Trump And His Allies Stumble As Russia Probe Moves Closer To The White House
Time|June 5,2017

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN Trey Gowdy was just trying to help. But as they have for weeks, attempts to defend President Trump against the accelerating investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia just seem to make things worse. At a May 23 House Intelligence Committee hearing into the Russian operation against the 2016 presidential election, Gowdy asked former CIA chief John Brennan, who stepped down on Jan. 20, whether he had seen any “evidence of collusion, coordination [or] conspiracy between Donald Trump and Russian state actors.”

Massimo Calabresi
Trump And His Allies Stumble As Russia Probe Moves Closer To The White House

If Gowdy thought Brennan was going to distance the President from the spreading scandal, his move backfired. “I saw information and intelligence that was worthy of investigation by the [FBI] to determine whether or not such cooperation or [collusion] was taking place,” Brennan said. When pressed by the retreating Gowdy on whether he meant Trump in particular, Brennan said he wasn’t referring to “any individuals” but wouldn’t rule Trump out, either. The damage was done.

For Trump, his aides and his allies in Congress, the investigation into Russia’s election meddling gets worse by the day. The leaks about the probe are bad enough, with suspicion moving daily closer to the President. But as Republicans scramble, ad hoc, to counter the constant revelations, much of the damage has been self-inflicted.

This story is from the June 5,2017 edition of Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the June 5,2017 edition of Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM TIMEView All
The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Pioneers
Time

The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Pioneers

America Ferrera Kennedy Odede Ophelia Dahl Sharon Lavigne Sam Tsemberis Lesley Lokko Stuart Orkin Asma Khan Priyamvada Natarajan Yoshua Bengio + more

time-read
10 mins  |
April 29, 2024
The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Icons
Time

The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Icons

Taraji P. Henson Jenni Hermoso Michael J. Fox Sofia Coppola Burna Boy Thelma Golden Elliot Page Mark Cuban Kylie Minogue Hayao Miyazaki + more

time-read
10+ mins  |
April 29, 2024
The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Innovators
Time

The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Innovators

Jensen Huang Rachel Hardeman Akiko Iwasaki Shawn Fain Maya Rudolph Dominique Crenn Marina Tabassum Dave Ricks Tory Burch Siya Kolisi + more

time-read
10+ mins  |
April 29, 2024
The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Leaders
Time

The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Leaders

Yulia Navalnaya Ajay Banga William Ruto Rena Lee Andriy Yermak Donald Tusk William Lai William Burns Narges Mohammadi Marina Silva + more

time-read
10+ mins  |
April 29, 2024
The 100 Most Influential People in the World -Titans
Time

The 100 Most Influential People in the World -Titans

Patrick Mahomes A'ja Wilson Kelly Ripa Donna Langley Satya Nadella Beth Ford Jack Antonoff Kelley Robinson Larry Ellison Max Verstappen + more

time-read
10+ mins  |
April 29, 2024
The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Artists
Time

The 100 Most Influential People in the World - Artists

Dua Lipa James McBride Da'Vine Joy Randolph Alex Edelman Dev Patel Lauren Groff Alia Bhatt Jeffrey Wright 21 Savage Jenny Holzer + more

time-read
10 mins  |
April 29, 2024
William McRaven The retired admiral who took down Osama bin Laden on why U.S. leadership matters, the AI race, and what he's going to do with $50 million
Time

William McRaven The retired admiral who took down Osama bin Laden on why U.S. leadership matters, the AI race, and what he's going to do with $50 million

You recently received the Bezos Courage and Civility Award, with $50 million to give to charities of your choice. How are you planning to use it? Almost all of this is going to be focused on veterans and their families the children who've lost fathers and mothers in combat. And the other area is mental health for servicemen. What don't the VA and the military health care system cover?

time-read
2 mins  |
April 08, 2024
The real Carmichael show
Time

The real Carmichael show

JERROD CARMICHAEL HAD BEEN a famous comedian for almost a decade when he dropped his average-dude persona and started being real. In his 2022 special, Rothaniel, he came out as gay, speaking with rueful humor about internalized homophobia and his fractured relationship with his devoutly Christian mother. It was a creative turning point as well as a personal one.

time-read
1 min  |
April 08, 2024
A jumbled parable with a glowing core
Time

A jumbled parable with a glowing core

EVEN WHEN A MOVIE IS FAR FROM PERFECT, YOU CAN tell when a director has poured his soul into it. Dev Patel's directorial debut Monkey Man-he's also the movie's star-is trying too hard, and for too much. It wants to be a political allegory, a somber study of a man haunted by childhood trauma, a clarion blast of inspiration for downtrodden humans seeking to summon strength, and last but hardly least, a brutally exhilarating action entertainment.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 08, 2024
The pacifist gospel of Civil War
Time

The pacifist gospel of Civil War

OUTSIDE OF ATLANTA, A CREAKY WHITE VAN WEAVED down a highway lined with abandoned cars. A helicopter sat in the parking lot of a charred JCPenney. Armed guards in military fatigues patrolled checkpoints. A death squad dumped corpses into a mass grave. Artillery boomed in the offing.

time-read
5 mins  |
April 08, 2024