Manafort resigned as chairman of Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday.
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But, Christopher Newport University Political Science Professor Quentin Kidd says that Manafort’s resignation won’t change the overall dynamic of the contest, calling it “a blip”.
In an interview earlier this week, Weber acknowledged knowing that Gates and Manafort were working for Ukrainian political leaders but said they had not played a role in his firm’s lobbying.
He added that Manafort’s resignation will not end the “odd bromance” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.
The probe is also examining the work of other firms linked to the former Ukrainian government, including that of the Podesta Group, the lobbying and public relations company run by Tony Podesta, brother of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
“Mr. Trump accepted his resignation and wished him well and thanked him for his service”.
The effort included not just legislative outreach but also attempts to sway American public opinion and gather political intelligence on competing lobbying efforts in the U.S. Details of the payments described in the ledger were first reported by The New York Times.
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.
The FBI, Justice Department and Manafort declined to comment. A violation is a felony and can result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Earlier, Manafort said that any payments he received for that work, “were for my entire political team: campaign staff (local and international), polling and research, election integrity and television advertising”.
Mercury’s founder, Vin Weber, an influential Republican and former congressman, told the AP that his firm was aware of Manafort’s and Gates’ affiliation with Ukraine’s political party and said Gates never participated in Mercury’s lobbying work.
According to The Washington Post, this decision comes during a critical week for Trump’s campaign, now under pressure from Republican leaders and wealthy contributors as well, both groups trying to bring his campaign on the right path. But Manafort’s role in the campaign had been significantly marginalized under the new leadership structure announced Wednesday.
The Trump campaign said Friday that Rick Gates, Manafort’s deputy, would now serve as its liaison to the Republican National Committee. Manafort had said on several occasions he didn’t plan to be paid for his work for Trump.
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“The last couple weeks have been very rough at the campaign, and Donald Trump was to perhaps-the speeches focusing on substance, getting into the last 11, 12 weeks, Rita, of a fought campaign-and he has every privilege of surrounding himself with the team that he wants”, she continued…
