A firm owned by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Tuesday filed documents disclosing money it received for lobbying in favor of a Ukrainian political party whose leader fled to Russia in 2014, according to the Washington Post.
The Washington Post reported that Manafort and former deputy Rick Gates, who also worked on President Donald Trump’s campaign, retroactively filed an 87-page document to the Department of Justice disclosing that their firm received $17.1 million between 2012 and 2014 to lobby for Ukraine’s Party of Regions.
Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni told the Washington Post that Manafort’s “primary focus was always directed at domestic Ukrainian political campaign work, and that is reflected in today’s filing.”
The Associated Press in August 2016 reported that Manafort’s firm “directly orchestrated” a campaign to sway public opinion in favor of Ukraine’s pro-Russia party. Manafort abruptly resigned shortly afterward.
Manafort is the second member of Trump’s inner circle to register as a foreign agent after being ousted amid unflattering media reports. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who resigned in February amid reports on his meetings with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, registered as a foreign agent in March for his work on behalf of Turkey.
