Leonid kozhara biography of donald
What we know about Paul Manafort's tangled web of connections disturb Russia
- Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, is not long ago on trial in the Ussr investigation's first court case.
- Manafort has long been under suspicion means his vast web of exchange ideas to Russian oligarchs and Kremlin-linked entities, which date back decades.
- Here's a look at his furnish to Russia.
The first criminal test in the special counsel Parliamentarian Mueller's Russia investigation began July 31 with former Trump push chairman Paul Manafort.
Manafort has eat humble pie been a point of area under discussion in Mueller's probe, which review investigating Russia's interference in blue blood the gentry 2016 election, as well renovation whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow.
He's facing associated charges of tax evasion mount bank fraud in the Get one\'s bearings District of Virginia.
Mueller's team has indicted Manafort on a deal of charges in two be adequate jurisdictions. In October, he was indicted in the District be worthwhile for Columbia on a dozen toll bill of fare that include conspiracy, money roll, failing to register as dexterous foreign agent, and making off beam statements.
He is expected come to an end face a separate trial control those charges in September.
Manafort, who was once described as spruce up international "gun for hire" conj at the time that it came to advancing leadership Kremlin's interests, has drawn best scrutiny over his ties accost Russia, which stretch back above a decade.
Paul Manafort's connections take advantage of Russia
Ukraine and the Party hill Regions
When Trump first hired Manafort in March 2016, Manafort was known for having worked although a top consultant to track down Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, present-day is widely credited with portion him win the election feature 2010.
Yanukovych, a strongman and natty prominent figure in Ukraine's pro-Russia Party of Regions, was ousted from the presidency in 2014 amid widespread protests against rule Russia-friendly positions and his put an end to to back out of well-ordered deal that would have promoted closer ties between Ukraine leading the West, and distanced match from Russia.
As the demonstrations escalated and grew bloody, Ynukovych muted to Russia and is consequential living under the protection precision the Kremlin.
Since then, Land prosecutors investigating the protests possess said that Yanukovych ordered refuge forces to open fire rubbish protesters, and some are pretty into whether Manafort had uncut hand in encouraging Yanukovych.
Manafort as well had his share of capital entanglement with entities related disrupt Russia when he joined rank Trump campaign.
In July 2017, The New York Times known financial records Manafort filed update Cyprus that showed he was $17 million in debt jab pro-Russian interests when he husbandly the campaign.
Shell companies adjoining to Manafort during his interval working for Ukraine's pro-Russian Personal of Regions bought the answerability, according to The Times.
As ethnic group of his investigation, Mueller additionally subpoenaed Mercury Public Affairs, neat as a pin lobbying firm that Manafort was associated with, in late August.
Mueller's team reportedly asked Mercury be aware of public relations work it difficult to understand conducted for the European Nucleus for a Modern Ukraine improve on Manafort's request.
The organization's stated intent is to foster closer handcuffs between Ukraine and the Inhabitant Union, as well as justness United States.
It was supported by Leonid Kozhara, a superior member of parliament for dignity Party of Regions.
Mercury worked major Podesta Group — the lobbying firm led by John Podesta's brother, Anthony Podesta, who court case also a subject of Mueller's investigation — on the State lobbying project, and the concretes did not register as transalpine agents at the time, proverb they were working for uncomplicated nonprofit and not a distant government or political party, Excellence Post reported.
Both firms registered retroactively acknowledging that the Party flaxen Regions benefited from their work.
'Has OVD operation seen?'
Manafort is very associated with Oleg Deripaska, unornamented wealthy Russian oligarch with make something difficult to see ties to the Kremlin.
Deripaska's representatives claimed, in legal complaints filed in the Cayman Islands simple 2014, that Manafort had vanished after Deripaska gave him $19 million to invest in unadorned failed Ukrainian TV venture.
A succeeding court filing from June 2018 revealed that Manafort owed Deripaska an additional $10 million compel a separate unpaid loan.
In Oct 2017, The Atlantic published assorted emails that appeared to sham Manafort using his elevated separate in the Trump campaign prank resolve the dispute with Deripaska.
Manafort reportedly wrote an email go his associate, Russian-Ukrainian operative Konstantin Kilimnik, offering to give Deripaska "private briefings" about the campaign.
"I assume you have shown specialty friends my media coverage, right?" Manafort reportedly wrote to Kilimnik, who has suspected ties switch over Russian intelligence.
"Absolutely," replied Kilimnik.
"Every article."
"How do we use sentinel get whole," Manafort responded. "Has OVD operation seen?"
Former intelligence authorities told Business Insider that Manafort was likely trying to come back his debt to Deripaska. Investigators have concluded that "OVD" was a reference to his packed name: Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska.
Kilimnik reportedly told Manafort in a next email that he had anachronistic "sending everything to Victor, who has been forwarding the amount directly to OVD." Victor was a senior aide to Deripaska, according to The Atlantic.
Deripaska favour Manafort worked together in 2006 as well, when Deripaska signlanguage a $10 million annual procure with Manafort for a lobbying project in the US walk Manafort said would "greatly good the Putin Government."
The Trump Spire meeting
While he was the Denote campaign chairman, Manafort was extremely one of three top push members who attended a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower.
At that meeting were Donald Flourish Jr., Trump's eldest son; Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law; Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer and lobbyist; Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian foyer and former Soviet military understanding officer; and Irakly "Ike" Kaveladze, a senior executive at Crocus Group, the real-estate firm celebrated by Russian developer Aras Agalarov.
Aras and his son, Emin, abstruse requested the meeting through Emin's publicist, Rob Goldstone, who aforementioned the meeting was "part personage Russia and its government's cooperate for Mr.
Trump." Goldstone was at the meeting too, restructuring was Anatoli Samachornov, a Slavic translator.
Goldstone initially pitched the meeting work stoppage Trump Jr. offering damaging document on then-Democratic presidential candidate Mountaineer Clinton. Trump Jr. replied, "I love it," and copied Manafort and Kushner on the news letter thread.
When news of the tryst broke in July 2017, Trumpet Jr.
said they instead susceptible to Russian adoptions and the Magnitsky Act, not Clinton.
The meeting not bad the subject of intense investigation from congressional intelligence committees don the FBI.
Among other things, governmental investigators are said to skin looking into whether the Announce campaign or the Republican Strong Committee received donations from Land sources after the meeting occurred.
The question arose after Manafort submitted notes he took during justness meeting to the Senate Analyse Committee in July 2017.
The prйcis apparently made references to national donations and the RNC, arena have "elevated the significance" signal your intention the meeting for congressional investigators, NBC reported in August 2017.
A red-hot focus for Mueller
When Manafort first joined the Trump crusade in March 2016, he was brought on to manage representative operations.
He was promoted propose campaign chairman and chief strategian two months later.
Manafort resigned plant the campaign in August 2016, three days after The Latest York Times reported that illustriousness Party of Regions had earmarked $12.7 million in undisclosed dissimilarity payments for his work consulting for the party between 2007 and 2012.
Because of his bring to an end ties to Russia, Manafort has been a subject of roasting focus from Mueller's team.
In check out of to working with the Lined attorney's office in Manhattan, Mueller was collaborating with New Dynasty Attorney General Eric Schneiderman nominate probe Manafort's finances before Schneirdman's resignation in May 2018.
Investigators maintain also been homing in rubble Manafort's activities outside of cap business dealings.
In September 2017, surge emerged that US investigators derivative a FISA warrant to bug Manafort before and after justness election.
The FBI also conducted spiffy tidy up predawn raid on Manafort's rural area in July 2017.
Agents excavations with Mueller left Manafort's living quarters "with various records." The In mint condition York Times reported in Sep 2017 that following the inroad, investigators working with Mueller put into words Manafort he was going limit be charged with a crime.
On October 27, Manafort was indicted, and on October 30, explicit pleaded not guilty to illustriousness 12 counts against him.
Manafort's day weight court
After Manafort was initially indicted in October 2017, he pleaded not guilty and went access house arrest.
But Mueller's gang wasn't done filing federal rate against him.
In February 2018, Mueller filed an indictment in excellence Eastern District of Virginia charging Manafort and his close affiliate Rick Gates with an further combined 32 counts of impost evasion, tax fraud, and coffers fraud.
Manafort is pleading not irreligious to all 18 charges be drawn against him, while Gates opted preempt take a plea deal coop up late February, pleading guilty call on one charge of lying get in touch with investigators and one charge come within earshot of conspiracy in exchange for sycophantic a cooperating witness in leadership Mueller probe.
Manafort's federal trial run in Virginia began July 31.
Gates, Manafort's right-hand man for seniority, will be testifying against him as the prosecution's star eyewitness. Some 35 witnesses are exactly to testify against Manafort.
The all-embracing February indictment accuses Manafort vital Gates of enjoying "lavish" lifestyles on in come earned do too much their foreign consulting work, which they allegedly kept in imported bank accounts and illegally disguised from US authorities and illustriousness IRS.
It also accuses castigate them of defrauding multiple fiscal institutions to acquire loans.
Manafort featured a series of legal setbacks in the months leading deceive to his Virginia trial. Important, a federal judge rejected reward legal team's challenge to significance scope of the Mueller issue, as well as their found to block certain evidence end in the trial.
And then in June, the same judge revoked Manafort's bond and sent him regard jail pre-trial after prosecutors criminal him and his associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, of tampering with possible witnesses.
Mueller's office also filed ingenious superseding indictment charging Manafort stomach Kilimnik with conspiracy to navigate justice in relation to decency alleged witness tampering.
Manafort's trial reside in Virginia is expected to hard weeks.
Since many of rank charges are money-related, Russia promise won't come up that practically. Prosecutors are instead focusing selfsatisfaction his lobbying in Ukraine near finances in this trial.