New from the Associated Press:
President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago and proposed an ambitious political strategy to undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics, The Associated Press has learned. The work appears to contradict assertions by the Trump administration and Manafort himself that he never worked for Russian interests.
Manafort proposed in a confidential strategy plan as early as June 2005 that he would influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and the former Soviet republics to benefit the Putin government … Manafort eventually signed a $10 million annual contract ...
This latest revelation about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia may explain why White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tried to pretend they barely knew Manafort following Monday’s announcement by James Comey that the FBI was actively investigating Russian interference in our election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.