Paul Manafort admits he dined with Russian spy figure just before becoming Donald Trump’s campaign chairman
On a day in which former Donald Trump adviser Michael Flynn was threatening to take all the unwanted headlines for himself, it turns out former Trump adviser Paul Manafort is suddenly back in the spotlight as well. In response to earlier subpoenas from the Eastern District Court of Virginia, it’s come to light that Manafort had dinner with an alleged Kremlin spy figure just two weeks before he became the chairman of the Trump campaign.
Konstantin Kilimnik is a Ukrainian political operative who is widely suspected by Ukrainians of being a Russian government spy for the Kremlin. His name surfaced in a subpoena, according to the Washington Post (link), prompting him to admit that he did indeed meet with Manafort. But that’s just the beginning.
Manafort is also admitting to the meeting. But both Manafort and Kilimnik are insisting that the dinner somehow had nothing to with the Donald Trump campaign or Russia, and that it was all just a grand coincidence. Kilimnik is also insisting that he has nothing to do with the Kremlin. But Kilimnik does have plenty to do with the Trump campaign. Back in March, it was reported by Politico (link) that he flew to the United States for the Republican National Convention, helping to get the Republican Party platform changed in Russia’s favor.
It’s also notable that while Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik are both publicly pleading their innocence when it comes to any Trump-Russia collusion, they did both cooperate with the subpoena by providing a response and admitting to their dinner together. This in turn raises the question of what other ways in which Manafort may be cooperating with the Feds. And in almost surreal fashion that may not be coincidental, this comes on the same day that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse stated during a CNN interview that he thinks Michael Flynn has already flipped on Donald Trump.
