A new indictment has accused former Trump aide Paul Manafort of paying some €2 million to European politicians to support a pro-Russian government in Ukraine. The lobbying group was led by a "former European chancellor."
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US President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort paid a group of unnamed European politicians €2 million ($2.5 million) to lobby for a pro-Russian government in Ukraine, according to an indictment filed by US special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday.
The superseding indictment accused Manafort of wiring the money to the politicians — collectively called the "Habsburg group" — in 2012 and 2013 to give "independent assessments" favorable of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's government.
The group was meant to "act informally and without any visible relationship" to the Ukrainian government, a memorandum written by Manafort in June 2012 read.
Former chancellor behind the Habsburg group
An unnamed "former European chancellor" referred to as "Foreign Politician A" allegedly managed the lobbying group, according to the indictment. Manafort and the Habsburg group lobbied US lawmakers and senior government officials in or around 2013 in a strategy titled "SUPER VIP."
Alfred Gusenbauer was previously employed by a lobbying firm with ties to ManafortImage: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Punz
The House of Habsburg was an aristocratic family that occupied the throne of the primarily German-speaking Holy Roman Empire for hundreds of years. Chancellors head the governments of Germany and Austria; the post also exists in Switzerland, where the chancellor heads an office that supports the Federal Council, which serves as the head of government.
Although Mueller's indictment does not name any of the European politicians, the AP news agency previously reported that Manafort had worked with Mercury LLC, a US-based lobbying firm that had employed former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer.
Gusenbauer and Mercury lobbyists met with three members of the US Congress in 2013, according to a disclosure form filed by Mercury in 2017. The meetings were part of Mercury's outreach work on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a think tank that Mueller has described as a "mouthpiece" of the Yanukovych government.
The ex-chancellor is now a member of the "Dialogue of Civilizations" think tank in Berlin. Vladimir Yakunin, one of the organization's founders, was placed on a US sanctions list in 2014 in response to Russian intervention in Ukraine. The US said Yakunin, who at the time was president of state-owned Russian Railways, was "a close confidant" of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Schröder said he did not see a problem in taking positions in Russia-owned energy companiesImage: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Gerhard Schröder's Russian ties
Gusenbauer is not the only former chancellor with close ties to Russia.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder came under heavy fire after leaving office in 2005 for what some observers saw as overly close ties to Russia, including to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Schröder once called a "flawless democrat."
Yanukovych's government was ousted in 2014 after months of street protests that erupted when his government chose not to sign an association agreement with the European Union and instead sought closer ties to Russia. Following the Maidan protests, which were named after the square in Kyiv where they took place, Yanukovych fled Ukraine to take up exile in Russia as details of corruption in his government became public.
A timeline of the Russia investigation
Allegations of collusion with the Kremlin have dogged Team Trump since the 2016 election campaign. DW takes a look at how special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation unfolded.
Image: Reuters/L. Downing
2013: Mr. Trump goes to Russia
June 18, 2013. Donald Trump tweeted: "The Miss Universe Pageant will be broadcast live from MOSCOW, RUSSIA on November 9. A big deal that will bring our countries together!" He later added: "Do you think Putin will be going - if so, will he become my new best friend?" October 17, 2013 Trump tells chat show host David Letterman he has conducted "a lot of business with the Russians."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V. Prokofyev
September 2015: Hacking allegations raised
An FBI agent tells a tech-support contractor at the Democratic National Committee it may have been hacked. On May 18, 2016, James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, says there were "some indications" of cyberattacks aimed at the presidential campaigns. On June 14, 2016 the DNC announces it had been the victim of an attack by Russian hackers.
Image: picture alliance/MAXPPP/R. Brunel
July 20, 2016: Kislyak enters the picture
Senator Jeff Sessions — an early Trump endorser who led his national security advisory committee — meets Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and a group of other ambassadors at a Republican National Convention event.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Smialowski
July 22, 2016: Assange thickens the plot
Julian Assange's WikiLeaks publishes 20,000 emails stolen from the DNC, appearing to show a preference for Hillary Clinton over Senator Bernie Sanders.
Image: Reuters/N. Hall
July 25, 2016: Cometh the hour, Comey the man
The FBI announces it is investigating the DNC hack saying "a compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Smialowski
November 8, 2016: Trump elected
Donald Trump is elected president of the United States. On November 9, the Russian parliament burst into applause at the news.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
November 10, 2016: Team Trump denies Russia link
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Rybakov says there "were contacts" between the Russian government and the Trump campaign during the election campaign. The Trump campaign issues a firm denial.
Image: Imago/Itar-Tass
November 18, 2016: Flynn appointed
Trump names General Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. The former Defense Intelligence Agency chief was a top foreign policy adviser in Trump's campaign. Flynn resigned in February after failing to disclose full details of his communication with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Image: Reuters/C. Barria
January 26, 2017: Yates - 'The center cannot hold'
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates tells White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn made false statements regarding his calls with Kislyak. On January 30, Trump fires Yates for refusing to enforce his travel ban, which was later blocked by federal courts.
Image: Getty Images/P. Marovich
March 2, 2017: Sessions recuses himself
Trump says he has "total confidence" in Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions announces he will recuse himself from any investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Image: Getty Images/S.Loeb
March 20, 2017: FBI examines Trump-Kremlin links
FBI Director James Comey confirms before the House Select Committee on Intelligence that the FBI was investigating possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/J. S. Applewhite
May 9, 2017: Trump sacks Comey
In a letter announcing the termination, Trump writes: "While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau."
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst/K. Lamarque
May 17, 2017: Mueller appointed special counsel
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Robert Mueller to look into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J.S. Applewhite
August 2017: FBI seizes documents from Manafort
Shortly after Mueller convenes a grand jury for the investigation, the FBI seizes documents from one of Paul Manafort's properties as part of a raid for Mueller's probe. The former Trump campaigner manager stepped down in August 2016 after allegations surfaced that he had received large payments linked to Ukraine's former pro-Russian government.
Image: Imago
September 2017: Trump Jr.'s talks to Senate committee
Donald Trump Jr. tells the Senate Judiciary Committee he has not colluded with a foreign government. The closed-door interview relates to his June 2016 meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, which was also attended by his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort. Trump Jr.’s emails, however, suggest the meeting was supposed to produce dirt on Clinton.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/K. Willens
October 2017: Internet giants allege Russian interference
Facebook, Twitter and Google reportedly tell US media they have evidence that Russian operatives exploited platforms to spread disinformation during the 2016 US presidential election. The three companies are appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee in November 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Lei
July 2018: Trump and Putin meet in Helsinki
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Helsinki for their first-ever summit. During the trip, Trump publically contradicts the findings of US intelligence agencies who concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
November 8, 2018: Sessions resigns as attorney general
Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns from his post, under reported pressure from Trump. The president then appoints a critic of the Mueller probe as his successor, but later nominates William Barr to be the next attorney general in December 2018.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/A. Brandon
November 29, 2018: Former Trump lawyer pleads guilty
Trump's former long-time personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The FBI raided his home earlier that year in April. He would later be sentenced to three years in prison. In 2019, he tells Congress that Trump is a "racist" and a "con man."
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
January 2019: Trump associate Roger Stone arrested
Roger Stone, a longtime Trump associate and Republican operative, is arrested at his home in Florida for lying to Congress about having advance knowledge of plans by WikiLeaks to release emails from the Democratic Party that US officials say were stolen by Russia.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/L. Sladky
March 13, 2019: Manafort sentenced to prison
Manafort is found guilty of conspiracy charges and handed an additional sentence, bringing his total prison sentence to 7.5 years. In August 2018, a court in Virginia found him guilty of eight charges, including tax and bank fraud. He also pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/D. Verkouteren
March 22, 2019: Mueller ends Russia probe
Special counsel Robert Mueller submits a confidential 448-page report on the findings of his investigation to the US Justice Department. The main conclusions of the report are made public when they are given to Congress. A redacted version of the report is released to the public on April 18, though Democrats call for the full report to be released.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/C. Dharapak
March 24, 2019: Trump declares 'exoneration'
The final report concluded that no one involved in Trump's 2016 election campaign colluded with Russia. Attorney General William Barr said the report provided no evidence that Trump obstructed justice, but stopped short of fully exonerating the president. Reacting to the findings, Trump described the probe as an "illegal take-down that failed," and said there was "complete and total exoneration."
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
May 1, 2019: Barr testifies
In late March, Mueller writes a letter expressing concerns over the way Barr portrayed his report. The attorney general says the special counsel's letter was "a bit snitty" while testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in May. Barr then cancels a subsequent appearance before the House Judicial Committee, citing "unprecedented and unnecessary" hearing conditions.
Image: Getty Images/A. Wong
July 24, 2019: Mueller light
Robert Mueller's congressional testimony on the Russia probe was again inconclusive. He sometimes struggled with his answers or avoided queries. To the Democrats frustration he appeared to do little to give any encouragement to the notion that President Trump could be impeached, though he did suggest he might be prosecuted for obstruction of justice crimes after he leaves the White House.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
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Manafort stopped working for Yanukovych when the former Ukrainian leader left office.
The latest indictment against Manafort came after Trump's former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Rick Gates pleaded guilty earlier on FridayImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Walsh
Gates is set to cooperate with the Mueller investigation after striking a plea bargain deal. He is the fifth person to plead guilty so far in the Mueller investigation.
Manafort has maintained his innocenceImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Martin
Manafort on Friday continued to resist entering any plea deal with Mueller. "Notwithstanding that Rick Gates pled today, I continue to maintain my innocence," he said in a statement.
"I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence," he said, referring to Gates, before adding: "This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me."
