Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted Paul Manafort — again — on Friday. This time the former Trump campaign manager was brought up on charges of obstruction of justice alongside Konstantin Kilimnik, a close business associate from Russia.
While Manafort still remains charged with money laundering, lying to federal officials and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist, these new charges from Mueller's team of federal prosecutors center on Manafort's and Kilimnik's efforts to influence two potential witnesses in a separate case involving a secret lobbying scheme in Ukraine.
Specifically, Manafort and other associates worked to have prominent European politicians support Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russia former president of Ukraine, who was also a client of Manafort's. Kilimnik and Manafort contacted the past associates earlier this year to coach them on what to say in the lobbying investigation in order to minimize the scope of their actions.
These are the first public charges against Kilimnik, who began working for Manafort as a translator in 2005, according to The Washington Post. In past filings, Kilimnik was referred to as "Person A." He is believed to currently be in Russia.
Shares