Top Senate Intel Dem Says Committee Must Talk To Manafort For Russia Probe

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that the committee needs to interview former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election.

Warner’s comment came the night before the Associated Press published an explosive report revealing Manafort worked for a Russian billionaire on a plan to advance Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests.

“We have to talk to Mr. Manafort,” Warner told CNN’s “OutFront.” “We’re going to need to bring him in and have that kind of conversation.”

The Democratic senator’s comments followed allegations from a Ukrainian lawmaker that Manafort had laundered money from a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party. Manafort has denied accepting any off-the-books payments from the Party of Regions, the political party of disgraced former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The Associated Press then reported Wednesday morning that Manafort developed a strategy to influence politics and business dealings and pitched it to Russian businessman and Putin ally Oleg Deripaska in 2005. According to documents obtained by the AP, Manafort wrote that his plan would “benefit the Putin Government.”

Manafort told the AP that he did work for Deripaska, but said he did not try to advance Russian interests.

“I worked with Oleg Deripaska almost a decade ago representing him on business and personal matters in countries where he had investments,” he said in a statement to the AP. “My work for Mr. Deripaska did not involve representing Russian political interests.”