Associated Press: Former Trump Campaign Manager Worked for Russian Interests

The Associated Press reports in an exclusive article that Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Donald Trump, worked with a Russian billionaire about a decade ago to promote the interests of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and proposed an ambitious political plan to undermine the opponents of the Russian government across the former Soviet republics. The news agency adds that the existence of this plan contradicts the claims of the Trump administration and Mr. Manafort, who state that he never worked for Russian interests. According to the report, Paul Manafort proposed in a confidential strategic plan in June 2005 that domestic politics, economic affairs, and media in the U.S., Europe, and the former Soviet republics would be influenced in favor of Vladimir Putin's government. The news agency notes that this was at a time when relations between Moscow and Washington were cooling during George Bush's presidency. He presented this plan to Oleg Deripaska, a billionaire and major owner of Russian aluminum industries, who is close to Vladimir Putin. The Associated Press, citing informed sources about the agreement between the two parties and based on documents exchanged regarding this contract, adds that ultimately Mr. Manafort signed a contract worth $10 million per year starting in early 2006. According to an informed source, he maintained this contract with Oleg Deripaska at least until 2009. The Associated Press claims to have obtained part of the documents related to the plan presented by Mr. Manafort, which includes memoranda of understanding and receipts related to international money transfers worth millions of dollars between the two parties. However, it is unclear what activities Mr. Manafort undertook under this contract. This issue arises as the FBI and two committees in the U.S. legislature are investigating the officials of Donald Trump's campaign. The aim of these investigations is to examine any connections between campaign officials and advisors of Donald Trump with alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Paul Manafort has condemned these investigations as politically motivated and stated that he never worked for Russian interests. The Associated Press says the documents it has obtained indicate that his relations with Russia were much closer than previously stated. In a statement sent to the Associated Press, Paul Manafort confirmed working in several countries for Oleg Deripaska but said that his activities have been unfairly described as 'damaging and destructive.' He added in part of his statement: 'I worked for Oleg Deripaska nearly a decade ago and acted as his personal and economic representative in countries where he had investments. My work for Mr. Deripaska did not include defending or representing the political interests of the Russian government.' The Associated Press writes that Oleg Deripaska is one of the Russian oligarchs who became very wealthy during Vladimir Putin's time and invests abroad in ways that align with the Kremlin's interests. U.S. diplomatic documents from 2006 describe him as one of the few oligarchs that 'Putin always consults and accompanies him on foreign trips.' In 2008, at least three years after the start of Paul Manafort's collaboration, a spokesperson for Deripaska denied his employment, and a week ago another spokesperson for Deripaska refused to answer the Associated Press's questions about Paul Manafort. When asked on Wednesday by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House spokesperson, about Paul Manafort's work for Oleg Deripaska, she replied: 'We don't think it's appropriate to comment on someone who is not a White House staff member.' Paul Manafort worked as Donald Trump's campaign manager without receiving a salary until March of last year. The Associated Press states that after the revelation of Manafort's covert lobbying operations in Washington on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted pro-Moscow president of Ukraine, Donald Trump asked him to resign from managing his campaign.