GOP lawmakers question Manafort’s Ukraine work

Two House Republicans say that Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, deserves more scrutiny over his alleged ties to a pro-Russian organization in Ukraine.

Manafort has rebuked a New York Times investigation published this week that reported Ukrainian authorities found a handwritten ledger listing $12.7 million in off-the-books payments. He has denied accepting any of the payments while working as a consultant for Ukraine’s ruling political party.

Even so, Manafort’s denial hasn’t fully assuaged concerns among some Republicans of whether he has financial ties to forces allied with Russia.

{mosads}“I want to know what money he got from a pro-Russian organization in the Ukraine,” Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), who spoke at the Republican National Convention last month, said on CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday. 

Duffy compared the allegations against Manafort to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s dealings with her family’s foundation.

“We know that when the Clinton Foundation got money from foreign governments and billionaires, they had access to Hillary Clinton. So taking money from Hillary Clinton, who is on the ballot, is far different than Donald Trump whose campaign manager is taking cash,” Duffy said. “But again, I think we should expose both these issues in both campaigns.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who has declared he won’t vote for Trump, said the candidate should investigate the allegations made in the New York Times report. While Kinzinger said it’s possible that Manafort’s name was “forged” to make the cash payouts, he expressed concern about what he sees as friendliness toward Russia from the Trump campaign.

The Illinois Republican cited a Washington Post report that the Trump campaign quietly pushed to ensure the GOP platform wouldn’t call for arming Ukraine against Russian forces.

“I think Donald Trump ought to really investigate this and where his chief adviser, what his association with the Russians are,” Kinzinger said Monday on CNN’s “The Lead.” “I have concerns for the chief adviser of Donald Trump, you know, having done work for a pro-Russian government in Ukraine, and, then, all of a sudden, there is this real affection for Russia in the campaign.”