Houthis reject Yemen government’s proposal over Sanaa airport

Rimbo, Sweden – Yemen’s Houthi rebels have rejected a proposal by the Yemeni government to re-open Sanaa international airport, saying the offer tabled was not in “accordance to international standards”.

The Yemeni government proposed to reopen the facility on Friday but said one of its conditions was that planes be inspected in Aden or Seiyoun airport, which are under the control of a Saudi-UAE coalition at war with the Shia movement.

Marwan Dammaj, a member of the government delegation, said the facility in Sanaa would only be re-opened to domestic flights to put “an end to the people’s suffering regarding transportation”.

The airport has been under Houthi control since 2014, and has been repeatedly bombed the alliance, with planes, the runway and the main terminal building suffering severe damage.

“We came here to find a solution in opening the airport in Sanaa,” Dammaj told Al Jazeera.

“What we are asking is: ‘Is this in the interest of people or not?’ We are not here to reward the Houthis, we are here for peace.”

Yemen’s warring sides have been meeting in the Swedish town of Rimbo since Thursday for talks aimed at discussing ways to end the fighting that has killed an estimated 56,000 people and left a staggering 22 million needing humanitarian assistance.

Closing the airport doesn’t have any military advantages. Instead, it harms only those who are in need for medical treatment.

Osamah Alfakih, director of media, communications and advocacy at Mwatana for Human Rights

‘Unbearable suffering’

The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is seeking to introduce a set of confidence-building measures including large-scale prisoner swaps, negotiations on a ceasefire in Hodeidah and the reopening of Sanaa international airport.

WATCH: Yemen’s warring sides gather in Sweden for peace talks (2:45)

The head of the Houthi delegation at the peace talks, Mohammad Abdul Salam, rejected the government’s proposal, telling Al Jazeera: “The airport should be opened in accordance to international standards,” adding that the rebels would “not accept inspections”.

Osamah Alfakih, the director of media, communications and advocacy at Mwatana for Human Rights, said the closure of the airport had caused “unbearable suffering”, adding it “must come to an end”.

“Closing the airport doesn’t have any military advantages. Instead, it harms only those who are in need for medical treatment”.

Despite the apparent stalemate, the talks in Rimbo, a town some 60km north of the Swedish capital Stockholm, have already yielded breakthroughs, with both sides agreeing to large-scale prisoner swaps.

Hodeidah offensive is still an option

Earlier this week, the Yemeni government said it agreed to a prisoner swap with the Houthis, with media reports suggesting as many as 2,000 pro-government forces could be exchanged for 1,500 Houthis.

But the fate of Hodeidah, a city on Yemen’s western coast that houses the country’s most valuable port, could be a major stumbling block.

Following months of deadly battles in the city, the Houthis told Al Jazeera they were willing to hand over the strategic port to the UN in exchange for a ceasefire.

They haven’t, however, commented on whether they would leave the city.

The Yemeni government warned that if the rebels refused, a military offensive was still on the table.

“We are attending these negotiations in response to calls by the international community, the UN and the UN envoy. We are still looking into means towards peace,” Othman Al Mujalli, Yemen’s agriculture minister said.

“But if they [the Houthis] are not responsive, we have many options, including one that involves launching a military offensive,” Al Mujalli added.

‘Alternative to the narrative of conflict’

Abdul Malik al-Ajri, a senior Houthi leader, told Al Jazeera: “If we are to agree, we need a governing authority that represents all of Yemen and to which all parties will hand over weapons.”

Abdul Salam, the head of the Houthi delegation, added that the port “must be kept out of any military operation”.

He told Al Jazeera that a new government should be “formed first, before all parties are disarmed”.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, who has engaged in intensive diplomacy between the two sides for months, has urged the two sides to be “realistic” and “deliver a message at peace”.

“The people of Yemen know the desperate situation they face on a daily basis,” Griffiths said at at the start of the talks.

“The discussions we have will offer an alternative to the narrative of conflict,” the envoy said.

According to aid groups, the stakes could not be higher. The beginning of the talks coincided with the release of a World Food Programme survey, which found 20 million people are going hungry and are in urgent need of food assistance.

According to recent estimates, as many as 85,000 children may have died from hunger since the begining of the war in March 2015.

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Palestinian self-home-demolitions: ‘A new level of depravity’

Wadi Qadoum, occupied East Jerusalem – Murad and Johar Hashimeh spent most of Friday removing all the furniture, clothes and other belongings from a room of their modest home in East Jerusalem’s Wadi Qadoum neighbourhood.

On Saturday, a bulldozer is set to arrive to demolish the room they’ve lived in for more than 20 years.

In 1998, the Palestinian brothers built an addition to the small home they grew up in to make it large enough for them and their wives and kids.

After they built the addition, they split the entire space into two apartments for each of their families.

Soon after, they received a notification from the Israeli authorities stating that the additional section they built lacked the required building permit and must be demolished.

“Unfortunately obtaining a permit requires difficult procedures and the costs are too high,” 38-year-old Murad told Al Jazeera.

Murad is a father of four and unemployed. His lungs, he said, work at a 20 percent capacity and he cannot hold a job.

After exhausting all legal options in June, when the Israeli court ruled that additional floor must be demolished before December 10, Murad and Johar made the difficult decision to demolish the additional apartments themselves.

Self-demolition is the cheaper option, Murad said, adding that if the room were not demolished before the deadline, the Israeli authorities would do it anyway, as well as impose a fine and jail time for his brother Johar.

Saturday’s demolition and the moving of furniture will cost the family around about $10,000. If they chose not to demolish the building, they would be fined about $16,000 by Israel.

“This is going be a hard reality for us also because it is winter and I have little children, and also we will be all living in one room and with the kids going to school it is going be very difficult,” Murad’s wife, Oum Taqi, told Al Jazeera.

She added that her family have made plans to stay with her parents for now.

The brothers worry about the part of the home spared from the demolition. They said the walls will probably crack from the force of the bulldozer, adding that the original part of their home won’t be suitable for living.

“I, at the moment, will go to my in-laws and I hope that they bear with me until we are able to sort our situation,” Johar told Al Jazeera.

The older brother and his wife have six children. He works part-time in a bakery.

Home demolitions are common in occupied East Jerusalem.

According to Israeli human rights organisation B’tselem, Israel has demolished 782 homes in the past several years leaving more than 2,000 Palestinians homeless. About 103 additional homes, soon to be 104, were destroyed by the owners to avoid fines.

Restrictive Israeli policies on home construction in East Jerusalem are part of a wider two-tiered discriminatory Israeli plan aimed at solidifying a Jewish majority in Jerusalem, according to Human Rights Watch.

“Residency revocations are part of a range of policies that include unlawful settlement expansion, home demolitions, and restrictions on building in the city that have shifted the demographics in East Jerusalem.” an HRW report said.

The Hashimeh family has received some support from donors in the US and elsewhere.

A crowdfunding campaign has raised just over $2,000 to help the family with the demolition.

“It is a whole new level of depravity when an oppressor makes their victims pay for their own oppression, which is what Israel does by sending bills to Palestinians whose homes were demolished,” Nora Lester Morad, who helped organised the campaign, told Al Jazeera.

“But self-demolition goes even further. It forces Palestinians to participate in the violation of their own rights and physically implement their own dispossession. Self-home-demolition is one of the many types of injustices that Israel does that are not well known outside of Palestine,” she added.

Back in Wadi Qadom, Oum Taqi’s hope now is that other families won’t have to endure the same situation.

“Of course I do not wish this situation on anyone,” she said. “I hope Allah keeps it away from others.”

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Highlights: Watch Jimmy Butler Drop 38 as 76ers Beat Pistons Without Joel Embiid

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Jimmy Butler remained red-hot on Friday night with 38 points on 13-of-27 shooting in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ 117-111 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Since being held to 18 combined points against the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards on Nov. 28 and 30, Butler is averaging 32.3 points over the past three games.

His scoring output was particularly helpful to the Sixers against Detroit with Joel Emiid getting a night off to rest.

Philadelphia also earned a much-needed win on the road behind Butler’s dominant night. This is the team’s fifth victory in 13 games away from Wells Fargo Center.

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Winners and Losers of Cavs-Bucks-Wizards Three-Team Trade

Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) shoots as Milwaukee Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) defends in the first half during an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

As the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to embrace their rebuild, the Milwaukee Bucks are improving both their current roster and future finances.

According to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst, the Bucks are set to receive veteran point guard George Hill from the Cavaliers and power forward Jason Smith from the Washington Wizards. The Cavaliers in return will get a protected 2021 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick from Milwaukee, a 2022 second-round pick from Washington, point guard Matthew Dellavedova and center John Henson. The Wizards will pick up forward Sam Dekker and a 2021 second-round pick from the Cavs.

After believing they could still compete for a playoff spot in the East entering the season without LeBron James, the Cavs have seemingly accepted their fate following a trade of Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz and now shipping Hill to Milwaukee. The Bucks, in second place in the East, traded their next available first-round pick to strengthen their rotation and shed some salary in the process. The 11-14 Wizards, well, shave off their luxury-tax bill.

With the dust finally settled, here are the winners and losers.

Winners

George Hill

For the second straight season, Hill has been traded from NBA bottom-feeder to serious playoff contender.

After leaving a good Utah Jazz team in free agency for a huge payday with the Sacramento Kings (three years, $57 million) in 2017, Hill will likely once again end his season in the playoffs.

SACRAMENTO, CA - NOVEMBER 28: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket on George Hill #3 of the Sacramento Kings during their NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on November 28, 2017 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Cavaliers rescued him at the trade deadline last year in a deal for Iman Shumpert, giving Hill his only trip to the Finals. He can start at either guard position for the Bucks, who sit just 3.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for the top seed in the East.

Hill’s time in Cleveland wasn’t going to last beyond this year, anyway. With the drafting of point guard Collin Sexton to be the point guard of the future and Hill’s 2019-2020 salary of $18 million able to be bought out for just $1 million, his days with the Cavaliers were always numbered.

“Sorry I couldn’t get it done when I was here for the Finals, missing that free throw, but it’s nothing but love,” Hill told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “You gotta give the organization thank you, you gotta give my teammates a huge thank you for welcoming me with open arms since I first got here, giving me a chance to play in the NBA Finals, something I’ve never dreamed of.”

Assuming Milwaukee reaches the playoffs, this will be the 10th time Hill has played past mid-April in his 11 professional seasons.

Milwaukee’s Salary Cap

Adding Hill to a playoff rotation is nice, but the Bucks are also setting themselves up to be major players in this summer’s free agency.

Moving Henson and Dellavedova clears about $20 million off Milwaukee’s books for next year, and neither was a given to even see postseason minutes.

Khris Middleton will almost certainly decline his $13 million player option in search of a raise, and Eric Bledsoe’s expiring $15 million deal was set to create some cap room as well.

Buying out Hill’s deal for $1 million is likely, given it would save the Bucks an additional $17 million, opening up nearly $50 million in total projected cap space. This is money that could be used to re-sign Middleton and Bledsoe or chase a star like Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler or Kemba Walker to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

With Malcolm Brogdon also entering restricted free agency, the Bucks needed the extra financial flexibility that they now have by flipping Dellavedova and Henson for Hill and Smith’s expiring $5.5 million deal.

Cavs Fans

If Cleveland has to sit and watch its team plummet from annual Finals participant to tank artists once again, at least adding players with an existing cult following will help.

Dellavedova is one of the most beloved Cavs of the past decade, given his scrappy defensive play and constant energy he brought to both rebuilding and championship teams. He signed on as an undrafted rookie in 2013-14 the year before James returned, easily outplaying first overall pick Anthony Bennett.

When Kyrie Irving was hurt in Game 1 of the 2015 Finals, Dellavedova started at point guard in his place for the rest of the series. He dropped 20 points, five rebounds and four assists in a Game 3 victory that put the Cavs up 2-1 over the heavily favored Golden State Warriors. Without Irving and Kevin Love, the Cavs had no business even winning a game in the series, yet actually held a lead after three games thanks to James and the play of Dellavedova.

“First my quads both cramped. Then my hammies. Then my adductors. I couldn’t move off the training table,” Dellavedova told Windhorst when recalling how fatigued he was after playing 80 total minutes in Games 2 and 3. “I was stuck on the table. I had the IV in and I was still cramping. They helped me to the cold tub and I just collapsed in it for 20 minutes.”

There won’t be heroic Finals performances from Dellavedova in Cleveland anytime soon, but his presence and hustle will make the season much more enjoyable to watch.

Losers

Sam Dekker

Calling Dekker a loser is a bit unfair, but rather the situation that could have been.

Initial reports coming out about the trade had Dekker heading to Milwaukee, near where he starred at the University of Wisconsin from 2012 to 2015. For Dekker, it seemed like a perfect homecoming and the chance to move from the bottom to the top of the Eastern Conference.

About that…

Dekker will now be heading to the 11-14 Wizards. While it does give him some renewed playoff hope, it’s a stark difference between joining a 16-7 Bucks team.

Dekker’s wife, ESPN’s Olivia Harlan Dekker, best summarized the night in two tweets.

Olivia Harlan Dekker @OliviaDekker

John Henson

Henson won’t be suiting up for the Cavaliers anytime soon as he works to return from November wrist surgery.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that Henson likely won’t be back until after the All-Star break, which now falls after the NBA’s trade deadline.

This makes another trade unlikely for Henson, meaning following his rehab he’ll be back playing for a floundering Cavs team. What’s worse, his spot in the rotation isn’t even guaranteed.

CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 23: Tristan Thompson #13 of the Cleveland Cavaliers tries to pass around John Henson #31 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena on March 23, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowled

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Despite being young enough (turning 28 this month) to still fit into a rebuild, Henson will enter into a logjam of centers for Cleveland. Tristan Thompson is playing the best basketball of his career (11.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists). Larry Nance Jr. just signed a four-year, $45 million contract extension with the Cavs in October, and second-year big man Ante Zizic should get some run this season as well.

Henson was a regular staple of Milwaukee’s second unit and has a lot of work to do to even make it to Cleveland’s.

Atlanta Hawks

The chances of the Hawks actually collecting the 2019 first-round pick owed to them by the Cavs in the 2017 Kyle Korver trade continues to plummet.

Cleveland gets to keep the pick if the selection falls in the top 10 overall, a situation that seemed possible following James’ signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, as the Cavaliers showed no signs of rebuilding when entering the season, it looked as if the pick may still wind up in Atlanta this year.

Now with Korver, Hill and Dekker all gone and Henson not able to play until at least February, the Cavaliers are cementing themselves in the bottom 10, if not bottom five, teams in the league. JR Smith, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and even Kevin Love could be traded by the end of the season as well.

This is great for Cleveland with what looks to be a top-heavy draft and it pushes the Hawks pick back to next year (again top-10 protected) or converts to second round picks in 2021 and 2022 after that.

Greg Swartz covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

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‘Individual-1’ memes are everywhere after prosecutors suggest ‘substantial’ prison time for Cohen

By Morgan Sung2018-12-08 00:16:33 UTC

Grab your popcorn. Refill your tea. Individual-1 is getting meme’d.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York filed separate memos recommending “substantial” prison time for Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in August, and last week pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.

And because Twitter is collectively a messy bitch who lives for drama, Twitter users jumped straight to reaction gifs.

The court documents from both Mueller’s office and the federal prosecutors refer to someone called “Individual-1” who just happened to run an “ultimately successful campaign for President of the United States.”

So … we all know who that is.

According to the filings, Individual-1 and Cohen discussed contacting the Russian government.

Soon after the documents were released, Twitter users turned Individual-1 into a meme.

Individual 1 is having a tough day already.

— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) December 7, 2018

But isn’t each of us an Individual-1, in our own way? Tonight on Fox News we’ll explore

— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) December 7, 2018

Scary time now to be Individual-1 Jr.

— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) December 7, 2018

Man. Individual 1 is so fucked

— Angry WH Staffer (@AngrierWHStaff) December 7, 2018

I don’t follow him here, so can someone update me on the mental health of Individual 1 right now?

— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) December 7, 2018

Individual 1 must be dropping a number 2 in his pants now.

— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) December 7, 2018

Does Sharper Image still sell Individual-1 Steaks?

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) December 7, 2018

Trump appears to be oblivious to the filings, though. On Friday he tweeted a self-congratulatory message and tossed a quick “Thank you!” into the void.

Totally clears the President. Thank you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018

Seriously, though, someone told him that he’s Individual-1 right?

Individual 1 appears to have not reviewed all of the documents. Individual 1 also believes this is the final word from Mueller/SDNY https://t.co/aKz0AbwSMu

— Yashar Ali (@yashar) December 7, 2018

A picture will help you understand the report, Trixie.

You

⊂_ヽ

　＼＼ are

　　＼( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

　　　 >　⌒ヽ

　　　/ 　へ＼

　　 /　　/　＼＼Individual 1!

　　ﾚ　ノ　　ヽ_つ

　　/　/

　 /　/|

　(　(ヽ

　|　|、＼

　| 丿＼ ⌒)

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— Hcc (@ClatisC) December 7, 2018

Mueller’s office didn’t recommend a specific duration of time for Cohen’s sentence, but the SDNY prosecutors recommended 51 to 63 months for “willful tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, illegal campaign contributions, and making false statements to Congress.”

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DeMarcus Cousins Will Rehab from Achilles Injury in G League, Says Steve Kerr

Golden State Warriors' DeMarcus Cousins laughs during a media conference Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Oakland, Calif. Cousins signed a one-year, $5.3M deal with the defending champion Warriors. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Ben Margot/Associated Press

As DeMarcus Cousins continues to rehab from his torn Achilles, the Golden State Warriors will let the All-Star center get work in with their G League affiliate when he’s ready for increased basketball activities.

Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters Cousins would start practicing with the Santa Cruz Warriors “in the next couple weeks” and that it is a “possibility” he will eventually play in games with the team before returning to the NBA squad.

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina

Steve Kerr with the latest on DeMarcus Cousins’ progress https://t.co/k7cTbJsh32

Per Logan Murdock of the Bay Area News Group, Cousins is expected to make his Golden State debut at some point after Christmas.

Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Cousins took part in a five-on-five scrimmage following a Warriors practice on Sunday and noted “he could play now and contribute” if the playoffs were starting.

Cousins has been out of action since Jan. 26 when he tore his Achilles during a New Orleans Pelicans win over the Houston Rockets. The four-time All-Star signed a one-year deal with the Warriors in July. He’s averaged 21.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in his nine-year NBA career.

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These sunglasses from Bose double as speakers

Ryan Sedmak

16 minutes ago

Bose designed a pair of sunglasses that have a built-in speaker system.

Stream music, connect to virtual assistants, and make calls, all while staying shady and looking cool.

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Epic Rap Battles of History video pits Elon Musk against Mark Zuckerberg

Oooohhhhhh, the Epic Rap Battles of History video guys are back after a two-year hiatus, and they’re coming for two of the most shade-able figures in the tech world: Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.

Epic Rap Battles is a video series that pits public figures against each other with fictional and non-fictional beefs. In 2016, their two rhyme spitters where none other than, you guessed it, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

This time around, the robotic Zuckerberg faces off against the pompous Musk. Each brags about their achievements, and rags on the other for their personal and professional, erm, shortcomings.

“I’m making brilliant innovations in a race against the dark ages,” raps fake Musk. “You provide a place to discover your aunt’s kinda racist.”

“I’ll end your story like Snapchat —ghost!” the rapping Zuckerberg spits. “Elon you’re nothing/ but an attention seeking outcast/And your star is faded/like you on a podcast.”

Daanggg.

Musk and Zuckerberg are two CEOs who couldn’t be more diametrically opposed in their public personas. They did feud over a Facebook satellite Elon Musk happened to blow up, once. And Elon Musk took part in the #DeleteFacebook movement by removing some of his company’s Facebook pages. But the two billionaires mostly stay out of each other’s hair.

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Report: Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, More Traded to Cavs for George Hill

Milwaukee Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) drives against Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 13, 2017, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

The Milwaukee Bucks reportedly agreed to trade guard Matthew Dellavedova and center John Henson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for point guard George Hill on Friday, according to The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania.

ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski added that the Bucks are also shipping a 2021 first-round pick and 2021 second-round pick to Cleveland.

The Bucks will also receive swingman Sam Dekker, according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst.

Wojnarowski noted getting a deal done Friday is important because it allows the players to be moved again before the trade deadline, if necessary.

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the Bucks dealt Dellavedova after rumors surfaced in late June that the team had put him on the trade block, per basketball writer Gery Woelfel.

The 27-year-old point guard made a minimal impact with the team last season, averaging 4.3 points and 3.8 assists in 18.7 minutes per game. He played in just 38 contests, starting only three.

This season, the Australian has logged just 97 minutes across 12 games.

For a player making $9.6 million this season and next season, that output simply wasn’t worth the cost.

And with Eric Bledsoe still in Milwaukee and rookie combo guard Donte DiVincenzo expected to make an immediate impact, Dellavedova became expendable.

At his best, Dellavedova is a solid defender who is decent from range (38.7 percent shooter from three in his career). He’ll be a good option coming off the Cleveland bench behind rookie Collin Sexton, and the draft-pick sweeteners the Cavaliers received will help soften the blow of the big contract they just added to their balance sheet.

The Bucks, meanwhile, will welcome Hill’s defensive savvy and shot-making (46.4 percent from three this season) to a backcourt rotation that was in need of a more versatile and dependable option behind Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon.

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The Mueller indictments so far: Lies, trolls and hacks

Since former FBI chief Robert Mueller was appointed to probe potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russians during the 2016 campaign, the special counsel has held Americans spellbound. His investigation has exposed illegal schemes across international borders and produced more than 100 criminal charges. Inside the White House, the probe has, at times, consumed President Donald Trump and his inner circle. Here are all the people Mueller has charged so far.

The first indictment, under seal.

Nearly five months after the special counsel officially began his work, Mueller filed his first charge, accusing the foreign policy advisor to Trump’s campaign of lying to the FBI. According to Mueller, Papadopolous told an Australian diplomat in 2016 that Russia had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton months before the Democratic candidate’s internal campaign emails started leaking online.

As part of his plea deal with Mueller, Papadopoulos admitted that he discussed his Russia contacts with top campaign officials, including a possible meeting between candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House sought to distance itself from Papadopoulos before he was eventually sentenced to 14 days in prison. Papadopoulos’s indictment and plea deal was kept under seal until Oct. 30, 2017. Read the full indictment here.

Mueller’s first bombshell.

With the Manafort indictment, Mueller ensnared one of the Trump campaign’s top aides and exposed a web of allegedly illicit business dealings between the former campaign chairman and pro-Russian Ukrainian officials that stretched back years. Mueller also indicted Rick Gates, Manafort’s longtime business partner. Manafort was eventually convicted on eight counts of tax and bank fraud, and later pleaded guilty to committing a conspiracy against the United States and a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

As part of his plea deal, Manafort agreed to cooperate with Mueller. But the special counsel eventually ripped up the agreement, accusing Manafort of lying repeatedly to investigators and requesting that the court move quickly to sentence the longtime GOP lobbyist. Read the full indictment here.

Mueller searches for the Trump-Kremlin connection.

Flynn’s guilty plea signaled that the special counsel was looking into communications at the highest levels of the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.

Flynn, who served a brief 24 days as Trump’s national security adviser, admitted that he lied to federal investigators about conversations he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition about sanctions President Obama had just imposed on Russia for its interference in the 2016 elections and entered a plea deal with Mueller. After Flynn’s guilty plea, the retired military officer met 19 times with investigators, offering “substantial assistance,” according to a Mueller court filing. The special counsel recommended little to no jail time for Flynn. Read the full indictment here.

Dec. 02, 2017 – Feb. 11, 2018

Mueller interviews Trump world.

During this period, Mueller’s team interviewed several key figures in Trump’s orbit, including then-White House communications director Hope Hicks, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and George Nader, a businessman with connections to the United Arab Emirates.

The stolen bank accounts that fueled Russia’s meddling.

Pinedo is a California resident who pleaded guilty to selling stolen bank account information to Russian internet trolls who allegedly used the credentials to buy internet ads to sow division among Americans during the election. His company, Auction Essistance, sold bank account numbers that could be used to set up accounts online, likely with PayPal. Pinedo knew that many of his customers were abroad and he admitted he “willfully and intentionally avoided learning” about the stolen identities. His sentence, six months of prison and six months of home confinement, is the longest sentence Mueller has secured. Read the full indictment here.

The Russian “troll farm” that tried to divide America.

Mueller’s first indictment of foreign nationals blamed Russia’s Internet Research Agency for orchestrating a “troll farm” that saturated online platforms with posts that vilified Clinton and supported Trump. Beyond the virtual sabotage, Mueller alleged that Russians also physically entered the United States and paid Americans to help them.

As part of the indictment, the special counsel charged two companies that he said funded the IRA, along with thirteen Russian individuals with a broad charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States and other narrower ones, such as tax fraud and identity theft. However, the indictment did not allege that the Russians’ million-dollar propaganda scheme succeeded in swaying votes, which Trump largely took as a sign of vindication. One of the companies, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, hired American lawyers and has pleaded not guilty. Read the full indictment here.

The Dutch lawyer who lied to Mueller.

Alex van der Zwaan is a Dutch lawyer who, according to the special counsel’s office, lied to federal investigators about communications with Rick Gates, Manafort’s business associate, related to a 2012 report meant to shield the pro-Russia Ukrainian president from scrutiny for jailing a political dissident.

Van der Zwaan was later sentenced to 30 days in a low-security prison in Pennsylvania — the first sentence handed out in the Mueller probe — after which he was deported. Read the full indictment here.

Mueller details a massive financial fraud scheme.

The new superseding indictment against Manafort and Gates included a whopping 32 charges of tax and bank fraud. Specifically, Mueller accused the pair of severely understating their income on tax forms, and the timing overlapped with some of Manafort’s work as Trump’s campaign chairman. Read the full indictment here.

Within days, Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI, striking a deal to cooperate with Mueller. Gates, formerly Manafort’s deputy, would go on to serve as a star witness at the trial against Manafort, who was found guilty on eight different counts by an Alexandria, Va., jury. As part of Manafort’s eventual plea deal, Mueller agreed to dismiss the charges that resulted in a hung jury in Virginia.

Ukraine and a secret lobbying campaign.

A new filing in the special counsel investigation alleged that Trump’s former campaign chairman was the mastermind behind a covert group of former prominent European politicians “secretly retained” to promote Ukrainian interests in Washington. According to the document, a member of the so-called “Hapsburg Group,” which was led by a former Austrian chancellor, at one point met with former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden to try and credit a Ukrainian dissident. Read the full filing here.

Feb. 24, 2018 – Jun. 07, 2018

Trump changes lawyers, negotiates Q&A.

After the flurry of activity in February, Mueller’s team takes a four-month break from major public action. During this time period, Mueller’s team is negotiating with Trump’s over a possible in-person interview between the special counsel’s office and the president. Trump also turned over his legal team during this span. Lead attorney John Dowd resigned over disagreements regarding strategy, and Rudy Giuliani took his place, installing a more pugilistic approach toward the special counsel.

“Manafort’s man in Kiev.”

Mueller returned from a nearly four-month hiatus in indictments to charge Manafort again, this time with obstruction of justice due to witness tampering. This was also the first time that the special counsel publicly charged Konstantin Kilimnik, a longtime associate, for aiding Manafort in his attempts to cajole witnesses. Mueller contended that Manafort and Kilimnik contacted witnesses who were slated to testify against Manafort and encouraged them to state that the so-called “Hapsburg Group” only operated in Europe, which would have shielded them from scrutiny under U.S. foreign lobbying laws. But Mueller’s prosecutors had evidence that the group had also operated in the United States. Read the full indictment here.

“Guccifer 2.0″ and the DNC Hack.

The indictment of 12 officials from the Russian government’s military intelligence unit, the GRU, directly connected the 2016 election meddling campaign to the senior Moscow officials. The individuals were charged with conspiring to hack computers of individuals involved with the Democratic Party and the Clinton campaign, including John Podesta, and disseminating emails through the online persona “Guccifer 2.0.”

Even though the indictment was largely symbolic — as the defendants are unlikely to be extradited from Russia — it came just days before an astounding joint press conference in Helsinki, Finland, where Trump refused to condemn Putin over the 2016 election hacking, despite a forceful assessment from the U.S. intelligence community the Russian leader had ordered the operation. “I have great confidence in my intelligence people,” Trump said. “But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.” Read the full indictment here.

Cohen flips, details hush money pay-offs.

On a referral from Mueller’s office, Trump’s former attorney and fixer pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws by paying hush money during the campaign to two women at Trump’s direction in order to cover up alleged extramarital affairs. Cohen admitted that he made the payments “for the purposes of influencing the election.” As part of his deal, Cohen agreed to cooperate informally with Mueller’s team. Read the full document here.

Inauguration tickets or foreign lobbying?

W. Samuel Patten, a Manafort associate, admitted that he paid $50,000 to get inauguration tickets for a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch and another Russian individual. This disclosure was the first official sign that pro-Russian money from foreigners had flowed into the coffers of the Trump inaugural committee to help foreigners gain access to events, which is illegal.

Patten was not charged for the payment, but pleaded guilty to failing to register as a foreign lobbyist in the United States for a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party. He then agreed to cooperate with Mueller. Read the full statement here.

Sep. 1, 2018 – Nov. 28, 2018

Mueller goes dark before the election.

Mueller’s team kept its work mostly behind the scenes in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections.

Cohen admits he lied about Trump Tower Moscow.

Cohen later admitted in a plea deal with Mueller’s team that he had also lied to Congress about business talks to build a Trump Tower in Russia, conceding that the discussions went much later in the campaign than he and and the Trump team had signaled. Cohen also said he kept Trump and his family abreast of the developments with the potential Russia project. Read the full plea deal here.

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