LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “Paul Manafort’s political-consulting firm was active for more than a decade doing work that often dovetailed with Russian political interests not only in Ukraine, but also in Georgia and Montenegro, other countries the Kremlin considered to be in its sphere of influence.
A Wall Street Journal examination shows these efforts were broader in scope and ambition, and took place for longer, than previously reported—starting in 2004 and continuing through 2015.
They often involved one principal figure, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a politically connected international operator whose ventures have sometimes aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign-policy objectives. ‘I don’t separate myself from the state,’ he told the Financial Times in 2007. ‘I have no other interests.’
The work by Mr. Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, across Eastern Europe, as well as his links to Mr. Deripaska, help explain why he is of such interest to investigators probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Congressional investigators looking into Mr. Manafort’s business and political connections want to know more about his history with Mr. Deripaska, according to people with knowledge of the probes.
Mr. Deripaska has offered to give testimony about alleged Russian meddling in the election to the House and Senate intelligence committees in exchange for immunity, according to officials with knowledge of the matter. Congressional officials have rejected that offer, not wanting to interfere with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s own Russia inquiry, they said.”
-Brett Forrest, “Paul Manafort’s Overseas Political Work Had a Notable Patron: A Russian Oligarch,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 30, 2017 06:25pm