Manafort flight records reveal numerous trips to Russia: report

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort took at least 18 trips to Moscow during his time as a political operative in Ukraine, McClatchy reported Thursday.

Manafort was also in frequent contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies for nearly a decade during his time working for pro-Russia political parties in Ukraine, according to the report.

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Flight records, provided to McClatchy by a government source in Kiev, show the extent of Manafort’s connection to Russia was greater than previously known.

In addition to his trips to Moscow, the news outlet reported that Manafort also flew to Kiev 19 times, even after Putin ally Viktor Yanukovych was ousted as Ukraine’s president in 2014.

Manafort and his former associate Richard Gates were charged last month with conspiracy against the United States, tax fraud and money laundering in the first indictment to come from the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.

The charges are related to work the two did in Ukraine. 

Manafort turned himself in at the FBI’s Washington, D.C., office, and pleaded not guilty.

A judge earlier this week granted Manafort and Gates “limited release” for the Thanksgiving holiday.