Anti-corruption officials there say the payments earmarked for Mr. Manafort, previously unreported, are a focus of their investigation, though they have yet to determine if he actually received the cash.
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Ukrainian anti-corruption officials have confirmed that Donald Trump’s campaign chairman’s name appears in a list of so called “black accounts” made by the country’s now-toppled president.
Mr Yanukovych served as Ukraine president in 2010, but fled to Russian Federation after the 2014 revolution, leaving behind him a trail of alleged corruption. “The suggestion that I accepted cash payments is unfounded, silly, and nonsensical”, the statement said.
Manafort, also the son of former New Britain Mayor Paul Manafort Sr., continued, “The simplest answer is the truth: I am a campaign professional”.
Manafort’s lawyer vehemently denied Trump’s campaign chief had received “any such cash payments”, calling the allegations “suspicions, and probably heavily politically tinged ones”.
He said any payments he received were for a broader political campaign team that included local and worldwide staff, polling and research. “This is not discussed despite the overwhelming evidence in emails that Hillary Clinton attempted to cover up”, the statement said.
IL congressman Adam Kinzinger said Monday that Donald Trump should look into his campaign’s reported ties to the Kremlin and pro-Putin figures in Ukraine.
In an explosive report The New York Times reveals that Paul Manafort, now Donald Trump’s campaign manager, is listed as the recipient of 22 “illegal off-the-books” previously “undisclosed cash payments” totaling $12.7 million according to a secret “black ledger” found by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The Clinton campaign jumped at the opportunity to question whether Trump and Manafort had an all-too cozy relationship with some in Russian Federation. He tweeted out a link to the Times report late Sunday, and discussed the controversial story on “New Day” on CNN Monday. Trump has already been criticized for being too complimentary of Putin, so this bombshell report will only add fuel to that fire. The records were discovered this year, and investigators believe the payments were doled out to people as part of an illegal system that influenced elections.
“Somebody’s got to give some proof” that the money was received by Manafort, he said.
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“As a matter of fact, he didn’t receive the money”.
