The former director of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign shared confidential information with a member of the Russian secret service, posing a "serious" threat to the United States, according to a US Senate report released on Tuesday.
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Paul Manafort, a 71-year-old Republican political consultant, communicated directly and indirectly with Konstantin Kilimnik, identified as an agent of the Russian intelligence services, and Oleg Deripaska, a reputed oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, before and during his six months. in the campaign team of the Republican candidate, concluded the Senate Intelligence Committee, after three years of investigation into Moscow's interference in the presidential campaign. The report is released less than three months before the presidential election, which Russia is once again actively trying to disrupt, according to U.S. intelligence services.
This sharing of information, including internal election polls and details of Trump's campaign strategy, came as Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) and Kremlin-linked hacker groups launched a disinformation campaign on the social networks to promote the victory of the billionaire, underlines the report. “Taken as a whole, Mr. Manafort's high level of access and his willingness to share information with individuals considered close to Russian intelligence services, especially Mr. Kilimnik and associates of Oleg Deripaska, posed a serious threat. counter-espionage, ” explains the commission made up of elected Republicans and Democrats.
"Witch hunt"
The report also describes how, on several occasions, Trump's team sought help from Moscow and WikiLeaks in sullying the campaign of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. The commission takes up the main points of the conclusions of the special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who had underlined the numerous contacts between the members of the Republican team and Russia, while deciding on the absence of evidence on a collusion. Trump has fiercely denied any cooperation with Russia and denounced a "witch hunt . "
Paul Manafort, who left his post in August 2016, knew MM. Kilimnik and Deripaska through his work as a consultant for several years for the pro-Russian Ukrainian government, according to the Senate. Paul Manafort is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for various frauds uncovered as part of Prosecutor's Mueller investigation. He was placed under house arrest in May due to the coronavirus outbreak.