The Times report hinged on reported findings by a newly-formed Ukrainian agency, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, of a hand-written ledger that lists payments meant for Manafort from the Party of Regions between 2007 and 2012.
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Late Sunday, Clinton’s campaign released a statement about what it said were “more troubling connections between Donald Trump’s team and pro-Kremlin elements in Ukraine”.
Manafort denied receiving cash disbursements for his work in Ukraine, saying in a statement obtained by MSNBC that the allegation is “unfounded, silly and nonsensical”.
Trump’s seeming closeness, both personally and in terms of policymaking, with Vladimir Putin has been an issue throughout the campaign.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, August 10, 2016, in Abingdon, Va. The investigation is looking into “shadow accounting” and potentially illegal payments made by Yanukovich to Manafort and other Ukrainian election officials, according to Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Politically motivated He used his response to criticise the newspaper, nicknamed the “failing New York Times” by Mr Trump, claiming its report was politically motivated and alleging that it had chosen not to scrutinise ties between Hillary Clinton’s family charity, the Clinton Foundation, and the state department.
The Republican presidential nominee has made several comments about Russian Federation in recent months that have raised eyebrows.
“Whether they’re actively trying to interfere in the USA election, that’s something that I guess we’ll need to see”, he said. More recently, Trump called on Russian Federation to hack Clinton’s emails, a comment he later dismissed as a joke.
Trump’s questioned friendliness with Russian Federation isn’t the only possible connection between his campaign and the country.
For Mr. Manafort’s allies, his work with Mr. Yanukovych in Ukraine is evidence of his steady hand and skill under pressure: He revived a candidate who had lost a disputed election in 2004, defeating a political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, who is known as a fearsome campaigner.
Manafort, also the son of former New Britain Mayor Paul Manafort Sr., continued, “The simplest answer is the truth: I am a campaign professional”.
“No, there are not”.
Trump’s campaign manager’s statement raised more questions than it addressed. “That’s absurd. And you know, there’s no basis to it”, he said. Page was in Moscow last month to give a speech at a Russian business school.
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“I think Donald Trump ought to really investigate this and where his chief adviser, what his association [s] with the Russians are”, Kinzinger said.
