Senator warns it is critical to declassify information on ‘serious counterintelligence threat’ Paul Manafort

Following news that former Trump campaign chairman and convicted felon Paul Manafort may be joining Donald Trump’s campaign, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked the DNI to declassify a Senate report detailing Manafort’s affair with agents of the Russian government.

“It is critical that these details be made public to the fullest extent possible,” Wyden wrote to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. “As recommended by the Committee, the public should be notified as soon as a foreign influence campaign is detected. In this case, a known “major counterintelligence threat” is reportedly joining a presidential campaign. Only by understanding the details of this threat can the public protect itself from a malign attempt at foreign influence that could once again threaten American elections.”

Pointing out that the Senate report identifies Manafort as a conduit between the Trump campaign and Russia, Wyden continued:

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I am writing to ask you to declassify information from Volume 5 of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Elections (Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities). Specifically, I am calling for the declassification of information related to Paul Manafort, who is reportedly expected to take a position in Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign (“Trump may draft Paul Manafort, who has been criticized for ties to Russia,” Washington Post , March 18, 2024 )

According to the public version of the bipartisan report:

“The Committee found that Manafort’s presence on the [2016] The campaign and proximity to Trump created opportunities for Russian intelligence services to exert influence and acquire classified information on the Trump campaign. Overall, Manafort’s high-level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with Russian intelligence, particularly [Konstantin] Kilimnik and Oleg Deripaska’s associates represented a serious threat to counterintelligence.”

Full letter: here

The backstory:

The Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey reported that Manafort is in talks to return to Trump’s “campaign.”

Trump’s campaign operation is not your typical political campaign, as Donald Trump sought to overturn the 2020 election, refused to honor the peaceful transfer of power, and incited what Director Wray called a terrorist attack on the his own country in an attempt to maintain power.

Manafort “had accepted a plea deal in the case in September 2018, admitting money laundering, tax fraud and illegal foreign lobbying related to his years working for Ukrainian politicians,” the American Bar Association reported. “Manafort also admitted that he lied to investigators and under oath before a grand jury about her contact with a Russian associate during the 2016 campaign, breaking his plea agreement.”

In 2019, Manafort was convicted of conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice by tampering with witnesses, in what was the first case from Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation to go to trial. Manafort was one of 34 people and a number of companies to be indicted in the investigation.

Donald Trump pardoned Paul Manafort in December 2020, after losing the 2020 election and just days before inciting an insurrection against his own country in an attempt to retain power.

While there is always concern about not panicking the public and trying to prevent hostile foreign powers from easily accessing our intelligence, the public should be informed about the nature and extent of the danger posed by this convicted criminal who Donald Trump he chose to drive. his 2016 campaign, especially in light of his ties to Russia, as Russia seeks to weaken Ukraine by convincing the United States to cut off its aid and support to the country after Putin illegally invaded.

Russia also seeks to undermine Western democracies like the United States, and therefore any person running for president of the United States should not associate with Russian agents.