In all, the European Centre, which was controlled by Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, paid $2.2 million to the two Beltway lobbying firms.
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Mr. Manafort is no neophyte when it comes to the rules of lobbying and politics. “But if Manafort was involved in something illicit, that would be a problem for the Trump campaign”, Herbst said.
Two days ago, the Trump campaign put out a press release contending that the ties between Hillary Clinton, the Clinton campaign, and Russian Federation should be placed under closer scrutiny.
This past weekend, the New York Times published a report detailing an investigation into possible payments that had been made or were designated to be paid to Paul Manafort by pro-Russian leaders within the Ukraine for political consultancy work.
The two men have previously said they were not doing work that required them to register as foreign agents.
Neither campaign commented on the AP report.
The emails show Gates personally directed two Washington lobbying firms, Mercury LLC and the Podesta Group Inc., between 2012 and 2014 to set up meetings between a top Ukrainian official and senators and congressman on influential committees involving Ukrainian interests.
The lobbying firms continued the work until shortly after Yanukovych fled the country in February 2014, during a popular revolt prompted in part by his government’s crackdown on protesters and close ties to Russian Federation.
Among those who described Manafort’s and Gates’s relationship with the nonprofit are current and former employees of the Podesta Group.
An anonymous former employee of the Podesta Group alleged that Gates himself had explained in April 2012 that the nonprofit was a means of dispersing money in lobbying efforts for the Yanukovych government without accountability.
Manafort did not return phone and email messages Thursday from the AP to discuss the project.
Gates said Thursday he was busy with Trump campaign focus groups and promised to review AP’s questions in writing, then did not respond. Manafort has denied accepting any illicit cash for his work in Ukraine.
Gates told the AP that his actions were lawful and did not violate any American laws or procedures.
Skirting this regulation could result in a prison sentence of up to five years and a $250,000 fine.
The Podesta Group has been among the leading fundraisers for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, according to the Washington Post. The disclosure reports also provide more information about the underlying lobbying activities.
“The U.S. entity may still be liable for some violation of FARA if the principal lied to it, but it’s unlikely there would be a criminal prosecution or jail time as long as the U.S. entity did its due diligence”, said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock and expert in lobbying compliance.
While both firms disclosed the lobbying income to the Senate, they did not file disclosure reports with the Justice Department.
The Podesta Group received $1.13 million of the European Centre’s $2.2 million outlay. “My assumption was that he was working for the Centre, as we were”.
Lobbyists in the United States who represent private entities – such as companies and non-profits – that are based overseas do not have to file under FARA, unless those entities receive financial support or influence from foreign leaders or governments.
Under federal law, US lobbyists must declare publicly if they represent foreign leaders or their political parties and provide detailed reports about their actions to the Justice Department.
The center has declined for years to reveal specific sources of its funding.
The memo says: “It was his political effort to raise the prestige of Yanukovych and his party – the confrontation and division of society on ethnic and linguistic grounds is his trick from the time of the elections in Angola and the Philippines”.
The founder and chairman of the Podesta Group, Tony Podesta, is the brother of longtime Democratic strategist John Podesta, who now is campaign chairman for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. On Thursday, his firm said it had nothing new to add.
On Aug. 17, The Associated Press broke the news that several anonymous sources who had been involved in two US lobbying firms have alleged that Manafort had been involved in helping the former Ukrainian Party of Regions payments to two USA lobbying groups.
Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand.
“You know, the people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russian Federation than where they were”, he said in an interview.
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