FAKE NEWS: Paul Manafort’s Ties to Russian Oligarch Made Headlines 11 Months Ago – AP Breaks Same Story Today

Back on April 26, 2016, liberal reporter Michael Isikoff reported on Trump’s chief campaign aide Paul Manafort connections to a billionaire Russian oligarch.

This was a week after Donald Trump sealed the Republican nomination in the 2016 primary.

Paul Manafort was questioned by officials in the Cayman Islands about his ties to billionaire Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a Russian aluminum magnate. Manafort was questioned by officials from the Cayman Islands in connection with a $26.2 million investment by Deripaska.

Yahoo reported:

A lawyer for Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s chief campaign aide, acknowledged Tuesday evening that the longtime GOP operative has been questioned by officials from the Cayman Islands in connection with a $26.2 million investment by a billionaire Russian oligarch who was his partner in an ill-fated telecommunications development in Ukraine. The lawyer’s comments came in response to an earlier story by Yahoo News about the Cayman officials’ efforts to track down Manafort for his testimony.

The dispute goes back years, but last summer, court-appointed liquidators from the Cayman Islands initiated legal action in federal court in Alexandria, Va., seeking to question under oath Manafort and two business partners about a business deal involving firms controlled by Oleg Deripaska, a Russian aluminum magnate who for years was barred from entering the United States over allegations of ties to organized crime.

“These guys are chasing their money,” said Rick Davis, one of the partners subpoenaed in the case and the manager of John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “They [Deripaska’s firms] invested in something and it just went away. They are actually trying to track down where the company went and where the [money] went.”

Richard Hibey, a lawyer for Manafort, emailed Yahoo News Tuesday night stating that “Mr. Manafort and others appeared for depositions some months ago and answered all questions,” mooting the legal action in Virginia, and added, “we are not privy to any other developments.” HIbey, however, declined to address any specifics about Manafort’s dealings with Deripaska, noting that since “the matter is pending in the Caymans, it would be inappropriate to discuss it.”

Davis told Yahoo News that, through his lawyer, he informed the Cayman Island court officials that he knew nothing about the investment, even though Manafort’s company in the partnership with Deripaska, Davis Manafort International, still bears his name.

In fact, Davis said, he hasn’t spoken to Manafort in more than five years, didn’t know how to reach him and was stunned to learn last year about Manafort’s side business investments with Deripaska, a controversial figure who — through Davis’ help — had met with McCain and other U.S. senators in 2006 during a time the Russian oligarch was seeking to persuade U.S. authorities to allow him to enter the United States.

On Tuesday the Associated Press broke essentially the same story on Paul Manafort and his connections to Oleg Deripaska.
The story made headlines across liberal media landscape.

The story discussed Paul Manafort’s business relationship with Oleg Deripaska.

AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid Putin

The AP rewrote the article and released it as a breaking exclusive.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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