Manafort, 67, has been an outspoken part of Trump’s campaign, but in the past week, had his role shifted from campaign manager to campaign chairman with the promotion of veteran pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager and Breitbart News’ Steve Bannon to campaign CEO. “Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success”, said Trump.
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MP Serhiy Leshchenko said money was allocated for Trump aide Paul Manafort to finance services such as carrying out exit polls at elections, buying computers and conducting research.
Conway is the first female campaign manager of a Republican presidential nominee yet she stands out not because of her gender, but because she’s a gifted political operative.
Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, resigned Friday under fire over pro-Kremlin ties and after being sidelined in a reshuffle as the Republican nominee battles to reverse sinking poll numbers. And Trump himself eventually lost confidence in Manafort, believing he was leaking information to the press, according to Barry Bennett, a former campaign senior adviser who continues to support Trump.
“He does not like to be leaked about”.
On Friday, the ticket released its first television ads, saying Clinton’s America was one of disorder and illegal immigration.
But Manafort also became a source of continuing controversy for the campaign in his own right. “I have never received a single “off-the-books cash payment” as falsely “reported” by The New York Times, nor have I ever done work for the governments of Ukraine or Russian Federation”, he said.
The Associated Press reported Manafort’s connection to the lobbying effort Wednesday. “In addition, as the article points out hesitantly, every government official interviewed states I have done nothing wrong, and there is no evidence of “cash payments” made to me by any official in Ukraine”.
“I think my father didn’t want to be, you know, distracted by, you know, whatever things that, you know, Paul was dealing with”, he told the Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures”, while also praising Manafort’s work for the campaign.
Mr Trump has spoken favourably in the past of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A pair of Republican congressman have also called for investigations into Manafort’s business past.
It came in a week when Trump has already reshuffled top campaign leaders, effectively demoting Manafort, and has tried to be more disciplined and on message as he seeks to reset his campaign against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for the November 8 election. On Thursday, the AP reported that it had obtained emails revealing further details: Gates directed an unregistered influence campaign that included attempts to gain positive press coverage for Ukrainian officials, sway USA legislators, gather political intelligence and undercut American public sympathy for the imprisoned rival of Ukraine’s then-president.
The attorney handling Mercury LLC’ss review – Ken Gross of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom- was the same one who drafted a legal memo in 2012 that Mercury had used to justify not notifying the Justice Department about its work under the U.S. Foreign Agent Registration Act.
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Manafort denied any wrongdoing, saying he had “never received a single ‘off-the books cash payment, ‘” or worked for the governments of Ukraine or Russian Federation. Conway has gained Trump’s trust and is seen as someone who can communicate campaign weaknesses to the businessman better than Manafort, who irritated Trump with his emphasis on moderating in the general election.
