In the most abstract sense, there is nothing noteworthy about a government official meeting with an ambassador from a foreign country. When such an
interaction becomes important is when that official is an ally of a presidential campaign that’s got a complex set of possibly inappropriate relationships with other representatives of that ambassador’s country — and
when that official while under oath says he did not have communications with representatives of that country.
What we’re going to endeavor to do here is to parse out that complex set of relationships, using the information we have at hand. In this case, as you’ve hopefully ascertained, the country at issue is Russia and the campaign is that of President Trump.
The official, of course, is Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And the ambassador is, at this point, the linchpin of a lot of the interactions between Trump and the rest of his team.
Analysis | The web of relationships between Team Trump and Russia
In 2008, Don Jr., who works for the Trump Organization, famously told a real estate conference that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets” and that “we see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”
Feb 19th 2017 "a secret deal to lift sanctions on Russia was hand delivered to Michael Flynn."
Here’s A Cheat Sheet To The Moments That Mattered In Trump’s First 100 Days
Paul Manafort, former campaign manager. Manafort’s links to Russian interests are well established. New revelations that emerged during the campaign prompted Trump to demand Manafort’s resignation. Manafort is one of the Trump campaign staffers who reportedly made contact with Russian interests during the campaign.
Rex Tillerson, secretary of state. Before he was confirmed to serve as the head of the State Department, even Republicans questioned Tillerson’s relationship to Putin. As the head of ExxonMobil, Tillerson helped negotiate a massive agreement between the Russian government and ExxonMobil-Rosneft, a partnership between the two companies. Tillerson was subsequently awarded the “Order of Friendship” by Putin.
Wilbur Ross, secretary of commerce. Ross’s connections to Russian business interests are less obvious than Tillerson’s. During the Clinton administration, Ross served on the board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund, an effort to bolster businesses in post-Cold-War Russia. During his confirmation, questions arose about his ownership of a bank on Cyprus that, in the words of McClatchy’s Kevin Hall, “caters to wealthy Russians.”
Roger Stone, longtime adviser. Stone’s connection to Russia is murky. During the campaign, he drew attention for seeming to have inside knowledge on the
WikiLeaks document releases — releases that have been linked to Russian interests by the government. More directly, the Times
reports that Stone is possibly under investigation by the U.S. government for his links to Russia.
Carter Page, former adviser. Page is included in that alleged investigation as well, but his links to Russia are more clear. Page pretty clearly met with Kislyak last year during the Republican convention in Cleveland, as he
admitted to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday night. He also has repeatedly
addressed Russian business groups in that country, including twice in 2016. Over a decade ago, he worked in Russia as an investment banker.
J.D. Gordon, former adviser. Page is far in the outer orbit of Trump’s circle, serving briefly as part of Trump’s national security advisory team. He’s joined there by Gordon, a onetime Pentagon spokesman who also served as an adviser to the campaign. Gordon, like Page,
reportedly spoke with Kislyak in Cleveland.
This document should be considered a work in progress. As more information is released...
Analysis | The web of relationships between Team Trump and Russia
BBC, Jan. 12, 2017: On 15 October, the US secret intelligence court issued a warrant to investigate two Russian banks. This news was given to me by several sources and corroborated by someone I will identify only as a senior member of the US intelligence community. He would never volunteer anything – giving up classified information would be illegal – but he would confirm or deny what I had heard from other sources. …
Neither Mr Trump nor his associates are named in the FISA order, which would only cover foreign citizens or foreign entities – in this case the Russian banks. But ultimately, the investigation is looking for transfers of money from Russia to the United States, each one, if proved, a felony offence.
Examining Trump's Wiretap Claim - FactCheck.org