Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday accused President Trump’s ex-campaign chair of secretly paying former European politicians to lobby on behalf of Ukraine.
The new allegation against Paul Manafort comes in a newly unsealed indictment made public Friday that followed a guilty plea by Manafort’s longtime deputy, Rick Gates.
The indictment accuses Manafort of paying the former politicians, informally known as the “Hapsburg group,” to appear to be “independent” analysts when in fact they were paid lobbyists.
Some of the covert lobbying took place in the US.
The indictment says the group was managed by a former European chancellor.
Court papers accuse Manafort of using offshore accounts to pay the group more than 2 million euros — about $2.45 million.
The charges against Manafort stemmed from Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
The president has denied that any collusion took place.
With Post Wires