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Manafort's emails show he sold confidential Trump campaign info to Russian oligarch

Jackpot

Banned
Excerpts from the emails were leaked to WaPo, but now the full thing has leaked. The first source I'm linking to mentions The Atlantic as the source of the emails in the first line, but it does a better job of summarising the information.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/manaf...bout-russian-oleg-deripaska-2017-10?r=US&IR=T

New emails published by The Atlantic on Monday offer a more detailed look at Paul Manafort's attempt to use his role on President Donald Trump's campaign team to curry favor with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch who's an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Manafort reportedly wrote to Konstantin Kilimnik, his longtime employee and a Russian-Ukrainian operative, on April 11, 2016, asking whether he had shown "our friends" the media coverage of him since his hiring as a senior campaign strategist.

"I assume you have shown our friends my media coverage, right?" Manafort reportedly wrote.

"Absolutely," replied Kilimnik, who has come under FBI scrutiny over his purported ties to Russian intelligence. "Every article."

"How do we use to get whole," Manafort responded. "Has OVD operation seen?"

Investigators have concluded — and Manafort's spokesman has not disputed — that "OVD" was a reference to the oligarch's full name: Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska.

Kilimnik reportedly told Manafort in a later email that he had been "sending everything to Victor, who has been forwarding the coverage directly to OVD." Victor was a senior aide to Deripaska, The Atlantic said it confirmed.

The emails offer a more complete picture of the emails exchanged between Manafort and Kilimnik after Manafort joined the Trump campaign — and how much Manafort still coveted Deripaska's approval years after a falling-out over a failed business venture.

Bloomberg reported last week that Manafort had offered "private briefings" about the campaign to Deripaska in hopes of resolving a years-long business dispute involving a failed Ukrainian TV company called Black Sea Cable.

In legal complaints filed in the Cayman Islands in 2014, Deripaska's representatives claimed he gave Manafort $19 million that year to invest in the project. Manafort all but disappeared without paying Deripaska back when the project fell through, the filings say.

"By doing so, he shows not only a willingness to give out campaign information he received in confidence, but also an intent to earn personal income by selling the briefings," Olson said.

In early 2016, Deripaska's representatives "openly accused Manafort of fraud and pledged to recover the money from him," The Associated Press reported. "After Trump earned the nomination, Deripaska's representatives said they would no longer discuss the case."

Olson noted that "debt cancellation is much harder to track than payment."

"Payments leave a paper trail; debt forgiveness does not,"
he said. It's a very effective way to conceal transfer of value and is another CI flag."

https://www.theatlantic.com/politic...ht-approval-from-putin-ally-deripaska/541677/

In the email exchange that took place two weeks after starting on the campaign, Manafort seemed primarily concerned with the Russian oligarch’s approval for his work with Trump—and asked for confirmation that Deripaska was indeed paying attention.

“Yes, I have been sending everything to Victor, who has been forwarding the coverage directly to OVD,” Kilimnik responded in April, referring again to Deripaska. (“Victor” is a Deripaska aide, the source close to Manafort confirmed.) “Frankly, the coverage has been much better than Trump’s,” Kilimnik wrote. “In any case it will hugely enhance your reputation no matter what happens.”

By the end of April, Manafort was vying for control of the Trump campaign, and was named its chairman on May 19. On July 7, two weeks before Trump accepted the Republican nomination, Manafort again wrote to Kilimnik. He forwarded questions he’d received from a reporter for the English-language Kyiv Post about Black Sea Cable—the sole investment made by the venture. Manafort asked Kilimnik, “Is there any movement on this issue with our friend?” Manafort seemed concerned about whether the journalist’s probing had caught the attention of Deripaska. A source close to Manafort confirmed to me that “our friend” indeed referred to the Russian oligarch. Kilimnik did not respond to requests for comment.

Referring to the journalist from the Kyiv Post, “I would ignore him,” Kilimnik wrote back, responding within minutes to reassure Manafort that it was just “a junior reporter” and nothing to worry about.

On July 8, the Kyiv Post story on Manafort and Black Sea Cable dropped, outlining in detail how Manafort’s investment on Deripaska’s behalf went “awry.” Kilimnik forwarded the story to Manafort, and added a note to soothe him. “Nothing new here, other than bad and shallow journalism,” he wrote. Manafort, however, seemed more concerned with what Deripaska might think. “You should cover V on this story and make certain that V understands that this is all BS,” Manafort writes, “and that the real facts are the ones we passed along last year.”

On July 29, a week after Trump accepted the Republican nomination, Manafort received another email from Kilimnik, this one with the subject line “Black Caviar.” “I met today with the guy who gave you your biggest black caviar jar several years ago,” Kilimnik wrote. “We spent about 5 hours talking about his story, and I have several important messages from him to you. He asked me to go and brief you on our conversation. I said I have to run it by you first, but in principle I am prepared to do it, provided that he buys me a ticket. It has to do about the future of his country, and is quite interesting. So, if you are not absolutely against the concept, please let me know which dates/places will work, even next week, and I could come and see you.”

Manafort agreed to the cryptic request, responding “Tuesday is best.”

By this point, the correspondence between Manafort and Kilimnik had grown even more veiled. There was no longer mention of Victor or even V; the reference to Deripaska as OVD had fallen out. Yet there are two clues that may hint at the identity of the person whom Kilimnik describes as “the guy who gave you your biggest black caviar jar.” One is a reference to “his country,” apparently not the same as Kilimnik’s, who is from Ukraine. The second is the reference to jars of black caviar. Investigators believe that to be a reference to payments, The Washington Post reported.

According to The Washington Post, Manafort and Kilimnik met on August 2 at the Grand Havana Club, a Manhattan cigar club. Kilimnik told the Post that the two “discussed ‘unpaid bills’ and ‘current news.’ But he said the sessions were ‘private visits’ that were ‘in no way related to politics or the presidential campaign in the U.S.’” The emails preceding the meeting, however, suggest they had more than bills and news to discuss. Kilimnik had said he needed to relay a “long caviar story” and “several important messages” from his contact about the “future of his country.”

Just days before Kilimnik and Manafort met for cigars and caviar stories in Manhattan, Trump appeared at a campaign rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “Wouldn’t it be a great thing if we could get along with Russia?” he said.
 

Maximo

Member
giphy.gif


Its almost as if Russia was involved somehow...
 

Ithil

Member
These are the worst criminals ever. If this was a movie it would be criticized for how dumb it made its villains.
 
I think it's been quite clear for a few weeks now that Manafort is going to be nailed to the fucking wall. What we all really are dying to see is if Trump will get implicated, too.
 
Does this provide the administration with an "out". I don't see anything about emails confirming Manafort was acting under directions from Trump or the campaign at large. Can't Trump basically just say "I had no idea he was doing this. Thanks for stopping a man from making money off of my campaign?"
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I'm actually wondering if Trump has the stones to try and pardon Manafort. It would be probably the stupidest thing he could do, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't try.
 
Yeah he's definitely done for, which has been pretty likely for awhile now. I just have a terrible feeling nothing will connect Donald to this.
 

Nafai1123

Banned
Does this provide the administration with an "out". I don't see anything about emails confirming Manafort was acting under directions from Trump or the campaign at large. Can't Trump basically just say "I had no idea he was doing this. Thanks for stopping a man from making money off of my campaign?"

I don't see how it gives him an out either way. Yeah they might try to play that card, doesn't mean they'll be successful given additional evidence/witness testimony etc.

Not to mention Mueller's already going hard at the obstruction of justice angle, which stuff like this just supports more and more.
 

CazTGG

Member
I'm actually wondering if Trump has the stones to try and pardon Manafort. It would be probably the stupidest thing he could do, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't try.

Weak leader Trump doesn't have the guts to pardon his very good friend Paulie. Sad!
 

Drakeon

Member
I'm actually wondering if Trump has the stones to try and pardon Manafort. It would be probably the stupidest thing he could do, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't try.
Firing Comey was perhaps the previous stupidest thing he could do and that certainly didn't stop him...
 
I'm actually wondering if Trump has the stones to try and pardon Manafort. It would be probably the stupidest thing he could do, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't try.

I imagine they will 100% throw him to the dogs to try to pin the entire Russian drama on him. There is no political upside in protecting Manafort, unlike pardoning Arapaio who unfortunately has a significant constituency.
 

Ithil

Member
Does this provide the administration with an "out". I don't see anything about emails confirming Manafort was acting under directions from Trump or the campaign at large. Can't Trump basically just say "I had no idea he was doing this. Thanks for stopping a man from making money off of my campaign?"

That doesn't stop Manafort from flipping when faced with massive criminal charges.
 
I'm actually wondering if Trump has the stones to try and pardon Manafort. It would be probably the stupidest thing he could do, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't try.
Trump gains nothing by pardoning Manafort and loses everything. Right now there is little to nothing connecting Manafort's actions to Trump. In fact Trump can easily say he knew nothing of what Manafort was doing.
 
Does this provide the administration with an "out". I don't see anything about emails confirming Manafort was acting under directions from Trump or the campaign at large. Can't Trump basically just say "I had no idea he was doing this. Thanks for stopping a man from making money off of my campaign?"

Couldn't Manafort testify, though? Plea deal if some sort of charges were brought against him, and all that.
 

Maxim726X

Member
I don't see how it gives him an out either way. Yeah they might try to play that card, doesn't mean they'll be successful given additional evidence/witness testimony etc.

Not to mention Mueller's already going hard at the obstruction of justice angle, which stuff like this just supports more and more.

Don't see how... If anything, it will make it a easier to make Manafort the patsy. Nothing here supports the Obstruction charge we're hoping is stuck to Trump.
 

Arttemis

Member
The trail damn well better not and with a campaign MANAGER, considering the person the campaign was for was publicly making overtures to Russia himself.
 
These are the worst criminals ever. If this was a movie it would be criticized for how dumb it made its villains.

"Why the hell would anyone trying to rig the American election be dumb enough to actually keep email copies of their illegal dealings?"

More seriously: Get fucked Manafort.
 
Don't see how... If anything, it will make it a easier to make Manafort the patsy. Nothing here supports the Obstruction charge we're hoping is stuck to Trump.

He’s the campaign manager...and not the only one getting shady with the Russian government. Literally everyone from Trump’s inner circle is doing the same shady shit, the only answer is it came from the top.
 
Couldn't Manafort testify, though? Plea deal if some sort of charges were brought against him, and all that.

Yes he could. I was just kinda spit balling. Manafort becoming Trump's fall guy isn't what anyone wants. I've honestly been operating under the suspicion that Manafort has already flipped. A couple articles released last week sourced leaks that were "close to manafort". The stuff they leaked wasn't stuff you want your friend or lawyer leaking.
 
Does this provide the administration with an "out". I don't see anything about emails confirming Manafort was acting under directions from Trump or the campaign at large. Can't Trump basically just say "I had no idea he was doing this. Thanks for stopping a man from making money off of my campaign?"

Could be that Trump knew about it , but allowed them to carry on without caring to direct anything.
 
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