show that Trump’s longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, worked with the _National Enquirer_ to keep two sex scandals out of the news; National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had an interesting discussion with the then-Russian ambassador about sanctions related to election meddling; and former campaign chairman [Paul Manafort](http://time.com/5396596/paul-manafort-plea-robert-mueller/ "undefined") kept in touch with the Trump Administration even as he was being investigated. The legal filings have also revealed a lot of other damning information, including unlawful personal dealings by Cohen, Flynn and Manafort and times in which various individuals under investigation lied to FBI agents or Congress. We have left these out of the story in order to make it easier to follow and focus on what appear to be the more central questions. At this point, who knows where Mueller is ultimately headed. We have replaced some legal terms from the filings, such as “defendants,” by people’s actual names in brackets for clarity’s sake. Several of the filings refer to “Individual-1,” who is widely understood to be Trump, so we have replaced it with his name there too. ## Russia’s project to sow discord  Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an awards ceremony for Russian team members at the Winter Paralympic games in Sochi, Russia on March 17, 2014. Sasha Mordovets—Getty Images ## The Internet Research Agency started in Russia in 2013 --- > “” --- **Source:** [Charging documents against Internet Research Agency et al](https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download "undefined"), Feb. 16, 2018 ## The agency used social media to influence U.S. politics --- > “” --- **Source:** [Charging documents against Internet Research Agency et al](https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download "undefined"), Feb. 16, 2018 ## The goal was to make U.S. politics more divisive --- > “” --- **Source:** [Charging documents against Internet Research Agency et al](https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download "undefined"), Feb. 16, 2018 ## Staffers attacked Rubio, Cruz and Clinton, but supported Sanders and Trump --- > “” --- **Source:** [Charging documents against Internet Research Agency et al](https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download "undefined"), Feb. 16, 2018 ## They reached out to Trump campaign officials as ‘Matt Skiber’ and ‘Josh Milton’ --- > “” --- **Source:** [Charging documents against Internet Research Agency et al](https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download "undefined"), Feb. 16, 2018 ## George Papadopoulos’ Russian connections  George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents @realdonaldtrump/twitter/reuters ## George Papadopoulos was a Trump foreign policy advisor --- > “” --- [Charging documents against George Papadopoulos](https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download "undefined"), Oct. 5, 2017 ## Papadopoulos met with a professor with Russian connections --- > “” --- [Charging documents against George Papadopoulos](https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download "undefined"), Oct. 5, 2017 ## The professor introduced Papadopoulos to a supposed Putin niece --- > “” --- [Charging documents against George Papadopoulos](https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download "undefined"), Oct. 5, 2017 ## Papadopoulos tried to arrange a Trump-Putin meeting --- > “” --- [Charging documents against George Papadopoulos](https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download "undefined"), Oct. 5, 2017 ## The professor told Papadopoulos the Russians had ‘dirt’ on Clinton --- > “” --- [Charging documents against George Papadopoulos](https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download "undefined"), Oct. 5, 2017 ## Donald Trump’s Moscow tower development  Michael Cohen, personal lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump, gets into an elevator at Trump Tower, Dec. 12, 2016 in New York City. Drew Angerer—Getty Images ## Michael Cohen became Trump’s lawyer in 2007 --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York sentencing memo for Michael Cohen](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453401-SDNY-Cohen-sentencing-memo.html "undefined"), Dec. 7, 2018 ## The Trump Organization pursued a real estate project in Moscow in 2015 and 2016 --- > “” --- **Source:** [Mueller sentencing memo for Michael Cohen, Dec. 7, 2018](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453418-Mueller-Cohen-filing.html "undefined") ## A Russian reached out about setting up a meeting with Putin --- > “” --- **Source:** [Mueller sentencing memo for Michael Cohen, Dec. 7, 2018](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453418-Mueller-Cohen-filing.html "undefined") ## But Cohen already had a Russian contact --- > “” --- **Source:** [Mueller sentencing memo for Michael Cohen, Dec. 7, 2018](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453418-Mueller-Cohen-filing.html "undefined") ## Cohen talked with top Russian officials about the project --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York sentencing memo for Michael Cohen](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453401-SDNY-Cohen-sentencing-memo.html "undefined"), Dec. 7, 2018 ## The Moscow project continued through June of 2016 --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York sentencing memo for Michael Cohen](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453401-SDNY-Cohen-sentencing-memo.html "undefined"), Dec. 7, 2018 ## Cohen looked into having Trump travel to Russia --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York sentencing memo for Michael Cohen](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453401-SDNY-Cohen-sentencing-memo.html "undefined"), Dec. 7, 2018 ## Michael Cohen’s work on sex scandals  Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, on Apr. 13, 2018 in New York City Yana Paskova—Getty Images ## Cohen began working for the Trump campaign in 2015 --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York sentencing memo for Michael Cohen](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453401-SDNY-Cohen-sentencing-memo.html "undefined"), Dec. 7, 2018. ## He met with the _National Enquirer_ about keeping sex scandals quiet --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York cooperation agreement, Sept. 20, 2018](https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1119501/download "undefined") ## Cohen kept Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal stories out of the news --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York sentencing memo for Michael Cohen](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453401-SDNY-Cohen-sentencing-memo.html "undefined"), Dec. 7, 2018 ## He promised to reimburse the _Enquirer_ on the McDougal story --- > “” --- **Source:** [Southern District of New York cooperation agreement, Sept. 20, 2018](https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1119501/download "undefined") ## Michael Flynn’s Russian contacts  Michael Flynn in Feb. 2017. Carolyn Kaster—AP ## After the election, President Obama sanctioned Russia over meddling --- > “” --- **Source:** [Mueller charging document for Michael Flynn, Dec. 1, 2017](https://www.justice.gov/file/1015126/download "undefined") ## Flynn talked with the Russian ambassador about sanctions --- > “” --- **Source:** [Mueller charging document for Michael Flynn, Dec. 1, 2017](https://www.justice.gov/file/1015126/download "undefined") ## Paul Manafort’s contacts with the Trump Administration  In this July 19, 2016 file photo, Paul Manafort is seen at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. ## Manafort kept in touch with the Trump Administration --- > “” --- **Source:** [Mueller request to find Manafort in breach of plea agreement, Dec. 7, 2018](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5453474-Manafort-filing.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/"},"headline":"Here's What Robert Mueller Has Uncovered So Far, in His Own Words","datePublished":"2018-12-14T22:55:41.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T11:24:04.000Z","description":"Robert Mueller and other federal prosecutors on related cases have put significant chunks of the investigation in the public record.","url":"https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/","keywords":["justice","russia","2016 elections","Donald Trump","Paul Manafort","Robert Mueller","michael cohen"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbac1fe47643e3150/6989409afb4eac0cf98985c3/robert-mueller-the-breakdown.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbac1fe47643e3150/6989409afb4eac0cf98985c3/robert-mueller-the-breakdown.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"robert-mueller-the-breakdown","caption":"Mueller, Washington, USA - 21 Jun 2017","creditText":"J Scott Applewhite—AP/REX/Shutterstock","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/justice/","name":"justice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/","name":"Here's What Robert Mueller Has Uncovered So Far, in His Own Words"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy, But Stops Short of Exonerating Trump on Obstruction: Attorney General","description":"Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday delivered a long-awaited report to the Department of Justice about his investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zQrWlDSf/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-03-22T22:41:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zQrWlDSf.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/","duration":"PT1M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5480111/robert-mueller-donald-trump-russia-investigation-filings/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```