Ex-Trump campaign chair registers as foreign agent
Manafort says firm was paid millions by pro-Russian party in Ukraine for consulting jobs
WASHINGTON— U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairperson, Paul Manafort, has registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for political consulting work he did for a Ukrainian political party, acknowledging that he coached party members on how to interact with U.S. government officials.
Manafort says in a Justice Department filing Tuesday that his firm, DMP International, received more than $17 million (U.S.) from the Party of Regions, the former pro-Russian ruling party in Ukraine, for consulting work from 2012 through 2014.
Manafort is the second member of the Trump campaign to register as a foreign agent. In March, former national security adviser Michael Flynn registered with the Justice Department for work his consulting firm performed for a Turkish businessman that he said could have aided the Turkish government. Both registrations came after the work had been completed.
Manafort helmed Trump’s campaign for about five months until August and resigned from the campaign immediately after The Associated Press reported on his firm’s covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s ruling political party. He is one of several people linked to the Trump campaign who are under scrutiny by a special counsel and congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign and potential co-ordination with Trump associates.
Manafort has denied any co-ordination with Russia and has said his work in Ukraine was not related to the campaign.
The Washington Post first reported Manafort’s registration and posted a copy of his filing online Tuesday. The filing does not bear the date and time stamps showing that it has been formally received by the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act unit. But Manafort spokesperson Jason Maloni confirmed to several news outlets that Manafort had gone through with the registration. Maloni did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment.
His registration came more than two months after Maloni said that Manafort would be registering under FARA. Maloni later backed off that statement, saying in late April that Manafort was still considering his options after receiving guidance from the Justice Department.
By law, people who represent foreign political interests and seek to influence U.S. public opinion and policy are required to register with the Justice Department before they perform any work. Manafort’s registration comes more than three years after he completed his work.
The Justice Department rarely prosecutes violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. As in Manafort’s case, they often work with lobbyists to get in compliance.
In the filing, Manafort said that his company’s work was mostly focused on domestic Ukrainian politics as part of its work for the Party of Regions, which was led at the time by former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.