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Title: Everything You Need To Know About Paul Manafort To Understand The Russia Connection
Source:
Romper
URL Source: https://www.romper.com/p/everything ... nd-the-russia-connection-46147
Published: Mar 23, 2017
Author: Annamarya Scaccia
Post Date: 2017-03-23 07:27:39 by Willie Green
Keywords: None
Views: 753
Comments: 1
It seems like the Trump Administration can't keep its story straight when it comes to President Donald Trump's ties to Russia. An exclusive Associated Press report published Wednesday revealed that former Trump aide Paul Manafort once allegedly secretly worked with a Russian billionaire to benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin. AP's bombshell allegations contradict Manafort and the Trump Administration's repeated claims that the GOP operative had never worked for Russian interests. But who is Trump's former campaign chairman and why does he matter? Here's everything you need to know about Paul Manafort and his alleged questionable business dealings that include brutal dictators as clients. Manafort and the Trump Administration have not responded to Romper's requests for comment. Manafort's connection with Russia runs deep. According to documents obtained by AP, the former Trump confidante devised a strategy as early as 2005 to manipulate "politics, business dealings, and news coverage in the United States, Europe, and the former Soviet republics" in order to advance the interests of the Putin government. Manafort made his proposal to Putin ally Oleg Depripaska, the Russian aluminum tycoon who hired Manafort under a $10 million annual contract beginning in 2006 and ending in 2009, the AP reported. Manafort confirmed to the news wire that he had business dealings with Depripaska, but denied his work involved "representing Russia's political interests." But in a 2005 memo obtained by AP, Manafort reportedly wrote to the Russian business mogul:We are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success. [The strategy] will be offering a great service that can re-focus, both internally and externally, the policies of the Putin government. Although AP's investigation is damning, it's not surprising. Manafort resigned abruptly in August as Trump's unpaid campaign chairman after multiple reports surfaced that he directed a covert Washington lobbying action in 2014 in support of the pro-Russia political party in Ukraine, according to CNN. On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported on financial documents released by a Ukrainian politician that allegedly show Manafort laundered payments totaling $12.7 million from disgraced former president Viktor Yanukoyvch's Party of Regions, which Manafort had worked with for nearly a decade. Yanukoyvch is not the only controversial leader to which Manafort allegedly has ties. Politico reported last year that the lobbying and political strategist had tried to help then-Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos "retain his grip on power" in the 1980s. According to Politico, a Marcos front group allegedly hired Manafort and agreed to pay his firm $950,000 a year. It doesn't end there: Manafort had also been accused of accepting large payments through contracts with Zaire dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and former French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, Politico reported. Brian Klaas@brianklaas Manafort has served as a top campaign adviser for former Republican presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, as well as for former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole's failed presidential bid. But he's also made millions as a principal of lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone, and Kelly helping "the 'Torturers' lobby" — meaning dictators and guerilla groups known to use violence to violate human rights — according to the Daily Beast. In addition to Marcos and Seko, Manafort's firm has also retained Angolan political and military leader Jonas Savimbi, who wanted U.S. financial support for his brutal guerilla army, UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola). The Daily Beast reported that Manafort's lobbying on behalf of Savimbi had paid off big time: In 1985, Dole convinced the State Department to send UNITA heavy arms, while the Reagan Administration gave the group $42 million from 1986 to 1987. The FBI is currently leading a multi-agency investigation into Manafort's connections to Russia and his business dealings, according to Salon. The Washington Post reported that the White House has distanced itself from the 67-year-old GOP lobbyist, with Press Secretary Sean Spicer claiming in a Wednesday press briefing that President Trump didn't know of Manafort's clients from the past decade. Spicer also said there were "no suggestions" in the AP's investigation of any wrongdoing on Manafort's part, according to theWashington Post. NBC News national correspondent Peter Alexander tweeted that Spicer told him it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the allegations against Manafort since he is "not a White House employee." Peter Alexander @PeterAlexander For some reason, the White House press secretary also roped former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton into his statement on AP's report. According to Talking Points Memo, Spicer called Clinton "the face of a failed Russia reset policy" and said that the Clintons "had much more extensive ties" to the Eastern country than Manafort does. It's obviously a deflection tactic to draw eyes away from the damning evidence that reveals more details about Trump's connection to Russia. Yashar@yashar
These vintage Paul Manafort tweets are something else. Accusing Hillary Clinton of "corruption and ties to Russia"
As Trump & Spicer try to distance themselves from Paul Manafort, remember:
Total days leading Trump campaign:
Manafort: 144
Bannon: 83
7:30 AM - 22 Mar 2017
BREAKING: Re: Manafort, Spicer tells me: "It would be inappropriate for us to comment on a person who is not a White House employee."
6:24 AM - 22 Mar 2017
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#1. To: Willie Green (#0)
How about Clinton's clear as day pay to play for all our enemies to use and a server open to all to hack day and night illegally stored by Clinton's. When all the Clinton's die of some horrific sex disease the world and especially the free world will be so so much better off! It wasn't that Russians that "Hacked" the demoncrap party it was high ups in the CIA or NSA scared to death of the Clinton's abuse of America becoming unstoppable! Obama was bad enough but Clinton back to back with Obama would be the end of America and the free world. Thank God that someone in our government did something!!!!!!!!!
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