Election 2016

Report: Pro-Russian Propagandists Earmarked Cash Payments for Trump’s Campaign Manager

This story blew up over the last 24 hours and while we already knew Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort worked for former Ukrainian President Viktor F. Yanukovych, the New York Times reports that Manafort was afforded cash payments that were written down by hand.

The cash payments were reportedly uncovered by Ukrainian investigators who are looking into the former president's shadowy network.

Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials. [...]

Anti-corruption officials there say the payments earmarked for Mr. Manafort, previously unreported, are a focus of their investigation, though they have yet to determine if he actually received the cash.

Manafort responded to the New York Times through his personal lawyer who said Manafort never received the money, but consider me skeptical.

Manafort apparently signed a receipt for the cash payments, but Ukrainian investigators told ABC News that they haven't been able to confirm if the signature is actually his. Manafort also told ABC News that he "never received" any "off-the-books cash payment."

Aside from the obvious conflicts of interest, the significance of Manafort's compensation is that he never registered as a foreign agent with the Department of Justice and it's not clear if he broke any laws by not doing so.

The New York Times has a photo copy of the hand-written ledger you can view on the original story.