Trump Campaign Manager Helped Pro-Russian Forces Discretely Lobby U.S. Government

Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, reportedly helped a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine get in touch with a D.C. lobbying form co-founded by John Podesta, the chairman for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

According to anonymous sources who spoke to the Associated Press, Manafort, an international political consultant who openly worked for a Ukrainian political party in 2012, “secretly steered” $2.2 million to the Podesta Group and Mercury, LLC, two prominent D.C. lobbying firms.

The “secret” aspect of the payment might be due to the fact that Manafort did not register as a foreign agent when introducing the Ukrainians to the D.C. lobbying firms, although that wasn’t required in this situation, the lobbying firms told the AP.

Rick Gates, a Trump campaign strategist who worked with Manafort in Ukraine, told the AP that their actions were lawful and they weren’t required to register as foreign agents to introduce the Ukrainians to D.C. lobbying firms.

The Podesta Group, which accepted $1.3 million of the $2.2 million the Ukrainians paid in an attempt to influence Congressional legislation, was co-founded by brothers John and Tom Podesta in 1988, according to Time. At the time of the Ukrainian payment, John Podesta had already stepped down from an executive role at the lobbying form and worked as council to President Barack Obama. He previously served as President Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff and currently is working to get Hillary Clinton elected as her campaign chairman.

John Podesta also founded the liberal think tank, Center for American Progress, in 2003.

The Podesta Group conducts lobbying efforts for a wide range of countries, including Japan, India, and Kenya, according to the AP, as well as Saudi Arabia, according to the Intercept.

Mercury, LLC, which is headed by Vin Weber, a prominent Republican who served as special adviser to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, also lobbies for foreign countries, including Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

Weber has harshly criticized Trump’s nomination and said, “I’d rather he lose” the election, reported Bloomberg.

Sources: Associated Press, Time, Intercept, Bloomberg/ Photo Credit: DC Whispers