Does It Matter if Ukraine’s Pro-Russian Party Gave Manafort Secret Cash?
Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr.Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials . . .
.. Manafort became, in effect, a general consultant to Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, shaping big-picture messaging, coaching Yanukovych to speak in punchy, American-style sound bites
.. Manafort also insists, “I have never received a single ‘off-the-books cash payment’ as falsely ‘reported’ byThe New York Times, nor have I ever done work for the governments of Ukraine or Russia.” That last part seems like a bit of a dodge. If someone does work for the Democratic National Committee or Obama for America in 2012, does that mean they can say they’ve never done work for the U.S. government? In both cases, they’re answering to the president, and it seems reasonable to conclude their viewpoints and interests align.
.. After years of supporting Ukrainian resistance toRussian threats, the GOP platform suddenly changed this year. We know Manafort’s worldview is considerably friendlier to Vladmir Putin, Russia, and its political allies than the average American foreign policy maker’s. Is this because of secret cash, past contractual work, or Manafort’s personal definition of American interests?