REPORT: Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort Faced Blackmail Attempt

According to a report by Politico, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort faced a blackmail attempt.

Politico reported Thursday about a cyber attack of Manafort’s daughter which resulted in a text that appears to be from Serhiy Leshchenko who is a member of the Ukrainian parliament trying to reach Manafort.

In the message, Leshchenko says that he has politically damaging information about Trump and Manafort.

“I need to get in touch with Paul i need to share some important information with him regarding ukraine investigation,” the message to Manafort’s daughter says.

The message went on to say, “I actually have proofs that he received money…If i dont get any reply from you iam gonaa pass it on to the fbi and ukrainian authorities including media…As soon as he comes back to me i will pass you documents.”
The message also noted “bulletproof facts regarding the person – Ukraine resident whos signature is inside the Yanukovich accounting book and who was responsible for rendering assets to you  personally for your consulting services during organized meetings.”
Next, comes the blackmail attempt, “Considering all the facts and evidence that are in my possession, and before possible decision whether to pass this to [the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine] or FBI I would like to get your opinion on this and maybe your way to work things out that will persuade me to do otherwise.”

According to Politico:

In a Tuesday interview, Manafort denied brokering a 2012 meeting between Trump and Tulub, also pointing out that he wasn’t working for Trump at the time.

However, Manafort did confirm the authenticity of the texts hacked from his daughter’s phone. And he added that, before the texts were sent to his daughter, he had received similar texts to his own phone number from the same address appearing to be affiliated with Leshchenko.

The images of these texts began circulating in Washington DC and Kiev this week, according to Politico.

Politico went on to note that “The Times reported that the payments earmarked for Manafort were “a focus” of an investigation by Ukrainian anti-corruption officials, while CNN reported days later that the FBI was pursuing an overlapping inquiry.”

You can read the full Politico report here.