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Already during the election campaign, his possible links with Russia attract attention
[Photo: AFP]
Washington Almost two months ago, Paul Manafort led Donald Trump's election campaign. he was controversial. As of Tuesday, the 69-year-old is in court in Alexandria near the federal capital of Washington. This is the first trial from the Russian investigation, but it has nothing to do with the heart of the investigations. For the President of the United States, the lawsuit may be an unpleasant reminder that the case is far from over.
Who is Paul Manafort?
He worked for decades as a lobbyist and political advisor, gaining a very dubious reputation. His clients included dictators and diets in Africa, Asia and South America. Generally, it was a lot of money. For many years, he lobbied for Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at the time.
In March 2016, Trump brought him into his campaign team, in June he took the lead. Manafort had to leave in August. The context was the financial entanglement in Ukraine: he would have received millions from a black box office
Why is Manafort a central figure of the Russian affair?
Already during the election campaign its possible links with Russia are attracting attention. For years, he worked for a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine. Later, he focused on relations with the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who has links with the Kremlin. According to court records, he lent Manafort 10 million US dollars (about 8.6 million euros).
The documents also show that investigators were also interested in the role of Manafort during a meeting with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower in June 2016. Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Junior, had accepted this proposal after being offended by his father's mate, Hillary Clinton.
What is it?
The allegations are not directly related to the Russian case Trump to do. In the investigations of the special investigator Robert Mueller, it is essentially about whether in the presidential campaign in 2016 the collusion between the Trump camp and Russia in favor of the Republican. It can also be all that happens in this context. In the case of Manafort, the investigators scrutinized its operations in Ukraine.
The indictment deals with the lobbying of his company. In the process that begins, Manafort must answer for tax and banking fraud. In another trial, scheduled to start in Washington in September, he is charged with money laundering, false statements and criminal conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty
Can Manafort Trump become dangerous?
This is not predictable. He was part of the Republican campaign team for several months. The hypothesis is plausible that he has insider knowledge who would rather not see the Trump camp put on the big bell. Trump is distanced from his former adviser. The President argues that the allegations came from a time when Manafort was not yet part of his team. In addition, he has been working for him for a very short time
How is the process?
This Tuesday will begin with a selection of jurors. This can take a lot of time for big processes. The members of the jury are under special observation in such a procedure; it is to exclude any form of partiality. Manafort's lawyers wanted to take it off in advance to ask potential jurors if and how they would vote in the presidential election. Judge T. S. Ellis rejected that
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