A firm run by Donald Trump`s campaign chairman directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine`s ruling political party, attempting to sway American public opinion in favor of the country`s pro-Russian government, emails obtained by The Associated Press show.
Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents as required under federal law, The Associated Press reports.
The lobbying included attempts to gain positive press coverage of Ukrainian officials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. Another goal: undercutting American public sympathy for the imprisoned rival of Ukraine`s then-president. At the time, European and American leaders were pressuring Ukraine to free her.
The emails show Gates personally directed two Washington lobbying firms, Mercury LLC and the Podesta Group Inc., between 2012 and 2014 to set up meetings between a top Ukrainian official and senators and congressmen on influential committees involving Ukrainian interests. Gates noted in the emails that the official, Ukraine`s foreign minister, did not want to use his own embassy in the United States to help coordinate the visits.
