The New York Times article says Mr Manafort and his business played a key role in advising Ukraine's former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled after an uprising in November 2013.
It said Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau had discovered the listed payments in the ledgers of Mr Yanukovych's then governing Party of the Regions - allegedly part of "an illegal off-the-books system".
The bureau is also investigating business deals worth millions of dollars put together with the help of Mr Manafort's business.
However, the bureau is yet to determine if Mr Manafort actually received any of the $12.7m.
The Times quoted Mr Manafort's lawyer, Richard Hibey, as saying his client had not done so.
"It is difficult to respect any kind of allegation of the sort being made here to smear someone when there is no proof and we deny there ever could be such proof."
You know I'm no lawyer but it would seem to me that listed payments in a ledger, constitutes at least some kind of proof.
As you might imagine the Clinton team is demanding that the Trump campaign come clean with all of their ties to Russia.
Here is how Howard Dean responded to the news.
I am not sure that this can be categorized as a "smoking gun" until there is proof that Manafort took those payments.The Smoking gun. Ukranian files show Trump-Manafort-Yanukovich-Putin connection. Trump is a national security risk. https://t.co/XHicRbnLa4— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) August 15, 2016
But I think we're all pretty sure that he did.
Gee I wonder what's next?
My money's on a Vladimir Putin/Donald Trump sex tape.
Though I am really, really hoping that's not it.
Source http://ift.tt/2aWwDLU
