Paul Manafort

Paul Manafort
Manafort speaks with media prior to the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Born Paul John Manafort Jr.
(1949-04-01) April 1, 1949
New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.
Education Georgetown University (BS, JD)
Political party Republican
Criminal status Found guilty on 8 counts; pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy; awaiting sentence
Spouse(s)
Kathleen Bond (m. 1978)
Children 2
Criminal charge Five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failing to disclose a hidden foreign bank account; two counts of conspiracy

Paul John Manafort Jr. (/ˈmænəfɔːrt/; born April 1, 1949) is an American lobbyist, political consultant, lawyer, and convicted felon. A Republican, he joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign team in March 2016, and was campaign chairman from June to August 2016. On August 21, 2018, Manafort was convicted of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failure to report foreign bank accounts.[1][2][3] On September 14, 2018, he pleaded guilty to an additional two counts of conspiracy, per a plea deal in which he also agreed to cooperate with the Special Counsel investigation.[4][5]

Manafort was an adviser to the U.S. presidential campaigns of Republicans Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bob Dole. In 1980, he co-founded the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone, along with principals Charles R. Black Jr., and Roger J. Stone,[6][7][8] joined by Peter G. Kelly in 1984.[9]

Manafort often lobbied on behalf of foreign leaders such as former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, former dictator of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, former dictator of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko, and Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi.[10][11][12] Lobbying to serve the interests of foreign governments requires registration with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA); however, as of June 2, 2017, Manafort had not registered.[13][14][15] On June 27, he retroactively registered as a foreign agent.[16]

Manafort has been under investigation by multiple federal agencies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has had an active criminal investigation on him since 2014 regarding business dealings while he was lobbying for Yanukovych. He is also a person of interest in the FBI counterintelligence probe looking into the Russian government's interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.

On October 27, 2017, Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates were indicted by a District of Columbia grand jury on multiple charges arising from his consulting work for the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine before Yanukovych's overthrow in 2014.[17] The indictment had been requested by Robert Mueller's special investigation unit.[18][19] Manafort surrendered and was released on bail confined to house arrest.[20] In June 2018, additional charges were filed against Manafort for obstruction of justice and witness tampering that are alleged to have occurred while he was under house arrest, and he was ordered to jail.[21] In February 2018, a new set of indictments were filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging tax evasion and bank fraud.[22] Manafort was brought to trial on those charges in August 2018, and on August 21 he was convicted on eight out of eighteen charges of tax and bank fraud. A mistrial was declared on the other ten, with one juror stating there had been a single holdout on those charges.[23][24] A separate trial on the District of Columbia charges was scheduled for September 2018,[25] though his plea deal with Robert Mueller has negated the need for another trial.[26]

Early life and education

On April 1, 1949, Manafort was born as Paul John Manafort Jr.[27] in the city of New Britain, Connecticut. Manafort's parents are Antoinette Mary Manafort (née Cifalu; 1921–2003) and Paul John Manafort Sr. (1923–2013).[28][29] His grandfather immigrated to the United States from Italy in the early 20th century, settling in Connecticut.[30] He founded the construction company New Britain House Wrecking Company in 1919 (later renamed Manafort Brothers Inc.).[31] His father served in the U.S. Army combat engineers during World War II[29] and was mayor of New Britain from 1965 to 1971.[10] His father was indicted in a corruption scandal in 1981 but not convicted.[32]

In 1967, Manafort graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School, a private Roman Catholic secondary school, since closed, in New Britain, Connecticut.[33] He attended Georgetown University, where he received his B.S. in business administration in 1971 and his J.D. in 1974.[34][35]

Career

Between 1977 and 1980 Manafort practiced law with the firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Washington, D.C.[27]

Political activities

Manafort greeting President Gerald Ford in 1976
Manafort greeting President Ronald Reagan in 1987

In 1976, Manafort was the delegate-hunt coordinator for eight states for the President Ford Committee; the overall Ford delegate operation was run by James A. Baker III.[36] Between 1978 and 1980, Manafort was the southern coordinator for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign, and the deputy political director at the Republican National Committee. After Reagan's election in November 1980, he was appointed Associate Director of the Presidential Personnel Office at the White House. In 1981, he was nominated to the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.[27]

Manafort was an adviser to the presidential campaigns of George H. W. Bush in 1988[37] and Bob Dole in 1996.[38]

Chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign

In February 2016, Manafort approached Donald Trump through a mutual friend, Thomas J. Barrack Jr. He pointed out his experience advising presidential campaigns in the United States and around the world, described himself as an outsider not connected to the Washington establishment, and offered to work without salary.[39] In March 2016, he joined Trump's presidential campaign to take the lead in getting commitments from convention delegates.[40] On June 20, 2016, Trump fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and promoted Manafort to the position. Manafort gained control of the daily operations of the campaign as well as an expanded $20 million budget, hiring decisions, advertising, and media strategy.[41][42][43] Like most hires in the Trump campaign, Manafort was not vetted.[32]

On June 9, 2016, Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner were participants in a meeting with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya and several others at Trump Tower. A British music agent, saying he was acting on behalf of Emin Agalarov and the Russian government, had told Trump Jr. that he could obtain damaging information on Hillary Clinton if he met with a lawyer connected to the Kremlin.[44] At first, Trump Jr. said the meeting had been primarily about the Russian ban on international adoptions (in response to the Magnitsky Act) and mentioned nothing about Mrs. Clinton; he later said the offer of information about Clinton had been a pretext to conceal Veselnitskaya's real agenda.[45]

In August 2016, Manafort's connections to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian Party of Regions drew national attention in the US, where it was reported that Manafort may have received $12.7 million in off-the-books funds from the Party of Regions.[46]

On August 17, 2016, Donald Trump received his first security briefing.[47] The same day, August 17, Trump shook up his campaign organization in a way that appeared to minimize Manafort's role. It was reported that members of Trump's family, particularly Jared Kushner who had originally been a strong backer of Manafort, had become uneasy about his Russian connections and suspected that he had not been forthright about them.[48] Manafort stated in an internal staff memorandum that he would "remain the campaign chairman and chief strategist, providing the big-picture, long-range campaign vision".[49] However, two days later, Trump announced his acceptance of Manafort's resignation from the campaign after Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway took on senior leadership roles within that campaign.[50][51]

Upon Manafort's resignation as campaign chairman, Newt Gingrich stated, "nobody should underestimate how much Paul Manafort did to really help get this campaign to where it is right now."[52] Gingrich later added that, for the Trump administration, "It makes perfect sense for them to distance themselves from somebody who apparently didn't tell them what he was doing."[53]

Lobbying career

In 1980, Manafort was a founding partner of Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone, along with principals Charles R. Black Jr., and Roger J. Stone.[6][7][8][54] After Peter G. Kelly was recruited, the name of the firm was changed to Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (BMSK) in 1984.[9]:124

Manafort left BMSK in 1996 to join Richard H. Davis and Matthew C. Freedman in forming Davis, Manafort, and Freedman.[55]

Association with Jonas Savimbi

Manafort has represented Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi.

In 1985, Manafort's firm, BMSK, signed a $600,000 contract with Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the Angolan rebel group UNITA, to refurbish Savimbi's image in Washington and secure financial support on the basis of his anti-communism stance. BMSK arranged for Savimbi to attend events at the American Enterprise Institute (where Jeane Kirkpatrick gave him a laudatory introduction), The Heritage Foundation, and Freedom House; in the wake of the campaign, Congress approved hundreds of millions of dollars in covert American aid to Savimbi's group.[56] Allegedly, Manafort's continuing lobbying efforts helped preserve the flow of money to Savimbi several years after the Soviet Union ceased its involvement in the Angolan conflict, forestalling peace talks.[56]

Lobbying for other foreign leaders

Manafort was a lobbyist for former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
Manafort lobbied on behalf of former Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko.

Between June 1984 and June 1986, Manafort was a FARA-registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia. The Reagan Administration refused to grant Manafort a waiver from federal statutes prohibiting public officials from acting as foreign agents; Manafort resigned his directorship at OPIC in May 1986. An investigation by the Department of Justice found 18 lobbying-related activities that were not reported in FARA filings, including lobbying on behalf of The Bahamas and Saint Lucia.[57]

Manafort's firm, BMSK, accepted $950,000 yearly to lobby for then-president of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos.[58][59] He was also involved in lobbying for Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaïre,[60] securing a 1 million dollar annual contract in 1989,[61] and attempted to recruit Siad Barre of Somalia as a client.[62] His firm also lobbied on behalf of the governments of the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya (earning between $660,000 and $750,000 each year between 1991 and 1993), and Nigeria ($1 million in 1991). These activities led Manafort's firm to be listed amongst the top five lobbying firms receiving money from human-rights abusing regimes in the Center for Public Integrity report "The Torturers' Lobby".[63]

The New York Times reported that Manafort accepted payment from the Kurdistan Regional Government to facilitate Western recognition of the 2017 Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum.[64]

Involvement in the Karachi affair

Manafort wrote the campaign strategy for Édouard Balladur in the 1995 French elections, and was paid indirectly.[65] The money, at least $200,000, was transferred to him through his friend, Lebanese arms-dealer Abdul Rahman al-Assir, from middle-men fees paid for arranging the sale of three French Agosta-class submarines to Pakistan, in a scandal known as the Karachi affair.[56]

Association with Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence Agency

Manafort received $700,000 from the Kashmiri American Council between 1990 and 1994, supposedly to promote the plight of the Kashmiri people. However, an FBI investigation revealed the money was actually from Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency as part of a disinformation operation to divert attention from terrorism. A former Pakistani ISI official claimed Manafort was aware of the nature of the operation.[66] While producing a documentary as part of the deal, Manafort interviewed several Indian officials while pretending to be a CNN reporter.[67]

HUD scandal

In the late 1980s, Manafort was criticized for using his connections at HUD to ensure funding for a $43 million rehabilitation of dilapidated housing in Seabrook, New Jersey.[68] Manafort's firm received a $326,000 fee for its work in getting HUD approval of the grant, largely through personal influence with Deborah Gore Dean, an executive assistant to former HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce.[69]

Transition to Ukraine

Manafort's involvement in Ukraine can be traced to 2003, when Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska hired Bob Dole, Manafort's prior campaign candidate, to lobby the State Department for a waiver of his visa ban, primarily so that he could solicit otherwise unavailable institutional purchasers for shares in his company, RusAL.[70][71] Then in early 2004, Deripaska met with Manafort's Partner, Rick Davis, also a prior campaign advisor to Bob Dole, to discuss hiring Manafort and Davis to return the former Georgian Minister of State Security, Igor Giorgadze, to prominence in Georgian politics.[72] By December 2004, however, Deripaska shelved his plans in Georgia and dispatched Manafort to meet with Rinat Akhmetov in Ukraine to help Akhmetov and his holding firm, System Capital Management, weather the political crisis brought by the Orange Revolution.[72] Akhmetov would eventually flee to Monaco after being accused of murder, but during the crisis Manafort shepherded Akhemtov around Washington, meeting with U.S. Officials like Dick Cheney.[70][71][72] Meanwhile, the Orange Revolution would push Deripaska to also hire Davis-Manafort, this time to work for Viktor Yanukovych and the Party of Regions.[73]

Lobbying for Viktor Yanukovych and involvements in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, for whom Manafort lobbied

Manafort also worked as an adviser on the Ukrainian presidential campaign of Viktor Yanukovych (and his Party of Regions during the same time span) from December 2004 until the February 2010 Ukrainian presidential election,[74][75][73] even as the U.S. government (and U.S. Senator John McCain) opposed Yanukovych because of his ties to Russia's leader Vladimir Putin.[38] Manafort was hired to advise Yanukovych months after massive street demonstrations known as the Orange Revolution overturned Yanukovych's victory in the 2004 presidential race.[76] Borys Kolesnikov, Yanukovych's campaign manager, said the party hired Manafort after identifying organizational and other problems in the 2004 elections, in which it was advised by Russian strategists.[75] Manafort rebuffed U.S. Ambassador William Taylor when the latter complained he was undermining U.S. interests in Ukraine.[56] According to a 2008 U.S. Justice Department annual report, Manafort's company received $63,750 from Yanukovych's Party of Regions over a six-month period ending on March 31, 2008, for consulting services.[77] In 2010, under Manafort's tutelage, the opposition leader put the Orange Revolution on trial, campaigning against its leaders' management of a weak economy. Returns from the presidential election gave Yanukovych a narrow win over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a leader of the 2004 demonstrations. Yanukovych owed his comeback in Ukraine's presidential election to a drastic makeover of his political persona, and—people in his party say—that makeover was engineered in part by his American consultant, Manafort.[75]

In 2007 and 2008, Manafort was involved in investment projects with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska (the acquisition of a Ukrainian telecoms company) and Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash (redevelopment of the site of the former Drake Hotel in New York City).[78] The Associated Press has reported that Manafort negotiated a $10 million annual contract with Deripaska to promote Russian interests in politics, business, and media coverage in Europe and the United States, starting in 2005.[79] A witness at Manafort's 2018 trial for fraud and tax evasion testified that Deripaska loaned Manafort $10 million in 2010, which to her knowledge was never repaid.[32]

At Manafort's trial, federal prosecutors alleged that between 2010 and 2014 he was paid more than $60 million by Ukrainian sponsors, including Rinat Akhmetov, believed to be the richest man in Ukraine.[32]

In 2013, Yanukovych became the main target of the Euromaidan protests.[80] After the February 2014 Ukrainian revolution (the conclusion of Euromaidan), Yanukovych fled to Russia.[80][81] On March 17, 2014, the day after the Crimean status referendum, Yanukovych became one of the first eleven persons who were placed under executive sanctions on the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN) by President Barack Obama, freezing his assets in the US and banning him from entering the United States.[82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][lower-alpha 1]

Manafort then returned to Ukraine in September 2014 to become an advisor to Yanukovych's former head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Serhiy Lyovochkin.[73] In this role, he was asked to assist in rebranding Yanukovych's Party of Regions.[73] Instead, he argued to help stabilize Ukraine. Manafort was instrumental in creating a new political party called Opposition Bloc.[73] According to Ukrainian political analyst Mikhail Pogrebinsky, "He thought to gather the largest number of people opposed to the current government, you needed to avoid anything concrete, and just become a symbol of being opposed".[73] According to Manafort, he has not worked in Ukraine since the October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[93][94] However, according to Ukrainian border control entry data, Manafort traveled to Ukraine several times after that election, all the way through late 2015.[94] According to The New York Times, his local office in Ukraine closed in May 2016.[46] According to Politico, by then Opposition Bloc had already stopped payments for Manafort and this local office.[94]

In an April 2016 interview with ABC News, Manafort stated that the aim of his activities in Ukraine had been to lead the country "closer to Europe".[95]

Ukrainian government National Anti-Corruption Bureau studying secret documents claimed in August 2016 to have found handwritten records that show $12.7 million in cash payments designated for Manafort, although they had yet to determine if he had received the money.[46] These undisclosed payments were from the pro-Russian political party Party of Regions, of the former president of Ukraine.[46] This payment record spans from 2007 to 2012.[46] Manafort's lawyer, Richard A. Hibey, said Manafort didn't receive "any such cash payments" as described by the anti-corruption officials.[46] The Associated Press reported on August 17, 2016, that Manafort secretly routed at least $2.2 million in payments to two prominent Washington lobbying firms in 2012 on Party of Regions' behalf, and did so in a way that effectively obscured the foreign political party's efforts to influence U.S. policy.[15] Associated Press noted that under federal law, U.S. lobbyists must declare publicly if they represent foreign leaders or their political parties and provide detailed reports about their actions to the Justice Department, which Manafort reportedly did not do.[15] The lobbying firms unsuccessfully lobbied U.S. Congress to reject a resolution condemning the jailing of Yanukovych's main political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko.[96]

Financial records certified in December 2015 and filed by Manafort in Cyprus showed him to be approximately $17 million in debt to interests connected to interests favorable to Putin and Yanukovych in the months before joining the Trump presidential campaign in March.[97] These included a $7.8 million debt to Oguster Management Limited, a company connected to Russian oligarch and close Putin associate Oleg Deripaska.[97] This accords with a 2015 court complaint filed by Deripaska claiming that Manafort and his partners owed him $19 million in relation to a failed Ukrainian cable television business.[97] In January 2018, Surf Horizon Limited, a Cyprus-based company tied to Deripaska, sued Manafort and his business partner Richard Gates, accusing them of financial fraud by misappropriating more than $18.9 million that the company had invested in Ukrainian telecom companies, known collectively as the “Black Sea Cable.”[98] An additional $9.9 million debt was owed to a Cyprus company that tied through shell companies to Ivan Fursin, a Ukrainian Member of Parliament of the Party of Regions.[97] Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni maintained in response that "Manafort is not indebted to Deripaska or the Party of Regions, nor was he at the time he began working for the Trump campaign."[97] During the 2016 Presidential campaign, Manafort, via Kiev-based operative Konstantin Kilimnik, offered to provide briefings on political developments to Deripaska, though there is no evidence that the briefings took place.[99][100] Reuters reported on June 27, 2018, that an FBI search warrant application in July 2017 revealed that a company controlled by Manafort and his wife had received a $10 million loan from Deripaska.[101][102]

According to leaked text messages between his daughters, Manafort was also one of the proponents of violent removal of the Euromaidan protesters, which resulted in police shooting dozens of people during 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots. In one of the messages, his daughter writes that it was his "strategy that was to cause that, to send those people out and get them slaughtered."[103]

Manafort has rejected questions about whether Russian-Ukrainian operative Konstantin Kilimnik, with whom he consulted regularly, might be in league with Russian intelligence.[104] According to Yuri Shvets, Kilimnik previously worked for the GRU, and every bit of information about his work with Manafort went directly to Russian intelligence.[105]

2017 activities

Registering as a foreign agent

Lobbying for foreign countries requires registration with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Manafort did not do so at the time of his lobbying. In April 2017, a Manafort spokesman said Manafort was planning to file the required paperwork; however, according to Associated Press reporters, as of June 2, 2017, Manafort had not yet registered.[13][15] On June 27, he filed to be retroactively registered as a foreign agent.[106] Among other things, he disclosed that he made more than $17 million between 2012 and 2014 working for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.[107][108]

China, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador

Early in 2017, Manafort supported Chinese efforts at providing development and investment worldwide and in Puerto Rico and Ecuador.[109] Early in 2017, he discussed possible Chinese investment sources for Ecuador with Lenín Moreno who later obtained loans worth several billion US dollars from the China Development Bank.[109] Manafort acted as the go between for the China Development Bank's investment fund to support bailout bonds for Puerto Rico's sovereign debt financing and other infrastructure items.[109] Also, he advised a Shanghai construction billionaire on obtaining international contracts.[109]

Kurdish independence referendum

In mid-2017, Manafort left the United States in order to help organize the September 25, 2017, Kurdish independence referendum, something that surprised both investigators and the media.[110] He was hired by the Iraqi Kurdish Leader Masoud Barzani's son Masrour Barzani who heads the Kurdish Security Council.[109][111] To help Manafort's efforts in supporting Kurdish freedom and independence, his longtime associate Phillip M. Griffin traveled to Erbil prior to the vote.[109] The referendum was not supported by United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis.[112] Manafort returned to the United States just before both his indictment and the start of the 2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict in which the Peshmerga-led Kurds lost the Mosul Dam and their main revenue source at the Baba GurGur Kirkuk oilfields to Iraqi forces.[113][114]

Homes, home loans and other loans

Manafort's work in Ukraine coincided with the purchase of at least four prime pieces of real estate in the United States, worth a combined $11 million, between 2006 and early 2012.[115] In 2006, Manafort purchased an apartment on the 43rd floor of Trump Tower for a reported $3.6 million.[116] Manafort, however, purchased the unit indirectly, through an LLC named after him and his partner Rick Hannah Davis, "John Hannah, LLC."[117] That LLC, according to court documents in Manafort's indictment, came into existence in April 2006,[118] roughly one month after the Ukrainian parliamentary elections that saw Manafort help bring Yanukovych back to power on March 22, 2006.[119] According to Ukrainian journalist Mustafa Nayyem, the Ukrainian Oligarch sponsoring Yanukovych, Rinat Akhmetov, paid the $3 million purchase price for Manafort's Trump Tower unit for helping win the election.[70] It was not until March 5 of 2015, when Manafort's income from Ukraine dwindled,[120] that Manafort would transfer the property out of John Hannah, LLC, and into his own personal name so that he could take out a $3 million loan against the property.[121]

Since 2012, Manafort has taken out seven home equity loans worth approximately $19.2 million on three separate New York-area properties he owns through holding companies registered to him and his then son-in-law Jeffrey Yohai, a real estate investor.[122] In 2016, Yohai declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy for LLCs tied to four residential properties; Manafort holds a $2.7 million claim on one of the properties.[123]

As of February 2017, Manafort had about $12 million in home equity loans outstanding. For one home, loans of $6.6 million exceeded the value of that home; the loans are from the Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, Illinois, whose CEO, Stephen Calk, was a campaign supporter of Donald Trump and was a member of Trump's economic advisory council during the campaign.[122] In July 2017, New York prosecutors subpoenaed information about the loans issued to Manafort during the 2016 presidential campaign. At the time, these loans represented about a quarter of the bank's equity capital.[124]

The Mueller investigation is reviewing a number of loans that Manafort has received since leaving the Trump campaign in August 2016, specifically, $7 million from Oguster Management Limited, a British Virgin Islands-registered company connected to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, to another Manafort-linked company, Cyprus-registered LOAV Advisers Ltd.[125] This entire amount was unsecured, carried interest at 2%, and had no repayment date. Additionally, NBC News found documents that reveal loans of more than $27 million from the two Cyprus entities to a third company connected to Manafort, a limited-liability corporation registered in Delaware. This company, Jesand LLC, bears a strong resemblance to the names of Manafort's daughters, Jessica and Andrea.[126]

Investigations

FBI and special counsel investigation

The FBI reportedly began a criminal investigation into Manafort in 2014, shortly after Yanukovych was deposed.[127] That investigation predated the 2016 election by several years and is ongoing. In addition, Manafort is also a person of interest in the FBI counterintelligence probe looking into the Russian government's interference in the 2016 presidential election.[128][13]

On January 19, 2017, the eve of the Trump's presidential inauguration, it was reported that Manafort was under active investigation by multiple federal agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Director of National Intelligence and the financial crimes unit of the Treasury Department.[129] Investigations were said to be based on intercepted Russian communications as well as financial transactions.[130] It was later confirmed that Manafort was wiretapped by the FBI "before and after the [2016] election ... including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump." The surveillance of Manafort began in 2014, before Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of United States.[131]

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed on May 17, 2017, by the Justice Department to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and related matters, took over the existing criminal probe involving Manafort.[128][13][132] On July 26, 2017, the day after Manafort's United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing and the morning of his planned hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, FBI agents at Mueller's direction conducted a raid on Manafort's Alexandria, Virginia home, using a search warrant to seize documents and other materials, in regard to the Russian meddling in the 2016 election.[133][134] Initial press reports indicated Mueller obtained a no-knock warrant for this raid, though Mueller's office has disputed these reports in court documents.[135][136] United States v. Paul Manafort was analyzed by attorney George T. Conway III, who wrote that it strengthened the constitutionality of the Mueller investigation.[137]

Congressional investigations

In May 2017, in response to a request of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), Manafort submitted over "300 pages of documents...included drafts of speeches, calendars and notes from his time on the campaign" to the Committee "related to its investigation of Russian election meddling".[138] On July 25, he met privately with the committee.[139]

A congressional hearing on Russia issues, including the Trump campaign-Russian meeting, was scheduled by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for July 26, 2017. Manafort was scheduled to appear together with Trump Jr., while Kushner was to testify in a separate closed session.[140] After separate negotiations, both Manafort and Trump Jr. met with the committee on July 26 in closed session and agreed to turn over requested documents. They are expected to testify in public eventually.[141]

Private Investigation

The Trump–Russia dossier, also known as the Steele dossier,[142] is a private intelligence report comprising investigation memos written between June and December 2016 by Christopher Steele.[143] Manafort is a major figure mentioned in the Trump–Russia dossier, where allegations are made about Manafort's relationships and actions toward the Trump campaign, Russia, Ukraine, and Viktor Yanukovych. The dossier claims:

  • That "the Republican candidate's campaign manager, Paul MANAFORT" had "managed" the "well-developed conspiracy of co-operation between [the Trump campaign] and the Russian leadership", and that he used "foreign policy advisor, Carter PAGE, and others as intermediaries".[144][145][146][147] (Dossier, p. 7)
  • That former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych told Putin he had been making supposedly untraceable[148] "kick-back payments" to Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign manager at the time.[149] (Dossier, p. 20)

Manafort has "denied taking part in any collusion with the Russian state, but registered himself as a foreign agent retroactively after it was revealed his firm received more than $17m working as a lobbyist for a pro-Russian Ukrainian party."[147]

Criminal conviction, guilty plea, and cooperation with Robert Mueller

Manafort's 2018 mug shot
Plea agreement by Paul Manafort providing full cooperation with the Special Counsel
Statement of charges Paul Manafort pleaded guilty and agreed were true, dated September 14, 2018

On October 30, 2017, Manafort was arrested by the FBI after being indicted by a federal grand jury as part of Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign.[150][151] The indictment against Manafort and Rick Gates was issued on October 27, 2017.[151][152] The indictment charged them with engaging in a conspiracy against the United States,[19][152] engaging in a conspiracy to launder money,[19][152] failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts,[19][152] acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal,[19][152] making false and misleading statements in documents filed and submitted under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA),[19][152] and making false statements.[19][152] According to the prosecutors, Manafort laundered more than $18 million.[153][152]

Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to the charges at their court appearance on October 30, 2017.[154][155] The US government asked the court to set Manafort's bail at $10 million and Gates at $5 million.[155] The court placed Manafort and Gates under house arrest after prosecutors described them as flight risks.[156] If convicted on all charges, Manafort could face decades in prison.[157][158]

Following the hearing, Manafort's attorney Kevin M. Downing made a public statement to the press proclaiming his client's innocence while describing the federal charges stemming from the indictment as "ridiculous".[159] Downing defended Manafort's decade-long lobbying effort for pro-Russian, former Ukrainian prime minister Viktor Yanukovych, describing their lucrative partnership as attempts to spread democracy and strengthen the relationship between the United States and Ukraine.[160] Judge Stewart responded by threatening to impose a gag order, saying "I expect counsel to do their talking in this courtroom and in their pleadings and not on the courthouse steps."[161]

On November 30, 2017, Manafort's attorneys said that Manafort had reached a bail agreement with prosecutors that would free him from the house arrest he had been under since his indictment. He offered bail in the form of $11.65 million worth of real estate.[162] While out on bond, Paul Manafort worked on an op-ed with a "Russian who has ties to the Russian intelligence service", prosecutors said in a court filing[163] requesting that the judge in the case revoke Manafort's bond agreement.[164]

On January 3, 2018, Manafort filed a lawsuit challenging Mueller's broad authority and alleging the Justice Department violated the law in appointing Mueller.[165] A spokesperson for the department replied that "The lawsuit is frivolous but the defendant is entitled to file whatever he wants".[166] On January 12, Mueller asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to set Manafort's trial date for May 14, 2018.[167] On January 16, 2018, Jackson denied the government's date for trial indicating that the criminal trial appeared likely to start in September at the earliest.[168] Jackson revealed that a letter from Manafort's physician was submitted to the court, asking for changes in the conditions of Manafort's confinement. "While he's subject to home confinement, he's not confined to his couch, and I believe he has plenty of opportunity to exercise," Jackson said.[168]

On February 2, 2018, the Department of Justice filed a motion seeking to dismiss the civil suit Manafort brought against Mueller.[169] Judge Jackson dismissed the suit on April 27, 2018, citing precedent that a court should not use civil powers to interfere in an ongoing criminal case. She did not, however, make any judgement as to the merits of the arguments presented.[170]

On February 22, 2018, both Manafort and Gates were further charged with additional crimes involving a tax avoidance scheme and bank fraud in Virginia.[22][171] The charges were filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, rather than in the District of Columbia, as the alleged tax fraud overt actions had occurred in Virginia and not in the District.[172] The new indictment alleged that Manafort, with assistance from Gates, laundered over $30 million through offshore bank accounts between approximately 2006 and 2015. Manafort allegedly used funds in these offshore accounts to purchase real estate in the United States, in addition to personal goods and services.[172]

On February 23, 2018, Gates pleaded guilty in federal court to lying to investigators and engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the United States.[173] Through a spokesman, Manafort expressed disappointment in Gates' decision to plead guilty and said he had no similar plans. "I continue to maintain my innocence," he said.[174]

On February 28, 2018, Manafort entered a not guilty plea in the District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Jackson subsequently set a trial date of September 17, 2018, and reprimanded Manafort and his attorney for violating her gag order by issuing a statement the previous week after former co-defendant Gates pleaded guilty.[175] On March 8, 2018, Manafort also pleaded not guilty to bank fraud and tax charges in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Judge T. S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia set his trial on those charges to begin on July 10, 2018.[176] He later pushed the trial back to July 24, citing a medical procedure involving a member of Ellis's family.[177] Ellis also expressed concern that the special counsel and Mueller were only interested in charging Manafort to squeeze him for information that would reflect on Mr. Trump or lead to Trump's impeachment.[178]

Friends of Manafort announced the establishment of a legal defense fund on May 30, 2018, to help pay his legal bills.[179]

On June 8, 2018, Manafort was indicted for obstruction of justice and witness tampering along with long time associate Konstantin Kilimnik.[180] The charges involved allegations that Manafort had attempted to convince others to lie about an undisclosed lobbying effort on behalf of Ukraine's former pro-Russian government. Since this allegedly occurred while Manafort was under house arrest, Judge Jackson revoked Manafort's bail on June 15 and ordered him held in jail until his trial.[181] Manafort was booked into the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, at 8:22 PM on June 15, 2018, where he was housed in the VIP section and kept in solitary confinement for his own safety.[182][183][184][185] On June 22, Manafort's efforts to have the money laundering charges against him dismissed were rejected by the court.[186][187] Citing Alexandria's D.C. suburbia status, abundant and significantly negative press coverage, and the margin by which Hillary Clinton won the Alexandria Division in the 2016 presidential election, Manafort moved the court for a change of venue to Roanoke, Virginia on July 6, 2018, citing Constitution entitlement to a fair and unbiased trial.[188][189] On July 10, Judge T. S. Ellis ordered Manafort to be transferred back to the Alexandria Detention Center, an order Manafort opposed.[190][191] His trial began on July 31, 2018.[192][193]

On July 17, 2018, the Mueller investigation asked Judge Ellis to compel five witnesses, who had not previously been publicly associated with the Manafort case, to testify in exchange for immunity, and Ellis denied Manafort's motion to move the trial to Roanoke, Virginia.[194][195][196]

Trials

The numerous indictments against Manafort have been divided into multiple trials.

Trial in Virginia

Manafort's trial in the Eastern District of Virginia began on July 31, 2018.[197][192] On August 21, the jury found Manafort guilty on eight of the eighteen charges, while the judge declared a mistrial on the other ten.[23] He was convicted on five counts of tax fraud, one of the four counts of failing to disclose his foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud.[198] The jury was hung on three of the four counts of failing to disclose, as well as five counts of bank fraud, four of them related to the Federal Savings Bank of Chicago run by Stephen Calk.[199]

Trial in District of Columbia

Manafort's trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was scheduled to begin in September 2018.[25] He was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering, failing to register as a foreign lobbyist, making false statements to investigators, and witness tampering.[200] On September 14, 2018, Manafort entered into a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering.[201] He also agreed to forfeit to the government more than $22 million in cash and property,[202] and to co-operate fully with the Special Counsel.[203]

Personal life

Manafort has been married to Kathleen Bond Manafort since August 12, 1978; she graduated from George Washington University with a B.B.A. in 1979, became an attorney after graduating from Georgetown Law School with a J.D. and passing her Virginia Bar exam in 1988, and became a member of the DC Bar in 1991.[204] They have two daughters Jessica (born 1982) and Andrea (born 1985).[103][204]

See also

Notes

  1. The individuals on the first list of United States sanctions for individuals or entities involved in the Ukraine crisis are Sergey Aksyonov, Sergey Glazyev, Andrei Klishas, Vladimir Konstantinov, Valentina Matviyenko, Victor Medvedchuk, Yelena Mizulina, Dmitry Rogozin, Leonid Slutsky, Vladislav Surkov, and Victor Yakunovich.[84][87]

References

  1. Zapotosky, Matt; Bui, Lynh; Jackman, Tom; Barrett, Devlin (August 21, 2018). "Manafort convicted on 8 counts; mistrial declared on 10 others". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  2. McCarthy, Tom; Jacobs, Ben (August 21, 2018). "Paul Manafort: Trump's ex-campaign chair guilty on eight counts of fraud". The Guardian. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  3. LaFraniere, Sharon (August 21, 2018). "Paul Manafort, Trump's Former Campaign Chairman, Guilty of 8 Counts". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  4. "Paul Manafort expected to plead guilty in Mueller probe". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  5. LaFraniere, Sharon (September 14, 2018). "Paul Manafort Agrees to Cooperate With Special Counsel; Pleads Guilty to Reduced Charges". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Edsall, Thomas B. (May 14, 2012). "The Lobbyist in the Gray Flannel Suit". The New York Times Blog. The Opinion Page. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "A Political Power Broker". The New York Times. Washington. June 20, 1989. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Registration with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. August 1982. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Choate, Pat (1990). Agents of Influence. Simon and Schuster. p. 307. ISBN 0671743392.
  10. 1 2 Mufson, Steven; Hamburger, Tom (April 26, 2016). "Inside Trump adviser Manafort's world of politics and global financial dealmaking". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  11. Stone, Peter (April 27, 2016). "Trump's new right-hand man has history of controversial clients and deals". The Guardian. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  12. Lake, Eli (April 13, 2016). "Trump Just Hired His Next Scandal". Bloomberg View. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Tucker, Eric; Horwitz, Jeff (June 2, 2017). "Robert Mueller's Russia Investigation Takes Over Paul Manafort Case". Time via AP. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  14. "Exclusive: DoJ won't say if Sessions is recused on Manafort". MSNBC. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "AP Sources: Manafort tied to undisclosed foreign lobbying". Associated Press. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  16. Hamburger, Tom. "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort files as foreign agent for Ukraine work". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  17. Savage, Charlie (October 30, 2017). "What It Means: The Indictment of Manafort and Gates". The New York Times. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  18. Apuzzo, Matt (October 30, 2017). "Paul Manafort, Who Once Ran Trump Campaign, Surrenders to F.B.I." The New York Times. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Read the indictment against Paul Manafort". The Boston Globe. October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  20. "Manafort placed under house arrest; weight of evidence cited". NBC News. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  21. LaFraniere, Sharon (June 15, 2018). "Judge Orders Manafort Jailed Before Trial, Citing New Obstruction Charges". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  22. 1 2 "Mueller files 32 new charges in Manafort, Gates case", The Salt Lake Tribune, February 22, 2018, retrieved June 12, 2018
  23. 1 2 "Paul Manafort found guilty on eight counts". CNN. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  24. "Manafort Jury Holdout Blocked Guilty Verdicts on 10 of 18 Charges, Juror Says". Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  25. 1 2 Gile, Charlie; Connor, Tracy. "Judge reprimands Paul Manafort for speaking out after Gates plea deal". NBC News. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  26. Zurcher, Anthony (September 14, 2018). "Winners and losers from the Manafort plea deal". BBC News. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  27. 1 2 3 Reagan, Ronald (May 13, 1981)."Nomination of Paul J. Manafort, Jr., To Be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation." In Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Hosted online by the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA. www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  28. "Antoinette (Cifalu) Manafort's Obituary on Hartford Courant". Legacy.com. March 18, 2003. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Paul J. Manafort" (January 25, 2013). Obituary by Hartford Courant Legacy.com. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  30. Tully, Shawn (August 15, 2016). "5 Things You Need to Know About Paul Manafort". Fortune.
  31. "About Us". Manafort Brothers Inc.
  32. 1 2 3 4 LaFraniere, Sharon; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Haberman, Maggie (August 12, 2018). "The Rise and Fall of Paul Manafort: Greed, Deception and Ego". New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  33. Yee, Vivian (November 1, 2017). "Paul Manafort's Roots Run Deep in a Connecticut City". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  34. Levy, Gabrielle (March 29, 2017). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Paul Manafort". US News and World Report. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  35. Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John. "Ronald Reagan's Nomination of Paul J. Manafort, Jr., To Be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  36. Peters, Jeremy W. (April 18, 2016). "Potential G.O.P. Convention Fight Puts Older Hands in Sudden Demand". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  37. Savransky, Rebecca (March 28, 2016). "Trump hires strategist Paul Manafort". TheHill. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  38. 1 2 Mosk, Matthew (June 26, 2008). "Top McCain Adviser Has Found Success Mixing Money, Politics". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  39. Thrush, Glenn (April 8, 2017). "To Charm Trump, Paul Manafort Sold Himself as an Affordable Outsider". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  40. Burns, Alexander; Haberman, Maggie (March 28, 2016). "Donald Trump Hires Paul Manafort to Lead Delegate Effort". The New York Times – First Draft. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  41. Sherman, Gabriel (April 19, 2016). "How Paul Manafort Took Over the Trump Campaign". New York. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  42. Flitter, Emily; Stephenson, Emily (June 21, 2016). "Trump fires campaign manager in shakeup for election push". Reuters. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  43. Haberman, Maggie; Martin, Jonathan (August 19, 2016). "Paul Manafort Quits Donald Trump's Campaign After a Tumultuous Run". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  44. Matt Apuzzo; Jo Becker; Adam Goldman; Maggie Haberman (July 11, 2017). "Trump's Son Heard of Link To Moscow Before Meeting – Russian Government Sought to Help Father and Hurt Clinton, Email Suggested". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  45. Jo Becker; Matt Apuzzo; Adam Goldman (July 10, 2017). "Trump Team Met Russian Offering Dirt on Clinton – Key Time in Campaign – Account Shows an Inner Circle Open to Using Foreign Help". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kramer, Andrew E.; McIntire, Mike; Meier, Barry (August 14, 2016). "Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump's Campaign Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  47. Dilanian, Ken; Windrem, Robert (August 17, 2016). "Donald Trump Receives First Intelligence Briefing". NBC News. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  48. McCaskill, Nolan; et al. (August 19, 2016). "Paul Manafort resigns from Trump campaign". Politico. The [Trump] family was particularly troubled by reports of Manafort's involvement with Russia and felt he hadn't been entirely forthright about his activities overseas, the source said. Family members were also unhappy about changes made to the GOP platform that were seen as beneficial to Russia, which they felt Manafort played a role in, the source added.
  49. Martin, Jonathan; Rutenberg, Jim; Haberman, Maggie (August 17, 2016). "Donald Trump appoints media firebrand to run campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  50. McCaskill, Nolan (August 19, 2016). "Paul Manafort resigns from Trump campaign". Politico. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  51. Kelly, Amita (August 19, 2016). "Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort resigns". NPR. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  52. Bump, Phillip (October 30, 2017). "Paul Manafort: A FAQ about Trump's indicted former campaign chairman". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2017. (subscription required)
  53. Nussbaum, Matthew (March 22, 2017). "White House: Manafort who?". Politico. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  54. Thomas, Evan (March 3, 1996). "The Slickest Shop in Town". Time.
  55. Vogel, Kenneth P. (June 10, 2016). "Paul Manafort's Wild and Lucrative Philippine Adventure: as Ferdinand Marcos used his fortune to cling to power, he found an ally in Trump's campaign chairman". Politico. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  56. 1 2 3 4 Foer, Franklin (April 28, 2016). "The Quiet American". Slate. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  57. Voreacos, David (July 12, 2018). "Mueller Wants Manafort Jury to Hear of Lobbying Decades Ago". Bloomberg News.
  58. "Paul Manafort's Wild and Lucrative Philippine Adventure". Politico. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  59. "Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, Public Affairs Company document for U.S. Department of Justice" (PDF). U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act website (FARA.gov). Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  60. Anderson, Jack; van Atta, Dale (September 25, 1989). "Mobutu in Search of an Image Boost". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  61. Hauchard, Amaury (August 10, 2016). "En Afrique, les liaisons dangereuses de Paul Manafort, directeur de campagne de Trump". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  62. Smith, David (May 31, 2016). "Trump chair Paul Manafort: 'mercenary' lobbyist and valuable asset". The Guardian. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  63. Brogan, Pamela (1992). The Torturers' Lobby. How Human Rights-Abusing Nations Are Represented in Washington (PDF). Washington DC: The Center for Public Integrity. p. 7. ISBN 0-9629012-9-6. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  64. Vogel, Kenneth P.; Becker, Jo; Confessore, Nicholas; Arango, Tim; Bennett, Kitty (September 20, 2017). "Manafort Working on Kurdish Referendum Opposed by U.S." The New York Times.
  65. "US Consultant Admits Role in Karachi Affair". France 24. August 24, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  66. Isikoff, Michael (April 18, 2016). "Top Trump aide lobbied for Pakistani spy front". Yahoo! News. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  67. Drinkard, Jim (December 4, 1994). "Public-Relations Ethics Questioned as Some Agents Pose as Journalists : Information: Deception violates PR code, but critics say it's common nonetheless". Associated Press. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  68. Riley, Michael (July 24, 1989). "Where Were the Media on HUD?". Time. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  69. Eaton, William J. (June 21, 1989). "GOP Consultant Admits Using Influence to Obtain HUD Grant but Defends Action". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  70. 1 2 3 Ames, Mark (October 1, 2008). "McCain's Kremlin Ties". The Nation. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  71. 1 2 Simpson, Glenn (April 17, 2007). "How Lobbyists Help Ex-Soviets Woo Washington". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  72. 1 2 3 Forrest, Brett (August 30, 2017). "Paul Manafort's Overseas Political Work Had a Notable Patron: A Russian Oligarch". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Myers, Steven Lee; Kramer, Andrew E. (July 31, 2016). "How Paul Manafort Wielded Power in Ukraine Before Advising Donald Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  74. Kharchenko, Aleksandra (May 2, 2016). "Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's top adviser, and his ties to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine". PolitiFact.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  75. 1 2 3 Levy, Clifford J. (September 30, 2007). "Ukrainian Prime Minister Reinvents Himself". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  76. Boudreaux, Richard (February 9, 2010). "Candidates Sought Guidance From American Consultants". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  77. Pastukhova, Alina; Grushenko, Kateryna (November 24, 2009). "Paid advisers descend on candidates, nation". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  78. "How Trump's campaign chief got a strongman elected president of Ukraine". The Guardian. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  79. Horwitz & Day (March 22, 2017). "Trump campaign chief linked to Putin interests". Associated Press. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  80. 1 2 "Profile: Viktor Yanukovych". BBC News. February 28, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  81. "Ukrainian MPs vote to oust President Yanukovych". BBC News. February 22, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  82. Logiurato, Brett (March 17, 2014). "Obama Just Announced Sanctions Against 7 Russian 'Cronies'". Business Insider. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  83. "Ukraine and Russia Sanctions". United States Department of State. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  84. 1 2 "Fact Sheet: Ukraine-Related Sanctions". The White House: Office of the Press Secretary. March 17, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  85. "Executive Order – Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine". The White House: Office of the Press Secretary. March 20, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  86. "Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members Of The Russian Leadership's Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement In The Situation In Ukraine". United States Department of the Treasury. March 20, 2014.
  87. 1 2 "Issuance of a new Ukraine-related Executive Order; Ukraine-related Designations". United States Department of the Treasury. March 17, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  88. "Ukraine-related Designations". United States Department of the Treasury. March 20, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  89. "Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN)". United States Department of the Treasury.
  90. Shuklin, Peter (March 21, 2014). "Putin's inner circle: who got in a new list of US sanctions" (in Russian). liga.net. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  91. President of The United States (March 10, 2014). "Ukraine EO13660" (PDF). Federal Register. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  92. President of The United States (March 19, 2014). "Ukraine EO13661" (PDF). Federal Register. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  93. "Manafort blasts NYT, denies he accepted Ukraine cash payments". Politico. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  94. 1 2 3 Vogel, Kenneth P. (August 19, 2016). "Manafort's man in Kiev". Politico. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  95. Maksym Sydorzhevskyj; Markian Ostaptschuk (July 28, 2016). "Trump campaign manager Manafort has Ukrainian history". Deutsche Welle.
  96. Horwitz, Jeff; Day, Chad (August 23, 2016). "Trump aides covertly fought freeing of Ukraine prisoner". Associated Press. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  97. 1 2 3 4 5 McIntyre, Mike (July 19, 2017). "Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show". The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  98. Lynch, Sarah N. (January 10, 2018). "Cyprus company sues ex-Trump campaign manager Manafort for fraud". Reuters.
  99. Hamburger, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S.; Leonnig, Carol D.; Entous, Adam (September 20, 2017). "Manafort offered to give Russian billionaire 'private briefings' on 2016 campaign". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
  100. Dawsey, Josh (September 20, 2017). "Manafort used Trump campaign account to email Ukrainian operative". Politico. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
  101. Editorial, Reuters. "Manafort had $10 million loan from Russian oligarch: court filing". Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  102. Meyer, Josh (June 27, 2018). "Mueller reveals closer Manafort ties to Russian oligarch". Politico. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  103. 1 2 Ostrovsky, Simon (March 11, 2017). "Ukraine seeks probe of hacked Manafort texts". CNN. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  104. Vogel, Kenneth P.; Stern, David (March 8, 2017). "Authorities looked into Manafort protégé; An associate of an ex-Trump campaign chairman is suspected of connections to Russian intelligence". Politico. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  105. Голицына, Наталья (March 3, 2016). "Зачем Путину Трамп?". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  106. Hamburger, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S. (June 27, 2018). "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort files as foreign agent for Ukraine work". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  107. Meyer, Theodoric (June 27, 2017). "Manafort registers as foreign agent". Politico. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  108. Perez, Evan; Devine, Curt (June 28, 2017). "Former Trump campaign chairman registers as a foreign agent". CNN. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  109. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vogel, Kenneth P.; Becker, Jo (September 20, 2017). "Manafort Working on Kurdish Referendum Opposed by U.S." New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  110. Fouad, Sam (September 26, 2017). "How Paul Manafort is profiting from the Kurdish independence referendum". The New Arab. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  111. Greenwood, Max (September 20, 2017). "Manafort working on Kurdish independence referendum: report". The Hill. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  112. Moore, Jack (September 21, 2018). "Manafort has a new job: Helping the Kurdish referendum, a vote the U.S. opposes". Newsweek. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  113. Morris, Loveday; El-Ghobashy, Tamer; Shwan, Aaso Ameen (17 October 2017). "Iraqi forces move deeper into Kurdish-held areas, redrawing political map". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2018 via www.WashingtonPost.com.
  114. "Full Text: Paul Manafort indictment". Politico. October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  115. Silverstein, Ken; Weinstein, Adam (August 17, 2016). "How Trump Aide Paul Manafort Got Ridiculously Wealthy While Aiding a Ukrainian Strongman". Fusion. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  116. Koenigs, Michael (February 23, 2018). "The controversial residents of Trump Tower". ABC News. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  117. Bernstein, Andrea; Marritz, Ilya (November 1, 2017). "What Manafort's Indictment Reveals About His New York City Real Estate Deals". NPR. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  118. Robert S. Mueller, III. "SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT". justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. p. 4. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  119. Ukraine Is the Winner as Nation Heads to the Polls, LA Times (March 26, 2006)
  120. Robert S. Mueller, III. "SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT". justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. p. 3. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  121. Sugar, Rachel. "Paul Manafort's 'puzzling' NYC real estate transactions raise eyebrows". Curbed New York. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  122. 1 2 Dayen, David (February 24, 2017). "Former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort Took Out $19 Million in Puzzling Real Estate Loans". The Intercept. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  123. Chen, Cathaleen (December 23, 2016). "Paul Manafort's son-in-law files for bankruptcy protection for four LA properties". The Real Deal (Los Angeles). Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  124. Rothfeld, Michael (July 17, 2017). "New York Seeks Bank Records of Former Trump Associate Paul Manafort". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  125. McIntire, Mike (July 17, 2017). "Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  126. Petropoulos, Aggelos (October 13, 2017). "Manafort Had $60 Million Relationship With a Russian Oligarch". NBC News. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  127. Porter, Tom (June 3, 2017). "Trump-Russia investigation expands to take in criminal probes on Manafort and Flynn-Turkey". Newsweek. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  128. 1 2 Gurman, Sadie; Tucker, Eric; Horwitz, Jeff (June 2, 2017). "AP report: Special counsel's Russia investigation includes former Trump campaign chair". PBS via AP. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  129. Goldman, Michael S. Schmidt, Matthew Rosenberg, Adam; Apuzzo, Matt (January 19, 2017). "Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  130. Greenwood, Max (January 19, 2017). "Manafort part of intelligence review of intercepted Russian communications". The Hill. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  131. Perez, Evan; Prokupecz, Shimon; Brown, Pamela (September 18, 2017). "Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman". CNN. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  132. Barrett, Devlin; Entous, Adam; Nakashima, Ellen; Horwitz, Sari (June 14, 2017). "Special counsel is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, officials say". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  133. Leonnig, Carol D.; Hamburger, Tom; Helderman, Rosalind S. "FBI conducted raid of former Trump campaign chairman Manafort's home". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  134. Diaz, Daniella; Perez, Evan (August 10, 2017). "FBI raided Manafort home as part of Russia probe". CNN. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  135. Ma, Alexandra (June 22, 2018). "Mueller's office attacked The New York Times and The Washington Post for 'inaccurately' reporting on his investigation". Business Insider. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  136. Svab, Petr (June 23, 2018). "Mueller Team Calls Out New York Times, Washington Post for Incorrect Stories on Manafort". The Epoch Times. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  137. Conway, George (June 11, 2018), "Executive Power: The Terrible Arguments Against the Constitutionality of the Mueller Investigation", Lawfare, Published by the Lawfare Institute in Cooperation With the Brookings Institution, In United States v. Manafort, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort moved to dismiss the indictment against him, on the ground that the special counsel had exceeded the scope of his appointment order. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia squarely rejected this assertion
  138. Perez, Evan (May 23, 2017). "Manafort turns over hundreds of pages of documents to Senate intelligence". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  139. Perez, Evan (July 25, 2017). "Manafort subpoenaed by judiciary panel, met with Senate intel". CNN. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  140. Jacobs, Ben (July 19, 2017). "Donald Trump Jr and Paul Manafort to testify before Congress about Russia". The Guardian. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  141. Kinery, Emma (July 24, 2017). "Get ready: Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., Manafort head to Senate". USA Today. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  142. Vogel, Kenneth P.; Haberman, Maggie (October 27, 2017). "Conservative Website First Funded Anti-Trump Research by Firm That Later Produced Dossier". The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  143. Shane, Scott; Confessore, Nicholas; Rosenberg, Matthew (January 12, 2017). "How a Sensational, Unverified Dossier Became a Crisis for Donald Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  144. Bertrand, Natasha (January 15, 2017). "Explosive memos suggest that a Trump-Russia quid pro quo was at the heart of the GOP's dramatic shift on Ukraine". Business Insider. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  145. Bertrand, Natasha (February 11, 2017). "The timeline of Trump's ties with Russia lines up with allegations of conspiracy and misconduct". Business Insider. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  146. Yglesias, Matthew; Prokop, Andrew (February 2, 2018). "The Steele dossier on Trump and Russia, explained". Vox. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  147. 1 2 Borger, Julian (October 7, 2017). "The Trump-Russia dossier: why its findings grow more significant by the day". The Guardian. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  148. Sumter, Kyler (November 16, 2017). "The five most interesting claims in the Donald Trump dossier". The Week UK. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  149. Bertrand, Natasha (October 6, 2017). "Mueller reportedly interviewed the author of the Trump-Russia dossier - here's what it alleges, and how it aligned with reality". Business Insider. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  150. @nytpolitics (October 30, 2017). "Paul Manafort walked into the F.B.I.'s field office in Washington at about 8:15 a.m. with his lawyer" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  151. 1 2 Perez, Evan; Herb, Jeremy (October 30, 2017). "Manafort, Gates charged with conspiracy against US". CNN. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  152. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 United States of America v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and Richard W. Gates III, case no. 17-cr-00201, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (October 27, 2017). Text
  153. Goldman, Adam; Fandos, Nicholas (October 30, 2017). "Paul Manafort, Once of Trump Campaign, Indicted as an Adviser Admits to Lying About Ties to Russia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  154. Zapotosky, Matt; Helderman, Rosalind S.; Leonnig, Carol D. (October 30, 2017). "Three former Trump campaign officials charged by special counsel". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  155. 1 2 Wagner, Meg; Willis, Amanda; Riles, Brian (October 30, 2017). "Paul Manafort and Rick Gates surrender to FBI: Live updates". CNN. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  156. Harris, Andrew M. (October 30, 2017). "Manafort, Gates Placed Under House Arrest After Not Guilty Pleas". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  157. "Manafort and Gates could face decades in prison. Here's what the indictments say". The Globe and Mail. Associated Press. October 31, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  158. Polantz, Katelyn (November 1, 2017). "Manafort has 3 passports, traveled to China with phone registered under fake name". CNN. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  159. "Manafort Lawyer Kevin Downing Calls Criminal Charges 'Ridiculous' - National Law Journal".
  160. Bearak, Max (October 30, 2017). "Who did Manafort and Gates work for in Ukraine and Russia?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  161. Gerstein, Josh (November 2, 2017). "Judge mulls gag order in Manafort, Gates case". Politico. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  162. Heath, Brad (November 30, 2017). "Ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort reaches bail deal with Mueller, his lawyers say". USA Today. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  163. "Mueller motion disclosing Manafort op-ed".
  164. CNN, Katelyn Polantz,. "Manafort worked on op-ed with Russian while out on bail, prosecutors say". CNN. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  165. Correspondent, Evan Perez, CNN Justice. "Manafort sues Mueller in Russia probe". CNN. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  166. Correspondent, Evan Perez, CNN Justice. "Manafort sues Mueller in Russia probe".
  167. Hsu, Spencer S. (January 12, 2018). "Prosecutors seek May 14 trial date for Manafort and Gates". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  168. 1 2 Gerstein, Josh (January 16, 2018). "Manafort trial likely to start in September at the earliest". POLITICO. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  169. Morin, Rebecca (February 2, 2018). "DOJ seeks dismissal of Manafort civil suit against Mueller". Politico. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  170. Day, Chad (April 27, 2018). "Judge tosses Manafort civil suit challenging special counsel". APNews.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  171. Barrett, Devlin; Hsu, Spencer S. (February 22, 2018). "Special counsel Mueller files new charges in Manafort, Gates case". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  172. 1 2 Apuzzo, Matt; Schmidt, Michael S. (February 22, 2018). "Mueller Files New Fraud Charges Against Paul Manafort". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  173. Mazzetti, Mark; Haberman, Maggie (February 23, 2018). "Rick Gates, Trump Campaign Aide, Pleads Guilty in Mueller Inquiry and Will Cooperate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  174. "Mueller probe: Manafort hit with new charges after Gates pleads guilty". NBC News. February 24, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  175. Gile, Charlie; Connor, Tracey. "Judge reprimands Paul Manafort for speaking out after Gates plea deal". NBC News. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  176. CNN, Caroline Kelly and Katelyn Polantz,. "Manafort trial set to begin July 10". Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  177. "Trump Ex-Campaign Aide Loses Court Bid to Dismiss Some Criminal Charges". Radio Free Europe Radical Liberty. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  178. Dilanian, Ken; Gile, Charlie; McCausland, Phil (May 4, 2018). "Federal judge in Manafort case skeptical of the scope of the Mueller investigation". NBC News. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  179. Tillman, Zoe (May 30, 2018). "Paul Manfort's Friends Have Launched A Legal Defense Fund, Saying He's Struggling To Pay His Bills". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  180. "Manafort Faces New Charges of Obstruction of Justice in Russia Probe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  181. Hsu, Spencer S.; Nakashima, Ellen (June 15, 2018). "Manafort ordered to jail after witness-tampering charges". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  182. Raymond, Adam K. (July 6, 2018). "Manafort Kept in Solitary 23 Hours a Day to 'Guarantee His Safety,' Lawyer Says". New York.
  183. Downing, Kevin M.; Zehnle, Thomas E.; Cihlar, Frank P.; Westling, Richard W. (July 5, 2018). "Memorandum of Law and Fact for Appellant Paul J. Manafort, Jr" (PDF). Courthouse News Service. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2018. Mr. Manafort, moreover, is now housed in solitary confinement because the facility cannot otherwise guarantee his safety. He is locked in his cell for at least 23 hours per day (excluding visits from his attorneys), at a facility approximately two hours from his legal team.
  184. "Northern Neck Regional Jail". www.nnrj.state.va.us. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  185. Gile, Charlie; Connor, Tracy (June 15, 2018). "Paul Manafort trades in ankle monitors for a jail cell". NBC News. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  186. Wilson, Megan R.; Anapol, Avery (June 22, 2018). "Judge denies Manafort attempt to dismiss money laundering charge". The Hill.
  187. Downing, Kevin M.; Zehnle, Thomas E.; Westling, Richard W. (March 14, 2018). "Paul J. Manafort, Jr.'s Motion to Dismiss Count Two and to Strike the Forfeiture Allegation". Politico.
  188. Gerstein, Josh (July 6, 2018). "Manafort proposes moving 1st trial to Roanoke". Politico.
  189. Downing, Kevin M.; Zehnle, Thomas E.; Nanavati, Jay R. (July 6, 2018). "Defendant Paul J. Manafort Jr.'s Memorandum in Support of his Motion for a Change OF Venue and for Other Relief relating to Jury Selection".
  190. Nelson, Louis (July 10, 2018). "Manafort balks at jail move". Politico. Retrieved September 15, 2018. A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, currently jailed while awaiting trial, be moved to a detention center in Alexandria, Virginia.
  191. Downing, Kevin M.; Zehnle, Thomas E.; Nanavati, Jay R. (July 10, 2018). "Defendant Paul J. Manafort Jr.'s Response to the Court's July 10, 2018 Order Relating to his Place of Detention". Politico. Wherefore, Mr. Manafort respectfully requests that the Court rescind its order directing that he be moved and permit him to remain at the Northern Neck Regional Jail.
  192. 1 2 Smith, David; McCarthy, Tom (July 31, 2018). "Paul Manafort trial is first court test for special counsel Robert Mueller". The Guardian. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  193. Samuelsohn, Darren (July 11, 2018). "Mueller team listening to Manafort's jail phone calls". Politico. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  194. Weiner, Rachel. "Judge refuses to move Paul Manafort trial to Roanoke". Washington Post. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  195. Breuninger, Dan Mangan, Kevin (July 17, 2018). "Special counsel Robert Mueller asks for immunity for five witnesses in Paul Manafort trial". Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  196. Lynch, Sarah N. "Judge agrees to delay Manafort trial until next week".
  197. LaFraniere, Sharon; Baumgaertner, Emily (July 31, 2018). "Paul Manafort's Defense Team Opens Trial by Blaming Associates". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  198. LaFraniere, Sharon (August 21, 2018). "Paul Manafort Convicted in Fraud Trial". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  199. Polantz, Katelyn; Cohen, Marshall (August 21, 2018). "Takeaways from the Paul Manafort guilty verdicts". CNN Politics. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  200. Hsu, Spencer S. (August 24, 2018). "Paul Manafort's trial in D.C. to take 3 weeks, probe Ukraine lobbying world". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  201. "Paul Manafort has agreed to cooperate with Robert Mueller". Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  202. "Manafort forfeits $22 million in New York real estate in plea deal". NBC News. September 15, 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  203. "Manafort in plea deal over second trial". BBC News. 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  204. 1 2 Cain, Aine (October 30, 2017). "Paul Manafort's wife Kathleen has been a quietly pivotal part of the investigation against him— here's everything we know". Business Insider. Retrieved November 2, 2017.

Further reading

  • Foer, Franklin (March 2018). "The Plot Against America". The Atlantic.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.