Manafort rips ‘unfounded, silly’ NYT report

Paul Manafort rebuked a recent New York Times investigation that said the top adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has ties to a large network that Ukrainian government investigators said was used to loot assets and influence elections.

“One again The New York Times has chosen to purposefully ignore facts and professional journalism to fit their political agenda, choosing to attack my character and reputation rather than present an honest report,” Manafort said in a statement, according to NBC News.

“The simple answer is the truth: I am a campaign professional.”

Paul Manafort on @nytimes/Ukraine report: suggestion he accepted cash payments “unfounded, silly and nonsensical” pic.twitter.com/EyQzIOradc

— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) August 15, 2016

{mosads}Manafort said in the statement that it is known he does work both in the United States and overseas.

“I have never received a single ‘off-the-books cash payment’ as falsely ‘reported’ by The New York Times, nor have I ever done work for the governments of Ukraine or Russia,” he said.

“Further, all of the political payments directed to me were for my entire political team; campaign staff (local and international), polling and research, election integrity and television advertising. The suggestion that I accepted cash payments is unfounded, silly and nonsensical.”

Manafort said his work in Ukraine stopped after the country’s parliamentary elections in October 2014.

“In addition, as the article points out hesitantly, every government official interviewed states I have done nothing wrong, and there is no evidence of ‘cash payments’ made to me by any official in Ukraine,” he said.

The Trump campaign chairman also attacked the media for not focusing on allegations made against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee.

“The Times does fail to disclose the fact that the Clinton Foundation has taken (and may still take) payments in exchange for favors from Hillary Clinton while serving as Secretary of State,” he said.

“This is not discussed despite the overwhelming evidence in emails that Hillary Clinton attempted to cover up.”

The New York Times said its report into Manafort’s time consulting for Ukraine’s ruling political party “offers new details of how [Manafort] mixed politics and business out of public view and benefited from powerful interests now under scrutiny by the new government in Kiev.”

It said handwritten ledgers showed $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments meant for Manafort from former President Viktor F. Yanukovych’s pro-Russia political party from 2007 to 2012.