Another former Trump campaign member to register as a ‘foreign agent’

Another former Trump campaign member says they may registers as a “foreign agent” retroactively for work they did for the Ukrainian government – Paul Manafort,  the campaign manager before the election.
Sources told CNN that Manafort’s lawyers were consulting with the State Department about whether he should have registered for work he did that would designate him as a foreign agent.

According to Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni, “Since before the 2016 election, Mr. Manafort has been in discussions with federal authorities about the advisability of registering under FARA for some of his past political work. Mr. Manafort received formal guidance recently from the authorities and he is taking appropriate steps in response to the guidance. The work in question was widely known, concluded before Mr. Manafort began working with the Trump campaign and was not conducted on behalf of the Russian government.”

Manafort was one of the central figures accused by Democrats and other Trump detractors of possibly being too closely tied to the Russians while running Trump’s campaign.
Manafort worked as a consultant for a group tied to the party of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted over accusations of corruption. Yanukovych was said to be advocating on behalf of Russian interests.

It was also revealed today that after stepping down from the campaign, Manafort received millions in loans from Trump-tied companies, including one allied with a Ukrainian billionaire.
If Manafort chooses to do so, he would be the second former Trump official to register as a “foreign agent.” Mike Flynn did the same after resigning from his position as President Trump’s national security advisor. He was forced to resign after leaks to the press showed he had lied about his meeting with a Russian ambassador.