Yawn. I'll just leave this here.
Manafort and Rick Gates are central figures to this investigation, allow me to expand below. A Russian Oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, worked with them for years. Oleg Deripaska was recently in the news, he was the oligarch that was recorded by an escort. The recording shows him meeting a Russian Deputy Prime Minister a month after Manafort had established email correspondence with Deripaska. They were likely exchanging intelligence. We also know that Rick Gates was in communication with former GRU Officer Kilimnik weeks before the election. Kilimnik was a liaison between Manafort and Deripaska in Kiev for years. Alex van der Zwaan lied about these communications and has been sentenced to 30 days in prison.
Rick Gates has been Manafort's right hand man for years and was very involved in the Trump campaign even after Manafort stepped down as Campaign Manager. Rick Gates is reportedly pleading guilty to charges laid out by Special Counsel Mueller's indictment, a clear indication that he is ready to cooperate with investigators.[1]
Email correspondence between Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska and former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort will be important in understanding why Manafort is a key figure to this investigation. According to videos recorded by an escort that were discovered by Russian opposition activist, Alexei Navalny, show Deripaska meeting a Russian Deputy Prime Minister on a yacht 1 month after the email correspondence between Manafort/Deripaska took place.[2] Russia has threatened to block access to social media sites, such as YouTube and Instagram, if they do not remove the videos of Deripaska and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Prikhodko meeting on the yacht.[3]
Paul Manafort was brought into the Trump campaign as Chairman to corral delegates at the convention, it was at this time where the Trump campaign pressured the GOP to make a specific change to the platform. An amendment proposed that the GOP commit to sending lethal weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian aggression was softened considerably at the request of the campaign.[4] Paul Manafort has since been indicted by Special Counsel Mueller.[5]
We know Paul Manafort offered to give a Russian billionaire private briefings on the campaign trail, the oligarch was Oleg Deripaska.[6] Paul Manafort used a campaign account for the aforementioned email correspondence.[7]
Gates and Manafort's ties to Deripaska are deep and date back at least a decade. They partnered over a massive real-estate deal in 2008.[8]
Back in 2006 Paul Manafort offered a deal to Russian oligarch Deripaska where he indicated he would offer a great service in pushing Putin's policies abroad. He was paid very handsomely by Deripaska.[9]
“We are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success,” Manafort wrote in the 2005 memo to Deripaska. The effort, Manafort wrote, “will be offering a great service that can re-focus, both internally and externally, the policies of the Putin government.”
In 2014 Deripaska sued Manafort for a cool $19 million claiming that Manafort and Gates had stolen funds intended for an investment.[10] The Associated Press were the first ones to discover their business dealings and Deripaska attempted and failed at suing the AP for libel.[11]
Furthermore, Paul Manafort worked as Trump's campaign chairman for free.[12] In 2006 Manafort bought a condo in Trump Tower.[13]
Paul Manafort was present at the infamous Trump Tower meeting where adoptions were discussed with Russian operatives.[14] Adoptions is an established euphemism used in reference to the Magnitsky Act, sanctions that are meant to cripple the power of Putin.[15] President Trump's son, son-in-law, and Campaign Manager met with Russians with the expectation of receiving damaging information about Clinton.[16] One of the Russian operatives present at the infamous Trump Tower meeting, Rinat Akhmetshin, has ties to Russian intelligence and has a history of being embroiled in court cases related to hacking campaigns.[17] During Fusion GPS CEO Glenn Simpson's Congressional testimony he confirmed that the Trump campaign likely received foreign intelligence aid as Manafort had close ties to Russian Intelligence.[18]
1) New York Times - Rick Gates, Trump Campaign Aide, to Plead Guilty in Mueller Inquiry and Cooperate
2) Telegraph - Oligarch met with top Russian official after Trump aide 'offered briefings'
3) The Guardian - Russian watchdog orders YouTube to remove Navalny luxury yacht video
4) NPR - 2016 RNC Delegate: Trump Directed Change To Party Platform On Ukraine Support
5) Politico - United States of America v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and Richard W. Gates III
6) Washington Post - Manafort offered to give Russian billionaire ‘private briefings’ on 2016 campaign
7) Politico - Manafort used Trump campaign account to email Ukrainian operative
8) The Daily Beast - Paul Manafort Sought $850 Million Deal With Putin Ally and Alleged Gangster
9) Associated Press - AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid Putin
10) Washington Post - Manafort’s Russia connection: What you need to know about Oleg Deripaska
11) Politico - Judge tosses libel lawsuit against AP by Russian oligarch tied to Manafort
12) TIME - How Donald Trump Hired and Fired Paul Manafort
13) NBC - Ex-Trump Aide Manafort Bought New York Homes With Cash
14) New York Times - Talking Points Brought to Trump Tower Meeting Were Shared With Kremlin
15) The Atlantic - Why Does the Kremlin Care So Much About the Magnitsky Act?
16) Global News - 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Russians under further scrutiny
17) New York Times - Lobbyist at Trump Campaign Meeting Has a Web of Russian Connections
18) Senate Judiciary Committee - Glenn Simpson Fusion GPS CEO Testimony Pg. 154-155