Clinton camp links Trump to Kremlin
Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager says there are serious questions about whether Donald Trump is a ‘‘puppet’’ for Russia.
‘‘We now need Donald Trump to explain to us the extent to which the hand of the Kremlin is at the core of his own campaign,’’ Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said.
‘‘There’s a web of financial interests that have not been disclosed. And there are real questions being raised about whether Trump is just a puppet for the Kremlin in this race.’’
Mook said that the departure of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort from the campaign last week ‘‘doesn’t mean that the Russians have been pushed out of this campaign’’.
Manafort resigned last week amid reports about his business dealings with Ukrainian leaders aligned with Russia. Those reports involved allegations of millions of dollars in cash payments and secret lobbying efforts in the US. Manafort has denied the allegations.
‘‘The hand of the Kremlin has been at work in this [Trump’s] campaign for some time,’’ Mook said. ‘‘It’s clear that they are supporting Donald Trump.’’
Mook said Trump had ‘‘parroted’’ Russian President Vladimir Putin in his own remarks during the past few weeks and brought a man to an intelligence briefing last week who was on the payroll of RT, the Kremlin’s English-language TV channel formerly known as Russia Today.
As the Republican presidential nominee, Trump received his first classified intelligence briefing last week. He brought along retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, former director of the Defence Intelligence Agency. Mook was referring to Flynn’s appearances on RT as an analyst and his attendance at a dinner in Moscow last December celebrating the 10th anniversary of the cable network.
Mook said Flynn ‘‘was sitting two seats away from Vladimir Putin at their 10th Anniversary gala’’.
‘‘There are a lot of questions here. And we need Donald Trump to disclose all of his financial ties and whether his advisers are having meetings with the Kremlin.’’
Mook made the comments about Trump’s campaign amid controversy over contributions to the Clinton Foundation from foreign and corporate donors. The campaign has said that Clinton’s sprawling family charity will stop taking money from those sources if Clinton becomes president.
The donations have sparked criticism from Republicans and some liberals who see the contributions as a potential conflict of interest for Clinton if she wins. Among the contributors to the foundation are the Saudi Arabian and Australian governments, banks and oil companies.
‘‘The fact the Clinton Foundation is still taking foreign contributions until the election, but not after, is a sign they know those donations lead to conflicts of interest,’’ Jason Miller, senior communications adviser for the Trump campaign, said.
‘‘The Clinton Foundation must cease taking foreign contributions immediately to prevent American interests being superseded by those of her donors.’’
While the foundation will stop accepting foreign and corporate donations if Clinton wins, it will not shut down, Mook said. He said the foundation provided antimalaria drugs and drugs to fight HIV.