Paul Manafort Jr. is a former American lobbyist, political consultant, and lawyer with a long history in Republican politics. He served as chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and advised on the campaigns of Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bob Dole. In 1980, Manafort co-founded the lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone. His lobbying work often involved representing foreign leaders like Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, and Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi. This work required him to retroactively register as a foreign agent with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in 2017.
Paul Manafort's grandfather founded the New Britain House Wrecking Company (later Manafort Brothers Inc.) in 1919.
Antoinette Mary Manafort (née Cifalu), Paul Manafort's mother, was born in 1921.
Paul John Manafort Sr., Paul Manafort's father, was born in 1923.
Paul John Manafort Jr. was born on April 1, 1949.
Paul Manafort Sr. became the mayor of New Britain in 1965.
Paul Manafort graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1967.
Paul Manafort Sr.'s term as mayor of New Britain ended in 1971.
Paul Manafort received his B.S. in business administration from Georgetown University in 1971.
Paul Manafort received his J.D. from Georgetown University in 1974.
In 1976, Paul Manafort worked as a delegate-hunt coordinator for the President Ford Committee.
Paul Manafort started practicing law with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Washington, D.C. in 1977.
Paul Manafort married Kathleen Bond on August 12, 1978.
Paul Manafort served as the southern coordinator for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign between 1978 and 1980.
Kathleen Manafort graduated from George Washington University with a B.B.A. in 1979.
Ronald Reagan was elected president in November 1980.
In 1980, Paul Manafort co-founded the lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone (later BMSK) in Washington, D.C., along with Charles R. Black Jr. and Roger Stone.
In 1980, Paul Manafort co-founded the lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone.
Paul Manafort's time at the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease ended in 1980.
Paul Manafort was nominated to the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation in 1981.
Paul Manafort Sr. was indicted in a corruption scandal in 1981 but was not convicted.
Paul Manafort began working as a registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia in June 1984.
Following the recruitment of Peter G. Kelly, the firm Black, Manafort & Stone was renamed Black, Manafort, Stone, and Kelly (BMSK) in 1984.
Peter G. Kelly joined Black, Manafort & Stone in 1984.
In 1985, BMSK secured a $600,000 contract with Jonas Savimbi, leader of the Angolan rebel group UNITA, to improve Savimbi's image and secure financial backing in Washington.
Paul Manafort resigned from his position at OPIC in May 1986 after lobbying for Saudi Arabia.
Manafort resigned from his directorship at OPIC in June 1986 after the Reagan administration refused to grant him a waiver to work as a foreign agent.
Kathleen Manafort became an attorney in 1988 after graduating from Georgetown University Law Center and passing the Virginia Bar exam.
Paul Manafort served as an advisor to George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1988.
In 1989, Manafort secured a $1 million annual contract to lobby for Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire.
Manafort received $700,000 from the Kashmiri American Council between 1990 and 1994, ostensibly to highlight the situation of the Kashmiri people.
Kathleen Manafort became a member of the DC Bar in 1991.
In 1991, Manafort's firm lobbied for the governments of the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, and Nigeria. The firm earned $1 million for lobbying for Nigeria.
Between 1991 and 1993, Paul Manafort's firm earned between $660,000 and $750,000 annually for lobbying on behalf of the governments of the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Kenya.
An FBI investigation revealed that the payments Manafort received from the Kashmiri American Council between 1990 and 1994 were actually from Pakistan's ISI agency as part of a disinformation campaign.
Manafort developed the campaign strategy for Édouard Balladur in the 1995 French elections and received indirect payment for his services.
Manafort left BMSK in 1995 and joined Richard H. Davis and Matthew C. Freedman to establish a new lobbying firm, Davis, Manafort, and Freedman.
Paul Manafort served as an advisor to Bob Dole's presidential campaign in 1996.
Paul Manafort's mother, Antoinette, passed away in 2003.
In 2003, Oleg Deripaska hired Bob Dole, Manafort's previous campaign candidate, to lobby for a waiver on Deripaska's visa ban.
By December 2004, Deripaska shifted his focus from Georgia to Ukraine, sending Manafort to meet with Rinat Akhmetov to assist Akhmetov and his company, System Capital Management, navigate the political turmoil caused by the Orange Revolution.
In early 2004, Oleg Deripaska met with Rick Davis, Manafort's partner, to discuss potentially hiring Manafort and Davis to bolster the political standing of Igor Giorgadze, the former Georgian Minister of State Security.
In 2004, following the Orange Revolution, Paul Manafort was hired by the Party of Regions to advise Yanukovych, replacing Russian strategists.
In 2004, after the Orange Revolution overturned Yanukovych's initial victory, Manafort was hired to revamp his image and campaign strategy.
Around 2004, Manafort began working for Deripaska and pro-Russian oligarchs in Ukraine.
In 2005, Paul Manafort negotiated a $10 million annual contract with Oleg Deripaska to promote Russian interests in politics, business, and media in Europe and the United States.
On March 22, 2006, Manafort helped bring Yanukovych back to power in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections.
In April 2006, "John Hannah, LLC" was formed, approximately one month after the Ukrainian parliamentary elections. Manafort used this LLC to purchase his Trump Tower apartment.
From 2007 to 2012, undisclosed cash payments designated for Paul Manafort from the Party of Regions were allegedly recorded, totaling $12.7 million.
During 2007, Paul Manafort engaged in investment projects with Oleg Deripaska and Dmytro Firtash, involving a Ukrainian telecommunications company and the redevelopment of the Drake Hotel site in New York City.
On March 31, 2008, Paul Manafort's company received a payment of $63,750 from Yanukovych's Party of Regions for consulting services, according to a U.S. Justice Department report.
During 2008, Paul Manafort engaged in investment projects with Oleg Deripaska and Dmytro Firtash, involving a Ukrainian telecommunications company and the redevelopment of the Drake Hotel site in New York City.
In February 2010, Viktor Yanukovych won the Ukrainian presidential election, with Paul Manafort credited for his successful campaign strategy.
Between 2010 and 2014, federal prosecutors alleged that Paul Manafort received over $60 million from Ukrainian sponsors, including Rinat Akhmetov.
In 2010, Oleg Deripaska allegedly loaned Paul Manafort $10 million, which was reportedly never repaid, according to testimony at Manafort's 2018 trial.
In 2010, Viktor Yanukovych made a political comeback by winning the Ukrainian presidential election, attributed partly to Paul Manafort's consulting.
Manafort's work for Deripaska and pro-Russian oligarchs in Ukraine led to the 2010 victory of Yanukovych.
In May 2011, Viktor Yanukovych expressed his intention for Ukraine to join the European Union.
Since 2012, Manafort took out seven home equity loans worth approximately $19.2 million on three New York-area properties.
Between 2006 and early 2012, Manafort purchased at least four prime real estate properties in the US, worth a combined $11 million.
From 2007 to 2012, undisclosed cash payments designated for Paul Manafort from the Party of Regions were allegedly recorded, totaling $12.7 million. In 2012, Manafort reportedly routed payments to Washington lobbying firms, working on behalf of the Party of Regions without proper disclosure, to lobby against a resolution condemning the jailing of Yulia Tymoshenko.
Paul Manafort's father passed away in 2013.
In 2013, Viktor Yanukovych became the focus of the Euromaidan protests.
In February 2014, following the Ukrainian revolution (Euromaidan), Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia.
On March 17, 2014, following the Crimean referendum, Yanukovych faced sanctions from the U.S. government, including asset freeze and entry ban.
In September 2014, Paul Manafort returned to Ukraine to advise Serhiy Lyovochkin and assist in rebranding the Party of Regions, later contributing to the creation of the Opposition Bloc.
Paul Manafort claimed to have stopped working in Ukraine after the October 2014 parliamentary election, despite evidence of subsequent travels to the country.
Viktor Yanukovych, the former President of Ukraine, was overthrown in 2014.
The FBI began a criminal investigation into Manafort in 2014, following Yanukovych's removal from power.
Surveillance of Manafort by the FBI reportedly began in 2014, before Trump announced his candidacy.
In 2014, leaked text messages suggested Paul Manafort's involvement in the violent removal of Euromaidan protesters, a claim attributed to his daughter.
Between 2010 and 2014, federal prosecutors alleged that Paul Manafort received over $60 million from Ukrainian sponsors, including Rinat Akhmetov.
On March 5, 2015, due to dwindling income from Ukraine, Manafort transferred ownership of his Trump Tower apartment from an LLC to his own name to secure a loan.
In December 2015, financial records showed Paul Manafort to be approximately $17 million in debt to entities linked to Putin and Yanukovych, including a $7.8 million debt to a company connected to Deripaska.
In 2015, Manafort advised Yan Jiehe, a Chinese construction billionaire, on securing international contracts.
Throughout 2015, Paul Manafort continued to travel to Ukraine, despite claiming to have ceased working there after the October 2014 elections.
Paul Manafort approached Donald Trump about joining his campaign in February 2016.
Paul Manafort officially joined the Trump presidential campaign in March 2016, focusing on delegate acquisition.
In April 2016, Paul Manafort stated that his work in Ukraine aimed to bring the country closer to Europe.
In May 2016, Paul Manafort's local office in Ukraine closed, reportedly after the Opposition Bloc stopped payments.
On June 9, 2016, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner met with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower.
Paul Manafort was promoted to campaign manager for the Trump campaign on June 20, 2016, replacing Corey Lewandowski.
Paul Manafort's connections to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian Party of Regions came under scrutiny in August 2016, amidst reports of potentially undeclared income.
In August 2016, Ukrainian authorities alleged that Paul Manafort received $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments from the Party of Regions between 2007 and 2012, a claim denied by Manafort's lawyer. It was also reported that Manafort routed $2.2 million to Washington lobbying firms without proper disclosure.
After leaving the Trump campaign in August 2016, Manafort received loans, including a $7 million unsecured loan from a company connected to Deripaska.
Paul Manafort's time as chairman of the Trump presidential campaign ended in August 2016.
On August 17, 2016, Donald Trump restructured his campaign, seemingly reducing Paul Manafort's role. Trump's family, including Jared Kushner, had become concerned about Manafort's connections to Russia.
Manafort collaborated with Kilimnik in 2016.
In 2016, Russia interfered in the US election, leading to investigations and legal challenges.
In 2016, Manafort's then son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai, declared bankruptcy for LLCs tied to properties they co-owned, including one where Manafort had a claim.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Paul Manafort offered to provide briefings on political developments to Oleg Deripaska through Konstantin Kilimnik.
During the 2016 US presidential election campaign, Kilimnik provided Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Paul Manafort met with Konstantin Kilimnik, allegedly a Russian intelligence officer, and shared campaign polling data, including some private data, with him. Manafort also discussed a Ukrainian peace plan with Kilimnik.
During his time in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Manafort allegedly offered political briefings to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with ties to Putin, through Konstantin Kilimnik. This action was interpreted as an attempt by Manafort to appease Deripaska.
Manafort became a person of interest in the FBI's counterintelligence probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
On January 19, 2017, it was reported that Manafort was under investigation by multiple federal agencies, including the CIA, NSA, FBI, and Treasury Department.
As of February 2017, Manafort had about $12 million in outstanding home equity loans, some exceeding the value of the property.
In April 2017, a spokesman for Paul Manafort stated that he planned to file the necessary paperwork to register as a foreign agent.
In May 2017, Manafort discussed with Lenín Moreno the possibility of brokering a deal for Ecuador to hand over Julian Assange to the US in exchange for debt relief.
In May 2017, Manafort submitted documents to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence related to the Russia investigation.
On May 17, 2017, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US elections.
As of June 2, 2017, Paul Manafort had not yet registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department, despite earlier indications that he would.
On June 27, 2017, Paul Manafort retroactively registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
In July 2017, New York prosecutors subpoenaed information about loans given to Manafort during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In July 2017, an FBI search warrant application disclosed a $10 million loan from Deripaska to a company controlled by Manafort and his wife.
On July 26, 2017, the FBI raided Manafort's home, seizing documents related to the investigation.
In September 2017, CNN reported that Manafort was wiretapped by the FBI before and after the election, including during conversations with Trump.
On September 25, 2017, Paul Manafort was involved in organizing the Kurdistan Region independence referendum.
On October 27, 2017, Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates were indicted on multiple charges related to their consulting work for the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine.
On October 30, 2017, Manafort was indicted and arrested by the FBI as part of the Mueller investigation.
On November 30, 2017, Manafort reached a bail agreement, offering $11.65 million in real estate.
In 2017, discussions regarding a presidential pardon for Manafort took place.
In 2017, Manafort accepted payment from the Kurdistan Region to promote Western recognition of their independence referendum.
A misconduct complaint was filed against Paul Manafort in 2017 by Massachusetts lawyer J. Whitfield Larrabee with the Connecticut Statewide Grievance Committee, seeking his disbarment.
On January 3, 2018, Manafort filed a lawsuit challenging Mueller's authority.
In January 2018, a company tied to Oleg Deripaska sued Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, alleging financial fraud and misappropriation of funds related to Ukrainian telecom investments.
On February 2, 2018, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss Manafort's lawsuit against Mueller.
On February 22, 2018, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates were hit with additional charges in Virginia, related to tax avoidance and bank fraud. These charges alleged that Manafort, aided by Gates, laundered over $30 million through offshore accounts between 2006 and 2015, using the funds for real estate, goods, and services.
On February 23, 2018, Rick Gates pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Manafort expressed disappointment in Gates' decision and maintained his own innocence.
Manafort pleaded not guilty in the District Court for the District of Columbia on February 28, 2018. A trial date was set for September 17, 2018, and the judge reprimanded Manafort and his attorney for violating a gag order.
On March 8, 2018, Manafort pleaded not guilty to bank fraud and tax charges in Virginia. The trial was initially set for July 10, 2018, but later delayed to July 24.
In March 2018, reports of a potential presidential pardon for Manafort were denied by Trump's attorney, John Dowd.
On April 27, 2018, Judge Jackson dismissed Manafort's lawsuit against Mueller.
On May 30, 2018, Manafort's friends established a legal defense fund to assist with his mounting legal expenses.
Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik were indicted on June 8, 2018, for obstruction of justice and witness tampering related to alleged attempts to influence testimony about undisclosed lobbying work for Ukraine's pro-Russian government.
On June 15, 2018, Judge Jackson revoked Manafort's bail and ordered him jailed pending trial due to the obstruction of justice and witness tampering indictment, which allegedly occurred while Manafort was under house arrest.
In June 2018, additional charges of obstruction of justice and witness tampering were filed against Paul Manafort, leading to his imprisonment.
Paul Manafort's imprisonment started in June 2018.
On July 6, 2018, Manafort requested a change of venue for his trial, citing negative press coverage and the political leanings of Alexandria, Virginia.
July 10, 2018 was the initial date set for Manafort's trial on bank fraud and tax charges in Virginia. This date was later pushed back.
Manafort's trial in Virginia began on July 31, 2018. He faced charges including tax evasion, bank fraud, and hiding foreign bank accounts, stemming from the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In August 2018, Paul Manafort was convicted on eight charges of tax and bank fraud.
On September 13, 2018, it was revealed that Manafort and Trump had signed a joint defense agreement.
On September 14, 2018, Manafort accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering. As part of the deal, he agreed to forfeit assets and cooperate with the Special Counsel.
On September 17, 2018, Paul Manafort's trial was scheduled to begin in the District Court for the District of Columbia.
On November 26, 2018, Robert Mueller reported that Paul Manafort had violated his plea deal by repeatedly lying to investigators.
On December 7, 2018, the special counsel's office filed a document with the court detailing five areas where they alleged Manafort lied to them, in violation of his plea agreement.
In 2018, Paul Manafort faced trial for fraud and tax evasion, during which his financial dealings with Oleg Deripaska came under scrutiny.
Following Manafort's guilty plea to conspiracy charges in 2018, the Connecticut Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel initiated a disbarment case against him.
In January 2019, a court filing by Manafort's lawyers accidentally revealed that Manafort met with Konstantin Kilimnik, a suspected Russian intelligence officer, during the 2016 campaign. Manafort shared polling data and discussed a Ukrainian peace plan.
In January 2019, before a disbarment hearing, Paul Manafort resigned from the Connecticut bar and gave up his right to ever apply for readmission.
During a closed-door court hearing on February 4, 2019, special counsel prosecutor Andrew Weissmann highlighted the significance of Manafort's false statements regarding his communications with Kilimnik to the ongoing investigation into a potential agreement between Russia and the Trump campaign.
On February 7, 2019, during a court hearing, prosecutors suggested that Paul Manafort had hidden information about his actions to improve his chances of a pardon. They stated that his work with Ukraine continued after his plea deal and that he met with his campaign deputy, Rick Gates, and alleged Russian intelligence agent, Konstantin Kilimnik, in a New York cigar bar during the Trump campaign.
On February 13, 2019, Judge Amy Berman Jackson voided Paul Manafort's plea deal.
On February 23, 2019, the Office of Special Counsel described Manafort's foreign agent registration filing as deficient, omitting US lobbying contracts and a portion of compensation from Ukraine.
Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison on March 7, 2019, by Judge T.S. Ellis III.
On March 13, 2019, Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Paul Manafort to an additional 43 months in prison.
Paul Manafort was disbarred from the DC Bar on May 9, 2019.
In June 2019, Paul Manafort was transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
Paul Manafort was moved back to the Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto, Pennsylvania, in August 2019.
On December 9, 2019, the Justice Department Inspector General released a report contradicting earlier reports that the FBI sought FISA surveillance of Manafort.
On December 18, 2019, the state charges against Paul Manafort were dismissed due to double jeopardy.
Manafort's Trump Tower residence, seized by the federal government, was listed for sale in 2019.
Paul Manafort was released to home confinement on May 13, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May 2020, Paul Manafort was released from prison to home confinement due to COVID-19 concerns.
In August 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that Manafort's ties to Russian intelligence represented a grave counterintelligence threat.
The August 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded that Manafort worked with Kilimnik, a Russian intelligence officer, to undermine evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In August 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that Manafort's interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik posed a serious counterintelligence threat due to Manafort's position in the Trump campaign and his proximity to Trump.
On December 23, 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned Paul Manafort.
In April 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department confirmed a direct pipeline from Manafort to Russian intelligence.
In February 2023, Manafort agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a civil suit brought by the Justice Department in 2022 regarding undisclosed foreign bank accounts.
The equivalent of $18 million laundered by Manafort in 2017 is $22,374,152 in 2023. This detail is present in the source material but irrelevant to the event on October 30, 2017.
The text mentions the equivalent value of $12.7 million in 2023.
Reports emerged in mid-March 2024 of Paul Manafort potentially joining the Trump 2024 campaign.