In response to a warrant, Facebook turned over detailed records on Russian ad purchases during the 2016 election to Special Counsel Robert Mueller (CNN, WSJ).
Facebook announced it will turn over more than 3,000 Russia-linked ads to congressional committees investigating potential Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).
Russian propagandists appear to have used Facebook to organize pro-Trump rallies in Florida during the presidential election (Daily Beast).
Mueller’s team is reaching back 11 years in its investigation of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manfort (CNN).
Investigators on Robert Mueller’s team are seeking documents from the White House on topics including a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower whose attendees included Donald Trump, Jr. and a Russian lawyer (L.A. Times, NYT) and the firings of former FBI director James Comey and former national security adviser Michael Flynn (NYT).
Paul Manafort reportedly offered to provide a Russian billionaire, likely Oleg Deripaska, “private briefings” on the state of the 2016 presidential campaign (NYT, WaPo).
Trump lawyers clashed over how much to cooperate with the Russia inquiry (NYT). Ty Cobb and John Dowd argued over the matter at a DC steakhouse and were overheard by New York Times reporters (NYT).
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s statement to the Senate “does not appear to have any clear strategy” and portions read “like a political speech,”argues Renato Mariotti at Just Security.
The Trump administration’s efforts to push the intelligence agencies to neglect investigations into Russian interference may politicize the agencies in a way that causes lasting damage, writes Joshua Rovner at Lawfare.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) suggested that the White House pardon Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in exchange for evidence that would purportedly exonerate Russia of involvement in hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s email system (WSJ).
The investigation into Russian interference is creating a significant financial burden for many Trump aides, as many of them have retained private counsel (WSJ).
Congressional hearings are likely to do more to harm President Trump’s political standing than the Special Counsel investigation, Niall Ferguson and Joshua Zoffer argue at The Atlantic.
President Trump is reportedly using Republican National Committee funds intended for election-related legal matters to pay his legal fees related to the Russia probe (The Hill, WaPo).
Jon Huntsman, President Trump’s pick for Russian ambassador, said there was “no question” that Moscow interfered in the U.S. presidential election (The Hill).
Democrats in Congress asked the Federal Election Commission to develop rules for online advertising that prevent foreign spending from influencing elections (The Hill).