A New York Times report said that Paul Manafort, who is chairman of Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, was designated to receive US$12.7 million in undisclosed payments from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.
In a statement, Manafort denied wrongdoing and said the Times was ignoring the facts to pursue a political agenda against Trump.
He denied ever receiving an “off-the-books cash payment” or having worked for the Ukrainian or Russian governments.
Photo: AP
“The suggestion that I accepted cash payments is unfounded, silly and nonsensical,” Manafort said.
He said any payments he received were for a broader political campaign team that included local and international staff, polling and research.
The secret ledgers kept by a pro-Russian political group in Ukraine, the Party of Regions, contain 22 separate references of cash disbursements designated for Manafort between 2007 and 2012.
The disbursements amount to US$12.7 million, according to anticorruption officials there.
Ukrainian officials said that the appearance of Manafort’s name in the so-called black ledgers does not mean he received the money.
The possibility remained that some of those funds might have gone to his lobbying firm or to other companies in which he held an interest.
On Monday, Manafort and his lawyer, Richard Hibey of Washington, did not respond to e-mails asking how much the political operative or his firms were paid during the five-year period in question by his main client in Ukraine, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, or the Party of Regions.
In his statement, Manafort criticized the news media as covering the campaign unfairly.
“The Times does fail to disclose the fact that the Clinton Foundation has taken — and may still take — payments in exchange for favors from [Democratic US presidential candidate] Hillary [Rodham] Clinton while serving as secretary of state,” Manafort said in the statement. “This is not discussed, despite the overwhelming evidence in e-mails that Hillary Clinton attempted to cover up.”
Democrats on Monday drew a connection between Manafort’s ties to the region and Trump’s frequent praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has regularly lauded Putin’s leadership abilities, has suggested that as president he would foster friendlier relations with Russia and has called on Russia to expose Clinton e-mails.
“Given the pro-Putin policy stances adopted by Donald Trump and the recent Russian government hacking and disclosure of Democratic Party records, Donald Trump has a responsibility to disclose campaign chair Paul Manafort’s and all other campaign employees’ and advisers’ ties to Russian or pro-Kremlin entities, including whether any of Trump’s employees or advisers are currently representing and or being paid by them,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese