Former Trump campaign chairman registers as a foreign agent

Former Trump campaign chairman registers as a foreign agent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, registered Tuesday with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for political consulting work he did for a Ukrainian political party, acknowledging that he coached party members on how to interact with U.S. government officials.

Manafort said in a Justice Department filing that his firm, DMP International, received more than $17 million from the Party of Regions, the former pro-Russian ruling party in Ukraine, for consulting work from 2012 through 2014.

Manafort is the second member of the Trump campaign to register as a foreign agent. In March, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn registered with the Justice Department for work his consulting firm performed for a Turkish businessman, which Flynn said could have aided the Turkish government. Both registrations came after the work had been completed.

Manafort helmed Trump’s campaign for about five months, until August 2016. He resigned from the campaign immediately after The Associated Press reported on his firm’s covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s ruling political party, which the firm did without disclosing that it was working as a foreign agent. He is one of several people linked to the Trump campaign who are under scrutiny by a special counsel and congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign and potential coordination with Trump associates.

Manafort has denied any coordination with Russia and has said his work in Ukraine was not related to the campaign.

The Washington Post first reported Manafort’s registration and posted a copy of his filing online Tuesday. The filing does not bear the date and time stamps showing that it has been formally received by the Justice Department’s Foreign Agent Registration unit. But Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni confirmed to several news outlets that Manafort had gone through with the registration.

Maloni did not respond to phone calls or emails from the AP seeking comment.

His registration came more than two months after Maloni told the AP that Manafort would be registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Maloni later backed off that statement, saying in late April that Manafort was still considering his options after receiving guidance from the Justice Department.

Manafort’s registration comes more than three years after he completed his work. Under federal law, people who represent foreign political interests and seek to influence U.S. public opinion and policy are required to register with the Justice Department before they perform any work.

The Justice Department rarely prosecutes violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Instead, as in Manafort’s case, they often work with lobbyists to get them in compliance.

In addition to Manafort, his deputy, Rick Gates, also registered for the Ukrainian political work. Gates also served in the Trump campaign.