WIRED's Top Stories in November: Another Chapter in Mueller's Report

November was a blockbuster month for special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election—espcially in the final week. On November 26, we saw the manifestation of an earlier big development when George Papadopoulos, the foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign who had struck a deal with the special counsel's office, reported to a Wisconsin prison. That same day, Mueller's office submitted a court filing alleging that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort had lied to investigators, despite agreeing to cooperate with the special counsel's office in a plea deal; the special counsel asked the judge to move immediately to sentencing Manafort.

Then, on November 27, the Guardian reported that Manafort had held talks with Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks (which famously published a cache of emails from the Democratic National Committee during the campaign), during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign—contradicting Manafort's own denials that such meetings took place. And as if all that wasn't enough fuel for this news cycle fire, on November 29, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump hotel deals in Moscow. The big question many have now is, when will we see the release of a comprehensive "Mueller Report"? But as WIRED contributor Garrett Graff points out, Mueller has "been writing the long-anticipated 'Mueller Report' bit by bit, in public, since his very first court filing." While we all wait for more information to come to light, one thing is clear: Mueller knows how it all ends.

Also this month, WIRED staff writer Paris Martineau reports on the pricey war to influence into your Instagram feed, and WIRED's Gear team lets you know of all the best holiday shopping deals.