The Putin Files

Putin and Trump

Donald Trump’s admiration for Putin dates back to before his presidential run, but since Trump's election, his campaign’s ties to Russia have become the focus of controversy and multiple investigations. Did Putin get what he wanted?
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“He’s taken that very weak hand and played it incredibly well. The art form that he’s perfected is particularly in the information space...”

Antony Blinken

Obama adviser, 2009-15

“This is a story that won't go away. It eats away at Trump. He watches TV; he sees it in the paper; he hears people talk about it; and it just gnaws at him.”

Peter Baker

The New York Times

“This is about a new threat to the country, and really to our core sovereignty and our democracy, things that, whether you're a Republican or Democrat, you should consider vitally important...”

Jon Finer

Obama adviser, 2009-13

“We’re having a fight, day in, day out, about real news versus fake news. Who’s going to adjudicate this...”

Robert Costa

The Washington Post

“He has a theatrical sense of everything. And Vladimir Putin appealed to Trump’s cinematic sense of himself and his love for public theatrics.”

Timothy O’Brien

Executive editor, Bloomberg View

“There was not a single election in Russian history when the ruler, the incumbent, lost power as the result of an election. Just think about this.”

Vladimir Kara-Murza

Opposition politician

“We have a lot of mending to do, in terms of the health of our own democracy, that we need to get beyond the deep divide in this country if we’re going to protect ourselves.”

Adam Schiff

D-Calif.

“The Russians have to be sitting back and looking at what they did and saying to themselves, 'This was pretty effective.'”

Jeh Johnson

Secretary of Homeland Security, 2013-17

“They just thought they were going to bloody Clinton’s nose; they didn’t expect to break her neck. They didn’t expect Trump to win.”

Julia Ioffe

The Atlantic

“I, for my part at least, had not seen any direct evidence of political collusion between the campaign and the Russians. May have been there, but I, for my part, did not see it.”

James Clapper

Director of National Intelligence, 2010-17

“There is no permanence in U.S.-Russia relations. I wouldn’t call it a war at all, and I certainly wouldn’t call it a new Cold War.”

John Beyrle

U.S. ambassador to Russia, 2008-12

“Those projects for Putin are over. He doesn’t want to join our clubs. He doesn’t want to be part of our clubs and accept our rules.”

Michael McFaul

U.S. ambassador to Russia, 2012-14

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