John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said it would have been unsustainable for Manafort to stay on after Wednesday’s hires.
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Campaign aide tells me that Rick Gates, Manafort’s deputy, has also left Trump campaign.
“If Mr. Manafort denies any allegations, I think he has to be interrogated into this case and prove his position that he was not involved”, Leshchenko added. Fritts noted that the nonprofit had formally attested to being independent, leading her firm to conclude that it was not working on behalf of a foreign government.
The 1938 US foreign agents law is meant to track efforts of foreign government’s unofficial operatives in the United States. Gross confirmed to the AP that he had been hired by Mercury. A violation is a felony and can result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000…
FBI and Justice Department prosecutors are conducting an investigation into possible U.S. ties to alleged corruption of the former pro-Russian president of Ukraine, including the work of Paul Manafort’s firm, according to multiple United States law enforcement officials.
We relied on that certification and advice from counsel in registering and reporting under the Lobbying Disclosure Act rather than the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Manafort has been a strong hand guiding Trump’s attempt to pivot towards a presidential campaign that is more scripted.
Manafort’s attorney Richard Hibey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In papers filed in the U.S. Senate, Mercury and the Podesta Group listed the European nonprofit as an independent, nonpolitical client.
Manafort and Gates have previously said they were not doing work that required them to notify the Justice Department. Democrats and others criticized Manafort for working against reformers who wanted Ukraine to focus on the West, not Russian Federation.
Manafort’s consulting work for Yanukovych was already public.
Donald Trump sought to reboot his flagging presidential bid Friday, dismissing his tainted campaign chairman, seeking to broaden his shrinking support base by appealing to black voters and visiting flood-ravaged Louisiana.
It wasn’t just Bannon – and new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway – that were making Manafort’s life hard, though.
Nearly every poll taken nationally and in battleground states in the last three weeks has showed Mr. Trump losing ground to Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Manafort has come under scrutiny over his work with pro-Russian political groups in Ukraine.
Trump also made a last-minute scheduling change, scrapping a planned event in NY in order to travel with his running mate Mike Pence to tour the flood damage in Louisiana on Friday morning. “You can get rid of Manafort, but that doesn’t end the odd bromance Trump has with Putin”.
Manafort worked to smooth over clashes between Trump and the Republican National Committee that had grown problematic under Trump’s first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
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After the Times” report surfaced, Manafort issued a statement Monday vehemently denying any wrongdoing, saying he had worked on overseas campaigns but had “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”. Ukrainian investigators allege the payments were part of an illegal payment sysytem involving election officials, the Times reported.
