FBI raids Trump’s ex-campaign chair
WASHINGTON: FBI agents on July 26 raided a home owned by Paul Manafort — once the head of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — in connection with the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and alleged collusion by the US president’s aides, reports have revealed.
Agents working for special counsel Robert Mueller arrived unannounced early morning at Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, one day after he appeared at a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill. It was not know if his other residences in Florida and New York city and the Hamptons in New York state were also searched.
Investigators are reported to have carried away various records — tax documents and foreign banking accounts — including documents already turned over by him to investigators. The exact nature of the records seized remained unclear.
The Washington Post, which first reported the raid, said the intention could have been to send Manafort a message — that he should not expect gentle treatment or legal courtesies from Mueller.
Manafort’s past dealings with Russia and Russia-aligned leaders of Ukraine had long been under scrutiny.
His presence at a meeting Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr took last June with a Russian lawyer last year who had offered campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton brought him fresh public scrutiny. HTC