Chapter 3: The Kremlin Files – Flynn, Comey, and the Special Counsel (Mid–Late 2017)

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The Bear and the Eagle

Volume 1: The Unexpected Victory (2016–2017)

Washington D.C., May 2017

By mid-2017, the Trump administration was unraveling under the weight of its own contradictions. What began as an attempt to reset U.S.–Russia relations soon descended into scandal, investigation, and public suspicion. Central to the drama were three names: Michael Flynn, James Comey, and Robert Mueller—all orbiting the question: Was there collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Russian state?

Michael Flynn – The First Domino

Michael T. Flynn, Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor, lasted just 24 days in office.

A retired Lieutenant General with a controversial reputation for intelligence management under Obama, Flynn had been a vocal critic of “radical Islamic terrorism” and a favourite of Trump’s inner circle. But by late January 2017, he was under FBI scrutiny for private contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition period.

The key issue was his conversation about lifting Obama-era sanctions—a potential violation of the Logan Act, which forbids private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments on behalf of the U.S.

Flynn had reportedly misled Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI about the nature of his communications. On 13 February 2017, he resigned under pressure.

It would later be revealed that Trump had asked FBI Director James Comey to “let Flynn go,” an event Comey documented in memos immediately after the meeting (Comey, 2018; NYT, 2017).

The Comey Firing

On 9 May 2017, Trump abruptly fired James Comey, citing his handling of the Clinton email investigation. But in a televised interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Trump openly stated:

“I was going to fire Comey … regardless of recommendation. And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.”
— Donald J. Trump, 11 May 2017 (NBC News, 2017)

This public admission triggered alarm within the Department of Justice.

Within eight days, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert S. Mueller III, a respected former FBI Director, as Special Counsel to oversee the Russia investigation.

Mueller Begins to Move

Mueller was granted a wide remit: to investigate not only Russian interference, but any potential collusion or obstruction of justice. A quiet figure by nature, Mueller began assembling a high-powered legal team with expertise in national security, white-collar crime, and cyber operations.

Putin, watching from Moscow, dismissed the investigation as “political hysteria,” but the Kremlin quietly shifted its posture. Russian state media moved to frame the narrative as “America tearing itself apart,” citing the investigation as evidence of deep dysfunction in the West (RT, 2017).

The Leaks and the Drip

Over the next few months, leaks dominated U.S. headlines. Classified details about Trump’s meetings with Russian officials—including an Oval Office visit by Sergey Lavrov and Kislyak on 10 May 2017—appeared in The Washington Post. Photos showed Trump smiling with the Russians, reportedly boasting about firing “nut job” Comey to relieve “great pressure” from the investigation (WP, 2017).

The public reaction was intense. Congressional committees began issuing subpoenas. The Senate Intelligence Committee demanded testimony from Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Meanwhile, Mueller secured cooperation from former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, arrested under sealed charges and used as a cooperating witness.

Putin Plays the Long Game

While Washington was engulfed in legal drama, Putin pursued a dual-track strategy. Publicly, he denied any state-sponsored meddling. Privately, Russian cyber operations evolved from election disruption to long-term narrative warfare—seeding discord on both the left and right of American political discourse.

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2017, Putin jokingly suggested that “maybe it was American hackers who framed Russia,” and compared blaming Russia to blaming “Jews, or Muslims, or aliens” (CNBC, 2017). His sarcasm deflected blame but underscored his confidence in Western disarray.

Europe Reaffirms Its Independence

As America debated its loyalties and legal frameworks, European leaders grew more assertive. In a widely noted speech in Munich, Angela Merkel declared:

“The times in which we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over… We Europeans must take our fate into our own hands.”
— Angela Merkel, 28 May 2017 (DW, 2017)

The EU accelerated plans for deeper defence cooperation and digital sovereignty. NATO reaffirmed its collective commitments, even as Trump delivered wavering endorsements of Article 5.

Trump’s Strategy of Counterattack

By late 2017, Trump had adopted a defensive and counteroffensive posture. He publicly ridiculed the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt,” while tweeting nearly daily about “fake news” and media conspiracies. In private, according to multiple insiders, Trump asked advisors about his power to pardon himself and family members—an unprecedented legal question in U.S. history (NYT, 2017b).

But the investigation moved forward.

A Relationship Stuck in Limbo

Trump and Putin did not meet again in 2017 after the G20 dinner. Their relationship remained ambiguous—bound by personal admiration, but separated by political reality. U.S. institutions, from Congress to the courts, had begun reasserting their role. Russia’s long-term influence plan had worked—America was polarised, distracted, and entangled.

The cost of power was now being measured in subpoenas, not tweets.

References

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