Paul Manafort's new business dealings in China exposed as he moves back into Trump orbit
Paul Manafort has met recently with Republicans to discuss the party's convention this summer, but Donald Trump's advisers have not yet looked into his foreign activities since leaving prison.
However, the Washington Post took a deep dive into the globe-trotting political consultant's efforts to launch a mobile streaming and entertainment platform in China, which has the backing of that nation's government, and the 75-year-old Manafort has also sought out advisory roles with political figures in Japan and South Korea and made contacts with political groups in Latin America.
"Manafort has roamed widely, traveling to Guatemala last year on the invitation of a migrant advocacy group called Proyecto Guatemala Migrante," the Post reported. "The group’s leader, Verónica Pimentel, said she and a colleague discussed Latin American politics and the Latino vote with Manafort and introduced him to a Guatemalan presidential candidate, Ricardo Sagastume, who confirmed the meeting."
Trump is determined to hire Manafort, his 2016 campaign chairman, because he appreciates his loyalty even while serving in prison for tax fraud, bank fraud and failure to report a foreign bank account.
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"As in 2016, Manafort has offered to work for free," the Post reported. "He has met with Republicans in recent weeks about his role at the convention, though Trump advisers have not yet vetted any foreign activities and said last week they were not aware of his consulting work and would want to review it before the convention, according to people familiar with the planning."
A bipartisan Senate panel described Manafort's ties to pro-Kremlin individuals as a “grave counterintelligence threat" in a 2020 report, but he insisted to the Post that his support for the Chinese media venture had no geopolitical significance, even if the Republican Party currently presents itself as an opponent of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
“There is nothing about my limited role of introductions to U.S. business people that involves anything to do with the politics of U.S.-China relations,” Manafort told the newspaper in an email.
Manafort stated that he was “not involved with China” and has “had nothing to do with China, including Chinese businesses, government, individuals, or anything else,” although he acknowledged that he “was asked to make introductions to U.S. studios and potential U.S. partners in the venture.”
Those activities could pose a challenge in his return to Trump's orbit and raised eyebrows among Republicans when told of his previously unreported foreign business activities.
“That’s a strange corner of the world to be making a living in given the problems our country is going to face with China,” said longtime GOP consultant Barry Bennett.