Day 62: The Trump-Manafort relationship is carved in stone — and that has the Trump team scrambling
Paul Manafort was paid tens of millions of dollars by a Vladimir Putin ally to prop up Russian interests, according to the Associated Press.
“According to documents that we’ve reviewed, Paul Manafort secretly worked for a Russian oligarch who wanted him to promote Russian interests,” the AP’s Chad Day tells NPR’s Rachel Martin. “And in particular, he wrote a memo that outlined this kind of vast plan for him to promote Russian interests in the former Soviet republics — and also to specifically benefit the Putin government.
The financial arrangement dates back to at least 2006, when Manafort signed a $10 million yearly contract with Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska, a close Putin ally, Day says. Their business relationship lasted through at least 2009, according to Day’s story for the AP.
The report of Manafort’s pro-Russian work comes days after FBI Director James Comey “confirmed that his agency is investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia” in last year’s U.S. election, as the Two-Way reported. Investigations are also being pursued in Congress.
As early as last August, reports emerged that Manafort was the subject of a U.S. investigation into his dealings in the Ukraine. And in January, The New York Times reported that Trump associates and campaign officials had “repeated contacts with Russian intelligence.”
The idea was for Manafort to counter anti-Russian sentiment and advocate for a pro-Russian agenda in all facets of the United States government: Congress, the State Department and even the White House.
Manafort was hired to join Team Trump in March 2016, as the press release on Trump’s campaign site still indicates.
(New York, NY) March 29th, 2016 — Today Donald J. Trump announced that Paul J. Manafort will serve as his campaign’s Convention Manager. Mr. Manafort is volunteering his considerable insight and expertise because of his belief that Mr. Trump is the right person for these difficult times. He will be responsible for transitioning the Trump campaign’s activities as they relate to Mr. Trump’s nomination at the convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
Manafort stayed with the campaign for many months, eventually replacing Corey Lewandowski as Campaign Chairman.
At the time, Manafort denied any ties to Russia.
And gave a less than confident answer regarding Trump’s financial ties to Russia.
Considering the most recent allegations, as well as the FBI confirming they are investigating the Trump campaign and their ties to Russia (after which Manafort immediately released a statement denying any knowledge or role in leaks or exchange of information), Trump’s team is desperate to put distance between themselves and Manafort. They are now laughably going so far as to try to minimize his actual contributions.
But the facts don’t back that up at all.
It’s not tough to figure out why.
Manafort is a savvy, shady political operative with ties around the world. If investigators even come close to uttering the word “treason” and he envisions himself in a prison jumpsuit behind barbed wire until he dies, flipping on anyone and everyone is a legitimate concern for the Trump team.
Following the craziest single day for a party or president in decades, somehow, things are getting worse.
62 days in, 1400 to go
Follow us on Twitter @TrumpTimer
