CNN claims FBI wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman
By
James Cogan
19 September 2017
CNN has broadcast “breaking news” alleging that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was wiretapped by the FBI over alleged “Russian links” for substantial periods of time between 2014 and 2017.
The claims have been made public just days after Jason Maloni, a representative of Manafort, testified before a grand jury at the US District Court in Washington last Friday. Maloni was subpoenaed to appear by special counsel Robert Mueller, who heads the Justice Department investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
CNN’s sources claim the FBI sought a court order to monitor Manafort in 2014, over multi-million-dollar work performed by his consultancy firm for Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president of Ukraine.
Yanukovych’s government was ousted in a US- and European Union-backed coup in February 2014. The new regime charged the former president with the “murder” of civilian protestors and later issued additional arrest warrants for him and other figures in his administration on a variety of corruption charges. Yanukovych fled to exile in Russia.
Surveillance of Manafort reportedly continued until sometime in early 2016. According to CNN, it was ended only after Justice Department prosecutors concluded that “there wasn’t enough evidence to bring charges against Manafort or anyone of the other US subjects” being investigated over their dealings with Yanukovych.
In March 2016, Manafort joined the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. In June, he took over as the campaign chairman. He resigned in August and was replaced by right-wing demagogue Stephen Bannon.
The CNN sources asserted that he was not being wiretapped…