Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman agrees to cooperate at a court hearing in Washington DC, formally entering into a plea deal Mueller’s team disclosed new details about Manafort’s work as an unregistered lobbyist in the US for Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president deposed in a popular uprising in February 2014, Jon Swaine reports. Manafort allegedly orchestrated a plan to smear a Yanukovych domestic rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, by disseminating “with no fingerprints” allegations that Tymoshenko had paid for the murder of a Ukrainian official. “My goal is to plant some stink on Tymo,” Manafort wrote in a message.
He also allegedly schemed to have “Obama Jews” exert pressure on Barack Obama’s administration to support Yanukovych and disavow Tymoshenko, and conspired with an Israeli government official to spread allegations linking Tymoshenko to antisemitism. Manafort allegedly wrote in one message to an unidentified associate: “I have someone pushing it on the NY Post. Bada bing bada boom.” Related: Paul Manafort: Trump's ex-campaign chair agrees to cooperate with Mueller Manafort is only the latest Trump campaign advisor to admit guilt since the election. The list includes his former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, campaign aide Rick Gates and former campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos. Related: How many of Donald Trump's advisers have been convicted? Continue reading... |