2016 United States presidential election

=== Russian involvement ===
{{main|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|Mueller report}}
On December 9, 2016, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] issued an assessment to lawmakers in the US Senate, stating that a Russian entity hacked the DNC and [[John Podesta]]'s emails to assist Donald Trump. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] agreed.<ref name="WashPost12162016">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-blames-putins-personal-grudge-against-her-for-election-interference/2016/12/16/12f36250-c3be-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html |title=FBI in agreement with CIA that Russia aimed to help Trump win White House |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref> President [[Barack Obama]] ordered a "full review" into such possible intervention.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/09/us-election-hacking-russia-barack-obama-review |title=Barack Obama orders 'full review' of possible Russian hacking in US election |last=Washington |first=Spencer Ackerman David Smith in |date=December 9, 2016 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077|access-date=December 10, 2016}}</ref> Director of National Intelligence [[James R. Clapper]] in early January 2017 testified before a Senate committee that Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign went beyond hacking, and included disinformation and the dissemination of [[Fake news website|fake news]], often promoted on social media.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-us-cyber-officials-russia-poses-a-major-threat-to-the-countrys-infrastructure-and-networks/2017/01/05/36a60b42-d34c-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html |title=Top U.S. intelligence official: Russia meddled in election by hacking, spreading of propaganda |date=January 5, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Facebook revealed that during the 2016 United States presidential election, a Russian company funded by [[Yevgeny Prigozhin]], a Russian businessman with ties to [[Vladimir Putin]],<ref name="Prigozhin"/> had purchased advertisements on the website for US$100,000,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Facebook Says Russian Accounts Bought $100,000 in Ads During the 2016 Election |url=http://time.com/4930532/facebook-russian-accounts-2016-election/ |magazine=Time |date=September 6, 2017}}</ref> 25% of which were geographically targeted to the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cloud|first1=David S|last2=Pierson|first2=David|title=Facebook will provide ads bought by Russian company to congressional committees investigating Trump ties|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-facebook-russia-20170921-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 21, 2017}}</ref>

President-elect Trump originally called the report fabricated.<ref name="nyt-20161210">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/us/politics/trump-mocking-claim-that-russia-hacked-election-at-odds-with-gop.html |title=Trump, Mocking Claim That Russia Hacked Election, at Odds with G.O.P. |last=Sanger |first=David E. |date=December 10, 2016 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 10, 2016}}</ref> [[Julian Assange]] said the Russian government was not the source of the documents.<ref name=wapo-20121609>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html |title=Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |last1=Entous |first1=Adam |last2=Nakashima |first2=Ellen |last3=Miller |first3=Greg |date=December 9, 2016}}</ref> Days later, Trump said he could be convinced of the Russian hacking "if there is a unified presentation of evidence from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies."<ref name="WSJ12182016">{{cite web |author=Damian Paletta & Kate O'Keeffe |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/priebus-says-donald-trump-wants-fbi-view-on-russia-hacking-accusations-1482084741 |title=Donald Trump's Team Tones Down Skepticism on Russia Hacking Evidence |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=December 18, 2016}}</ref>

Several U.S. senators—including Republicans [[John McCain]], [[Richard Burr]], and [[Lindsey Graham]]—demanded a congressional investigation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/entry/chuck-schumer-russia-investigation_us_584c1f4de4b0e05aded4329f |title=Chuck Schumer Calls For Investigation Into Russian Interference In The Election |last=Levine |first=Sam |date=December 10, 2016 |website=[[HuffPost]] |access-date=December 10, 2016}}</ref> The [[Senate Intelligence Committee]] announced the scope of their [[:File:Joint Statement on Committee Inquiry into Russian Intelligence Activities.pdf|official inquiry]] on December 13, 2016, on a bipartisan basis; work began on January 24, 2017.<ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=January 24, 2017 |title= SSCI Statement on Inquiry into Russian Intelligence Activities after Committee Meeting Today |url=https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/press/ssci-statement-inquiry-russian-intelligence-activities-after-committee-meeting-today|location=Washington |publisher= US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|access-date=2020-08-11}}</ref>

A formal [[Mueller special counsel investigation|Special Counsel investigation]] headed by former FBI director [[Robert Mueller]] was initiated in May 2017 to uncover the detailed interference operations by Russia, and to determine whether any people associated with the Trump campaign were complicit in the Russian efforts. When questioned by [[Chuck Todd]] on ''[[Meet the Press]]'' on March 5, 2017, Clapper declared that intelligence investigations on Russian interference performed by the [[FBI]], [[CIA]], [[NSA]] and his [[ODNI]] office had found no evidence of collusion between the [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|Trump campaign]] and Russia.<ref name=todd-clapper>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-clapper-no-evidence-of-collusion-between-trump-and-russia-890509379597 |title=Full Clapper: 'No Evidence' of Collusion Between Trump and Russia |work=[[Meet the Press]] |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=March 5, 2017 |access-date=March 6, 2017}}</ref> Mueller concluded his investigation on March 22, 2019, by submitting his report to Attorney General [[William Barr]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Special Counsel Mueller submits report to attorney general|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/special-counsel-mueller-submits-report-to-attorney-general-1463392323611|work=[[NBC News]]|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=March 22, 2019}}</ref>

On March 24, 2019, Barr submitted [[Barr letter|a letter]] describing Mueller's conclusions,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/402973302/Letter |title=Letter |website=Scribd |access-date=March 24, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/24/attorney-general-william-barr-to-release-mueller-russia-probe-findings.html |title=Trump did not collude with Russia, says Mueller, and is cleared of obstruction by the attorney general |last=Kimball |first=Jacob Pramuk, Spencer |date=March 24, 2019 |website=[[CNBC]] |access-date=March 24, 2019}}</ref> and on April 18, 2019, a redacted version of the [[Mueller report]] was released to the public. It concluded that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election did occur "in sweeping and systematic fashion" and "violated U.S. criminal law."<ref name="NPRcongress">{{Cite news |last1=Inskeep |first1=Steve |last2=Detrow |first2=Scott |last3=Johnson |first3=Carrie |last4=Davis |first4=Susan |last5=Greene |first5=David |title=Redacted Mueller Report Released; Congress, Trump React |newspaper=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/18/714667960/redacted-mueller-report-is-released |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name=Yale>{{Cite web |title=The Mueller Report |url=https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/mueller-report |work=YaleGlobal Online |date=May 19, 2021 |publisher=[[MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies]]}}</ref>

The first method detailed in the final report was the usage of the [[Internet Research Agency]], waging "a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton."<ref name=AFPpoints>{{Cite news |title=Main points of Mueller report |url=https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1 |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |access-date=April 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420143436/https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1 |archive-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref> The Internet Research Agency also sought to "provoke and amplify political and social discord in the United States."<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Shane |last2=Nakashima |first2=Ellen |last3=Timberg |first3=Craig |title=Through email leaks and propaganda, Russians sought to elect Trump, Mueller finds |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/through-email-leaks-and-propaganda-russians-sought-to-elect-trump-mueller-finds/2019/04/18/109ddf74-571b-11e9-814f-e2f46684196e_story.html |date=April 18, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=April 23, 2019}}</ref>

The second method of Russian interference saw the Russian intelligence service, the [[GRU (G.U.)|GRU]], hacking into email accounts owned by volunteers and employees of the Clinton presidential campaign, including that of campaign chairman John Podesta, and also hacking into "the computer networks of the [[Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee]] (DCCC) and the [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC)."<ref name="MuellerGRUhack">''[https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf Mueller Report]'', vol. I, p. 4: At the same time that the IRA operation began to focus on supporting candidate Trump in early 2016, the Russian government employed a second form of interference: cyber intrusions (hacking) and releases of hacked materials damaging to the Clinton Campaign. The Russian intelligence service known as the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Army (GRU) carried out these operations. In March 2016, the GRU began hacking the email accounts of Clinton Campaign volunteers and employees, including campaign chairman John Podesta. In April 2016, the GRU hacked into the computer networks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The GRU stole hundreds of thousands of documents from the compromised email accounts and networks. Around the time that the DNC announced in mid-June 2016 the Russian government's role in hacking its network, the GRU began disseminating stolen materials through the fictitious online personas "DCLeaks" and "Guccifer 2.0." The GRU later released additional materials through the organization WikiLeaks.</ref> As a result, the GRU obtained hundreds of thousands of hacked documents, and the GRU proceeded by arranging releases of damaging hacked material via the WikiLeaks organization and also GRU's personas "[[DCLeaks]]" and "[[Guccifer 2.0]]."<ref name="InterceptAnnotate">{{Cite web |last1=Mackey |first1=Robert |last2=Risen |first2=James |last3=Aaronson |first3=Trevor |title=Annotating special counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/04/18/annotating-special-counsel-robert-muellers-redacted-report/ |work=[[The Intercept]] |date=April 18, 2019 |access-date=April 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="ExaminerRussia">{{Cite web |last1=Dunleavy |first1=Jerry |title=Mueller says Russia's GRU stole Clinton, DNC emails and gave them to WikiLeaks |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mueller-says-russias-gru-stole-clinton-dnc-emails-and-gave-them-to-wikileaks |work=[[Washington Examiner]] |date=April 18, 2019 |access-date=April 23, 2019}}</ref>
To establish whether a crime was committed by members of the Trump campaign with regard to Russian interference, the special counsel's investigators "applied the framework of [[Conspiracy (criminal)|conspiracy law]]", and not the concept of "collusion", because collusion "is not a specific offense or theory of liability found in the United States Code, nor is it a term of art in federal criminal law."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Morais |first1=Betsy |title=Collusion by any other name |url=https://www.cjr.org/first_person/trump-mueller-collusion.php |date=April 18, 2019 |work=[[Columbia Journalism Review]] |access-date=April 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>''[https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf Mueller Report]'', vol. I, p. 2: In evaluating whether evidence about the collective action of multiple individuals constituted a crime, we applied the framework of conspiracy law, not the concept of "collusion." In so doing, the Office recognized that the word "collud[e]" was used in communications with the Acting Attorney General confirming certain aspects of the investigation's scope and that the term has frequently been invoked in public reporting about the investigation. But collusion is not a specific offense or theory of liability found in the United States Code, nor is it a term of art in federal criminal law. For those reasons, the Office's focus in analyzing questions of joint criminal liability was on conspiracy as defined in federal law.</ref> They also investigated if members of the Trump campaign "coordinated" with Russia, using the definition of "coordination" as having "an agreement—tacit or express—between the Trump campaign and the Russian government on election interference." Investigators further elaborated that merely having "two parties taking actions that were informed by or responsive to the other's actions or interests" was not enough to establish coordination.<!-- ref name=NYTcompare/ --><ref>''[https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf Mueller Report]'', vol. I, p. 2: In connection with that analysis, we addressed the factual question of whether members of the Trump Campaign "coordinat[ed]"—a term that appears in the appointment order—with Russian election interference activities. Like collusion, "coordination" does not have a settled definition in federal criminal law. We understood coordination to require an agreement—tacit or express—between the Trump Campaign and the Russian government on election interference. That requires more than the two parties taking actions that were informed by or responsive to the other's actions or interests. We applied the term coordination in that sense when stating in the report that the investigation did not establish that the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.</ref>

The Mueller report writes that the investigation "identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign", found that Russia "perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency" and that the 2016 Trump presidential campaign "expected it would benefit electorally" from Russian hacking efforts. Ultimately, "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."<ref name="GlobeGraphic">{{Cite web |last1=Ostriker |first1=Rebecca |last2=Puzzanghera |first2=Jim |last3=Finucane |first3=Martin |last4=Datar |first4=Saurabh |last5=Uraizee |first5=Irfan |last6=Garvin |first6=Patrick |title=What the Mueller report says about Trump and more |url=https://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/graphics/2019/03/mueller-report/ |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name="TIMErelease">{{cite magazine |last1=Law |first1=Tara |title=Here Are the Biggest Takeaways From the Mueller Report |url=http://time.com/5567077/mueller-report-release/ |magazine=Time |access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref>

However, investigators had an incomplete picture of what had really occurred during the 2016 campaign, due to some associates of Trump campaign providing either false, incomplete or declined testimony, as well as having deleted, unsaved or encrypted communications. As such, the Mueller report "cannot rule out the possibility" that information then unavailable to investigators would have presented different findings.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yen |first1=Hope |title=AP Fact Check: Trump, Barr distort Mueller report findings |date=May 2019 |url=https://apnews.com/article/f9c0ab20229140f18ea34e1f15a9f597/ |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lemon |first1=Jason |title=Trump campaign figures deleted communications before Mueller could see them, potentially altering report |url=https://www.newsweek.com/trump-campaign-deleted-communications-mueller-altering-report-1400558 |website=[[Newsweek]] |date=April 18, 2019 |access-date=May 8, 2019}}</ref> In March 2020, the US Justice Department dropped its prosecution of two Russian firms linked to interference in the 2016 election.<ref>{{cite news |title=Justice Department dropping case against Russian firms indicted in Mueller inquiry |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-17/feds-dropping-case-for-2-russian-companies-in-troll-probe |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 17, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Prigozhin">{{cite news |title=DOJ abruptly drops once-heralded prosecution of Russian troll farm initiated by Mueller |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-drops-once-heralded-prosecution-of-russian-troll-farm |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=March 16, 2020}}</ref>