1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:06,780 In this episode of American Greed, Paul Manafort. 2 00:00:10,180 --> 00:00:12,600 You've heard about the extravagant clothes. 3 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,460 Here is, we submit to you the ostrich code in question, and we submit it to 4 00:00:17,460 --> 00:00:18,620 without comment. 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:21,380 Now, meet the man. 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,620 I will stipulate for purposes of today that you could characterize this as 7 00:00:25,620 --> 00:00:26,620 influence battle. 8 00:00:27,210 --> 00:00:32,290 For years, influence peddler Paul Manafort builds high -profile 9 00:00:32,630 --> 00:00:38,070 then makes tens of millions of dollars selling his access to the players in 10 00:00:38,070 --> 00:00:44,710 charge. Manafort was motivated primarily by two things, power and money. 11 00:00:45,130 --> 00:00:50,030 I struggle to think of a client Paul Manafort wouldn't have taken on. 12 00:00:50,590 --> 00:00:56,020 After decades in D .C., Manafort uses his political savvy and insider 13 00:00:56,020 --> 00:01:01,500 connections to earn the biggest payday of his career from pro -Russian 14 00:01:01,500 --> 00:01:02,359 in Ukraine. 15 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,060 It was definitely in their interest to make sure they had the right people with 16 00:01:06,060 --> 00:01:07,180 the right connections and power. 17 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:14,180 But after making millions and illegally hiding his wealth, Manafort loses it 18 00:01:14,180 --> 00:01:16,720 all. So what did he do? He just lied. 19 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,440 And his effort to hitch himself to a rising star... 20 00:01:20,750 --> 00:01:24,930 leads to the exposure of a massive bank and tax fraud scheme. 21 00:01:25,270 --> 00:01:28,430 It's very sad what's happened to Paul, the way he's being treated. 22 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:50,400 In 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump makes waves, promising to clean up 23 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:51,400 American politics. 24 00:01:51,980 --> 00:01:58,840 We are going to Washington, D .C., and we are going to drain the 25 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:05,680 swamp. That spring, to help secure his party's nomination, the outsider 26 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:10,860 candidate turns to a big -time Washington insider, Paul Manafort. 27 00:02:11,910 --> 00:02:16,650 There's a lot of irony in the Trump -Manaport connection, not the least of 28 00:02:16,650 --> 00:02:22,290 is a candidate who is running as a primary part of his platform on draining 29 00:02:22,290 --> 00:02:26,870 swamp has just hired to run his campaign, the ultimate swamp creature. 30 00:02:33,210 --> 00:02:37,410 Manaport's path to the Trump campaign begins years earlier. 31 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,120 in an industrial town not far from Hartford, Connecticut. 32 00:02:42,180 --> 00:02:46,600 Paul Manafort first became enamored with politics at his father's knee. His dad 33 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,540 ran for and won the mayorality of New Britain, Connecticut, their hometown. 34 00:02:52,780 --> 00:02:59,740 His dad was a guy who practiced a very hard style of politics, but 35 00:02:59,740 --> 00:03:02,700 New Britain was also a place that was filled with corruption. 36 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:09,220 Paul Manafort's father was accused and even charged with perjury but never 37 00:03:09,220 --> 00:03:13,840 convicted and had a road named after him and was kind of a hero in his hometown. 38 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,720 So it's certainly possible that the son would conclude that you can walk right 39 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,500 up to the edge of the line without paying the penalty. 40 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:29,120 In the late 1960s, Manafort leaves New Britain for Washington, D .C., where he 41 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:30,800 attends Georgetown University. 42 00:03:32,650 --> 00:03:38,590 While many members of his generation celebrate peace and love, he's pictured 43 00:03:38,590 --> 00:03:43,610 the school yearbook flashing a V for victory sign, an apparent celebration of 44 00:03:43,610 --> 00:03:46,850 the 1968 election victory of Richard Nixon. 45 00:03:47,710 --> 00:03:54,650 After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Manafort, then a lawyer, serves in 46 00:03:54,650 --> 00:03:58,290 the White House under his successor, President Gerald Ford. 47 00:03:58,860 --> 00:04:03,400 Paul Manafort, even in those early days, showed signs of becoming the master 48 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,040 strategist that he would eventually fully realize. 49 00:04:07,900 --> 00:04:14,160 He was just this shrewd operator who understood how to get in the head of 50 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,220 somebody and to figure out what they wanted and how he could deliver it to 51 00:04:19,420 --> 00:04:24,120 After helping Ford defeat Ronald Reagan for the GOP nomination in 1976, 52 00:04:25,260 --> 00:04:28,960 Manafort works on Reagan's presidential campaign four years later. 53 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:35,220 The South will be targeted. It will get specialized media. We will carry the 54 00:04:35,220 --> 00:04:37,020 Reagan record to the South, particularly. 55 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:42,920 He kind of went where he saw an opening, and by the time he was first getting 56 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:48,220 involved professionally around Reagan, that was the hot thing in American 57 00:04:48,220 --> 00:04:49,220 politics. 58 00:04:50,420 --> 00:04:52,620 It turns out to be a good bet. 59 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:59,900 In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. 60 00:05:00,420 --> 00:05:02,440 Government is the problem. 61 00:05:04,300 --> 00:05:08,960 Out of Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign, Washington was suddenly flooded with 62 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:14,760 Republicans who'd been out of power for several years. And they had the new 63 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:19,440 power in town. But nobody had figured out how to really capitalize on that 64 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,200 power. Manafort will lead the charge on K Street. 65 00:05:23,790 --> 00:05:25,250 D .C.'s lobbying center. 66 00:05:26,390 --> 00:05:32,890 In 1980, he teams up with two other Reagan campaign veterans, Charlie Black 67 00:05:32,890 --> 00:05:37,470 and Roger Stone, who will later work for the Trump campaign. 68 00:05:38,510 --> 00:05:44,210 Together, the three men form a political firm with an innovative two -part 69 00:05:44,210 --> 00:05:45,250 business model. 70 00:05:45,830 --> 00:05:50,350 They were electing people who they established intimate relationships with. 71 00:05:50,990 --> 00:05:54,630 And then they would turn around and ask them for favors on behalf of corporate 72 00:05:54,630 --> 00:05:57,350 clients. And this was an incredible advantage. 73 00:05:57,770 --> 00:05:59,290 And it made them a fortune. 74 00:05:59,970 --> 00:06:04,850 The firm's principals bring in six -figure salaries representing big -name 75 00:06:04,850 --> 00:06:10,250 domestic clients, including a high -powered New York real estate developer 76 00:06:10,250 --> 00:06:11,390 Donald Trump. 77 00:06:12,910 --> 00:06:19,850 Manafort ran a firm that blew up based on a reputation for getting things 78 00:06:19,850 --> 00:06:24,480 done. If you're a lobbyist, you're going to be effective some of the time. 79 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,560 You're going to be effective maybe not all of the time. But the important thing 80 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,660 is to create the perception of power. 81 00:06:32,140 --> 00:06:34,820 And Manafort was a master of that. 82 00:06:35,540 --> 00:06:40,880 The way he creates this perception is partially spelled out in a company pitch 83 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,020 obtained by NBC News in 1988. 84 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:49,600 The document lists the close political ties that key members of the firm had in 85 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,580 the Reagan administration, and it promised that personal relationships 86 00:06:53,580 --> 00:06:57,400 Department of State officials would be utilized to upgrade a back -channel 87 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:58,400 relationship. 88 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:04,180 Though what they're doing is legal, some consider it questionable. 89 00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:09,640 Some of the old guard in Washington, D .C. turned up their noses at what 90 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,660 Blackstone and Manafort were doing, and they saw it as really unseemly. 91 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,200 They were breaking all sorts of norms. They were creating all sorts of new 92 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:22,860 conventions for Washington. And I think it's even possible to say that through 93 00:07:22,860 --> 00:07:28,260 their firm, Paul Manafort and his crew did a lot to create the swamp, if you 94 00:07:28,260 --> 00:07:29,680 will, as we know it. 95 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:38,760 Coming up on American Greed, Paul Manafort finds big paydays overseas and 96 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,540 makes a stunning admission about the nature of his work. 97 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,680 I will stipulate for purposes of today that you could characterize this as 98 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:47,680 influence peddling. 99 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:07,540 Over the decades that he works in Washington, Paul Manafort becomes a 100 00:08:07,540 --> 00:08:11,240 -the -scenes master of crafting politicians' images. 101 00:08:11,930 --> 00:08:15,930 When you set up here with all this gadgetry, do you see yourself in the 102 00:08:15,930 --> 00:08:16,930 the Wizard of Oz? 103 00:08:17,930 --> 00:08:20,830 No, because if we were, we'd have curtains on the front of the window. 104 00:08:22,530 --> 00:08:27,710 But in this world of power and money, it's not just American politicians and 105 00:08:27,710 --> 00:08:31,450 American lobbying clients who turn to him for help. 106 00:08:32,970 --> 00:08:37,909 There were definitely instances before Paul Manafort of lobbyists working on 107 00:08:37,909 --> 00:08:40,590 behalf of scuzzy foreign governments. 108 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,160 But nobody had made it a cottage industry in quite the same way that Paul 109 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:46,160 Manafort did. 110 00:08:46,380 --> 00:08:51,660 He basically went out and found all manner of folks with unsavory 111 00:08:51,660 --> 00:08:57,240 who were willing to pay huge sums in order to try to buff their reputations 112 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,140 improve their standing in Washington. 113 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,900 The work is not without controversy. 114 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:08,600 The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Lyndon Pinling, and key officials of his 115 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,520 government have long been described in reports of American drug agents as 116 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,500 receiving huge payoffs from big -time Colombian and American drug bosses. 117 00:09:17,020 --> 00:09:23,020 But in 1984, a Washington lobbying firm run by these men, all of whom are now 118 00:09:23,020 --> 00:09:27,520 key advisors in the Bush campaign, went to work for the Pinling government at 119 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:28,980 $800 ,000 a year. 120 00:09:30,140 --> 00:09:36,400 When these reports first surfaced, Manafort's partner, Charlie Black, 121 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:41,600 wrongdoing, saying the firm would never work for a foreigner whose interests are 122 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,740 at odds with those of the United States. 123 00:09:44,260 --> 00:09:46,320 But other bad press will follow. 124 00:09:46,940 --> 00:09:53,420 In 1992, Manafort's firm, then called Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, features 125 00:09:53,420 --> 00:09:56,020 heavily in the torturous lobby. 126 00:09:56,860 --> 00:10:02,120 Published by the Center for Public Integrity, This report outlines the 127 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:08,480 work on behalf of questionable foreign clients said to receive U .S. aid and 128 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:09,900 abuse human rights. 129 00:10:10,420 --> 00:10:15,560 There's certainly an argument to be made that Manafort was kind of the angel on 130 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:21,460 the shoulder of some of these arguably very bad people that he was trying to 131 00:10:21,460 --> 00:10:23,120 them to embrace democratic. 132 00:10:23,870 --> 00:10:26,510 tactics and strategies, but also democracy. 133 00:10:26,810 --> 00:10:29,930 That's certainly the way Manafort and his allies saw it. 134 00:10:30,950 --> 00:10:34,070 Manafort's detractors say, that's a bunch of bull. 135 00:10:36,090 --> 00:10:42,170 It's possible to know who Manafort's firm works for, who they lobby, and how 136 00:10:42,170 --> 00:10:47,690 much they make because of a law called the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or 137 00:10:47,690 --> 00:10:50,710 FARA, created in the 1930s. 138 00:10:55,660 --> 00:10:56,660 you think this is? 139 00:10:56,780 --> 00:10:59,460 Right in Madison Square Garden, USA. 140 00:11:00,980 --> 00:11:06,420 And this is Fritz Kuhn, leader of the German -American Bund, hiding behind the 141 00:11:06,420 --> 00:11:09,580 American flag, but taking his orders from Berlin. 142 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:16,200 The Foreign Agents Registration Act was enacted in 1938 in response to 143 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:21,740 congressional concerns about Nazi subversive activities in the United 144 00:11:21,740 --> 00:11:22,960 particular clandestine. 145 00:11:23,550 --> 00:11:26,730 propaganda being disseminated throughout the United States. 146 00:11:27,950 --> 00:11:34,030 Now a partner at the law firm of Wiggin and Dana, David Laufman once served as 147 00:11:34,030 --> 00:11:37,970 chief of the Department of Justice's counterintelligence and export control 148 00:11:37,970 --> 00:11:38,970 section. 149 00:11:39,550 --> 00:11:44,650 There, he was responsible for enforcement of FARA, the law that 150 00:11:44,650 --> 00:11:49,190 like Manafort to disclose their lobbying and public relations work performed in 151 00:11:49,190 --> 00:11:51,890 the U .S. on behalf of a foreign power. 152 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:58,960 The whole point of the statute is not to suppress or regulate the content of 153 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:03,040 speech, but when that speech is propagated by people in the United 154 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:06,780 on behalf of a foreign government or a foreign political party to require 155 00:12:06,780 --> 00:12:12,460 registration with the government and periodic disclosures so that the 156 00:12:12,460 --> 00:12:18,800 people or U .S. lawmakers can be properly put on notice of who's behind 157 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:20,480 content so they can weigh. 158 00:12:21,180 --> 00:12:23,760 what credit or weight to attach to him. 159 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:31,300 In Farrah filings like these from the 1980s, Manafort divulges which 160 00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:37,020 he's working for, what he's doing for them, and the vast sums he's paid. 161 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:44,120 Paul Manafort went from being a guy who came from relatively little means to 162 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:48,020 a guy running a firm that was suddenly printing money. 163 00:12:51,020 --> 00:12:57,140 This was the 1980s, the age of Gordon Gekko. And Manafort was somebody, when 164 00:12:57,140 --> 00:13:01,520 suddenly stumbled upon wealth, really set out to enjoy it. 165 00:13:02,220 --> 00:13:07,060 Manafort and his partners and even some of the associates at the firm were 166 00:13:07,060 --> 00:13:12,800 wearing flashy tailored suits, driving big, shiny cars, often foreign. 167 00:13:13,550 --> 00:13:16,610 He got one of the biggest homes in his friend's set. 168 00:13:16,890 --> 00:13:21,370 When he had a pool, he didn't like where it was positioned, so he had it moved 169 00:13:21,370 --> 00:13:22,450 several feet. 170 00:13:22,770 --> 00:13:28,130 He would disappear for weeks and come back and expense a Concord round trip to 171 00:13:28,130 --> 00:13:31,370 Paris and a week and a half in the nicest hotel there. 172 00:13:32,110 --> 00:13:37,670 He was a guy who was unaccustomed to wealth, and when it came to him, he 173 00:13:37,670 --> 00:13:38,670 flaunted it. 174 00:13:40,460 --> 00:13:45,800 Working for unsavory foreign clients is not the only way Manafort builds this 175 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:46,800 wealth. 176 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:54,320 In 1989, he tells Congress he's used his inside connections to score 177 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:55,620 taxpayer dollars. 178 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:58,740 We did not think that that was improper. 179 00:13:59,210 --> 00:14:03,770 What the system did for this former Reagan campaign director was allow his 180 00:14:03,770 --> 00:14:08,690 to buy a run -down New Jersey housing development, refurbish it, and his 181 00:14:08,690 --> 00:14:13,230 will receive $31 million in rent subsidies over the next 15 years. 182 00:14:14,650 --> 00:14:16,610 Manafort will never face charges. 183 00:14:17,170 --> 00:14:22,390 But in June 1989, he is hauled before a House committee where he makes a 184 00:14:22,390 --> 00:14:26,610 stunning assertion. I will stipulate for purposes of today that you could 185 00:14:26,610 --> 00:14:28,230 characterize this as influence peddling. 186 00:14:29,260 --> 00:14:32,300 He commits this really elementary mistake. 187 00:14:32,620 --> 00:14:35,300 He says, yes, I'm an influence peddler. 188 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:42,040 It was actually a very defining moment for Paul Manafort. He was sort of at 189 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:47,060 point where he was being forced to choose between potentially having some 190 00:14:47,060 --> 00:14:52,240 foothold in government and being a full -fledged power lobbyist. 191 00:14:53,740 --> 00:14:57,440 Talking to some people who worked with him back then was kind of the breaking 192 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:02,140 point, and he decided to choose the private sector and the big paydays from 193 00:15:02,140 --> 00:15:03,140 lobbying. 194 00:15:04,900 --> 00:15:11,780 Next on American Greed, Paul Manafort heads east and finds the opportunity 195 00:15:11,780 --> 00:15:12,940 of a lifetime. 196 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:20,260 Manafort's work for Yanukovych was by far his most lucrative and long -term 197 00:15:20,260 --> 00:15:21,260 client. 198 00:15:36,110 --> 00:15:40,770 Following Paul Manafort's admission that he's an influence peddler, in the 199 00:15:40,770 --> 00:15:45,030 1990s, his name largely disappears from the headlines. 200 00:15:45,670 --> 00:15:52,070 Paul Manafort's legendary firm gets bought by a big corporate conglomerate. 201 00:15:52,070 --> 00:15:56,990 he creates a new firm, which is a much smaller firm, and he has to hustle for a 202 00:15:56,990 --> 00:15:58,610 new set of clients. 203 00:15:59,090 --> 00:16:04,650 He really immersed himself in the foreign lobbying scene. That became his 204 00:16:04,650 --> 00:16:05,650 train. 205 00:16:05,710 --> 00:16:10,410 At a certain point, it appeared as if he was just going to disappear entirely 206 00:16:10,410 --> 00:16:17,330 from Washington and really make his home around the world in the employ of some 207 00:16:17,330 --> 00:16:21,610 of these fabulously wealthy clients who would be willing to pay him a lot of 208 00:16:21,610 --> 00:16:22,610 money. 209 00:16:23,710 --> 00:16:28,630 No longer working with his old partners at Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, 210 00:16:28,870 --> 00:16:30,810 Manafort looks east. 211 00:16:32,140 --> 00:16:38,120 According to the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in 2005, 212 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,980 begins a multi -million dollar working relationship with a Russian billionaire 213 00:16:41,980 --> 00:16:44,480 named Oleg Deripaska. 214 00:16:44,860 --> 00:16:49,640 He's believed to be among the closest oligarchs to Putin. 215 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,320 He's known as an aluminum king. 216 00:16:53,620 --> 00:16:56,180 His reputation is not a pretty one. 217 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,840 Oleg Deripaska developed a reputation as someone not to be messed with. 218 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:09,520 According to the Mueller report, one of Manafort's employees will tell federal 219 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:15,220 investigators that Deripaska pays Manafort millions to help install 220 00:17:15,220 --> 00:17:19,660 government officials in countries where Deripaska does business. 221 00:17:20,220 --> 00:17:26,060 The pro -Putin oligarch also invests millions in a private equity fund that 222 00:17:26,060 --> 00:17:27,119 Manafort launches. 223 00:17:29,290 --> 00:17:34,710 In 2005, Manafort begins working in Ukraine for a recently defeated pro 224 00:17:34,710 --> 00:17:37,830 politician named Viktor Yanukovych. 225 00:17:39,490 --> 00:17:44,210 Manafort directs his Ukrainian operation from a small office in Kiev. 226 00:17:45,370 --> 00:17:48,350 At his side is Rick Gates. 227 00:17:48,930 --> 00:17:52,050 Rick Gates was kind of Paul Manafort's right -hand man. 228 00:17:52,730 --> 00:17:55,710 Kind of a jack of all trades. I mean, he'd be somebody that would put together 229 00:17:55,710 --> 00:17:59,650 the financials for Paul Manafort and Rick Gates' company in the morning and 230 00:17:59,650 --> 00:18:02,770 maybe in the afternoon communicate some of the finer points of what Paul 231 00:18:02,770 --> 00:18:04,110 Manafort would outlay in strategy. 232 00:18:05,230 --> 00:18:09,530 Even though Manafort has mastered the art of crafting political images back in 233 00:18:09,530 --> 00:18:13,870 the United States, doing so for Yanukovych is no easy task. 234 00:18:16,230 --> 00:18:21,390 He had the image of, let's say, a Soviet factory boss. 235 00:18:22,490 --> 00:18:24,250 He had a not -perfect suit. 236 00:18:24,770 --> 00:18:28,290 It didn't fit very well. It was usually unbuttoned. 237 00:18:28,670 --> 00:18:33,390 And when Manafort started working with him, Yanukovych turned into an American 238 00:18:33,390 --> 00:18:34,390 dandy. 239 00:18:38,790 --> 00:18:44,430 Yanukovych's one -time campaign chair, Taras Chernobyl, got a first -hand look 240 00:18:44,430 --> 00:18:46,910 at the work Manafort did for his former boss. 241 00:18:48,910 --> 00:18:51,830 He taught him to behave by American standards. 242 00:18:53,070 --> 00:18:58,530 He had to smile and wear a perfect suit with each button perfectly fastened. 243 00:18:59,250 --> 00:19:00,910 The hair had to be perfect. 244 00:19:01,810 --> 00:19:03,410 The whole nine yards. 245 00:19:04,750 --> 00:19:06,850 This is what he taught Yanukovych. 246 00:19:09,290 --> 00:19:14,930 Under Manafort's tutelage, Yanukovych's pro -Kremlin party makes strong gains. 247 00:19:16,650 --> 00:19:23,010 And in 2010, the American consultant helps his client defeat Yulia Tymoshenko 248 00:19:23,010 --> 00:19:25,370 to become Ukraine's president. 249 00:19:26,970 --> 00:19:32,150 For his work, prosecutors say Manafort is paid handsomely by Yanukovych's 250 00:19:32,150 --> 00:19:38,150 backers, a group of politically -minded, ultra -wealthy, pro -Russian oligarchs. 251 00:19:40,070 --> 00:19:43,850 Politics is just part of how they run their business. 252 00:19:44,780 --> 00:19:46,560 They fund election campaigns. 253 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:52,660 Daria Kalinyuk is the executive director of the Anti -Corruption Action Center 254 00:19:52,660 --> 00:19:58,640 in Kiev and a longtime observer of the way oligarchs operate in Ukraine. 255 00:19:59,500 --> 00:20:02,480 They decide who will win at the elections. 256 00:20:02,940 --> 00:20:09,920 And with this influence, they can adopt any law which makes privileges for their 257 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:10,920 companies. 258 00:20:12,050 --> 00:20:16,470 Prosecutors working for Robert Mueller say that when these oligarchs pay 259 00:20:16,470 --> 00:20:20,870 Manafort for his services, the money doesn't go through normal channels. 260 00:20:21,370 --> 00:20:24,770 It was all under the table and all very roundabout. 261 00:20:25,030 --> 00:20:27,130 It was all shadow money. 262 00:20:28,290 --> 00:20:33,630 According to prosecutors and evidence presented at trial, various oligarchs 263 00:20:33,630 --> 00:20:38,570 transfer money into Manafort's secret accounts in offshore banking havens like 264 00:20:38,570 --> 00:20:40,350 the Seychelles and Cyprus. 265 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:46,120 They say Manafort will secret away more than $55 million in these hidden 266 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:52,700 accounts. So by sheltering his funds offshore, he was able to reduce his tax 267 00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:54,860 bill by about $6 million. 268 00:20:56,120 --> 00:21:02,440 Manafort began living just a truly extravagant lifestyle, really living and 269 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:08,020 paying for his family to live similarly extravagant lifestyles. And so he was 270 00:21:08,020 --> 00:21:10,060 really spending like a drunken sailor. 271 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:18,260 In 2006, a company linked to Manafort purchases an apartment in Trump Tower 272 00:21:18,260 --> 00:21:20,560 for $3 .7 million. 273 00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:27,660 Six years later, using his untaxed money from Ukraine, he buys this Brooklyn 274 00:21:27,660 --> 00:21:34,100 brownstone for $3 million and this 2 ,000 -square -foot two -bed, two -bath 275 00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:37,160 in Soho for another $2 .8 million. 276 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:42,200 And he spends more on antique rugs than most people spend on their entire home. 277 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:48,280 He bought a million dollars worth of rugs. He wasn't reselling them on the 278 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:53,680 market. I mean, it seems like he just really liked rugs. 279 00:21:55,140 --> 00:21:57,020 Then there are the clothes. 280 00:21:57,980 --> 00:22:04,700 In just a few years, Manafort dropped $1 .3 million at a New York tailor and a 281 00:22:04,700 --> 00:22:05,900 Beverly Hills clothier. 282 00:22:06,300 --> 00:22:09,240 known as one of the most expensive stores in the country. 283 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:15,340 I think when you see $1 .3 million in clothing, I think that shocks a lot of 284 00:22:15,340 --> 00:22:19,060 people. That's not the normal budget for most of society. 285 00:22:19,740 --> 00:22:26,680 Among his purchases is a now infamous $15 ,000 ostrich skin bomber 286 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:27,680 jacket. 287 00:22:28,270 --> 00:22:33,510 I think the ostrich jacket was a metaphor for Paul Manafort's greed. It 288 00:22:33,510 --> 00:22:37,050 enough for him to be successful. He could have been extremely successful if 289 00:22:37,050 --> 00:22:38,070 had just played by the rules. 290 00:22:38,610 --> 00:22:41,530 But that wasn't enough. He wanted to live a very decadent lifestyle. 291 00:22:44,270 --> 00:22:47,790 Up next, turmoil strikes in Ukraine. 292 00:22:49,230 --> 00:22:53,470 And Paul Manafort's secret cash stream dries up. 293 00:22:54,190 --> 00:23:00,270 All of a sudden it went from being a faucet or a fire hose to everything 294 00:23:00,270 --> 00:23:01,270 turned off. 295 00:23:15,710 --> 00:23:20,810 Paul Manafort's scheme to avoid paying $6 million in taxes. 296 00:23:21,500 --> 00:23:24,020 is just one of the many secrets he's keeping. 297 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:30,760 After the election of Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine in 2010, his rival, Yulia 298 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,620 Tymoshenko, is jailed. 299 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,880 Jailing Tymoshenko was a nasty bit of business. 300 00:23:37,620 --> 00:23:42,760 And it was clearly politically motivated because Tymoshenko was far and away the 301 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,760 greatest political rival to Yanukovych. 302 00:23:46,620 --> 00:23:48,800 And so his reputation took a big hit. 303 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,520 Ukraine still wanted to join the European Union and wanted to show that 304 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,420 still a democratic country. 305 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:02,760 And so Manafort set about trying to explain away this arrest, to say, you 306 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,540 what, this woman actually deserved to be in prison. 307 00:24:06,780 --> 00:24:13,420 And he did so by setting up a whole lobbying campaign to try to change minds 308 00:24:13,420 --> 00:24:14,420 Capitol Hill. 309 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,240 But they did it without making that transparent. 310 00:24:19,180 --> 00:24:24,560 Despite the requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Manafort will 311 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,100 later admit in his criminal proceedings that he runs the operation without 312 00:24:29,100 --> 00:24:33,920 registering and takes steps to keep it as secret as possible. 313 00:24:35,220 --> 00:24:36,860 Money keeps flowing. 314 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:42,720 But in the last months of 2013, the effort comes to an abrupt halt. 315 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:49,620 It has all the signs of a revolution, and it's taking place in Kiev's 316 00:24:49,620 --> 00:24:50,780 Independence Square. 317 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:57,560 Hundreds of thousands, and even about a million people went to protest on the 318 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:04,480 streets, demanding dignity, human rights, justice, and saying no 319 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:05,480 to corruption. 320 00:25:05,540 --> 00:25:09,720 And President Yanukovych himself was a symbol of corruption. 321 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:18,920 In February 2014, the protests in Kiev turned deadly, and Yanukovych flees to 322 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:19,920 Russia. 323 00:25:22,500 --> 00:25:28,460 Once gone, his lavish estate is open to the public, offering a glimpse into the 324 00:25:28,460 --> 00:25:33,200 life of excess from which he and Manafort have now been removed. 325 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:40,340 When Paul Manafort went to work in Ukraine, he was making so much money for 326 00:25:40,340 --> 00:25:45,660 Yanukovych that he let the entire rest of his lobbying practice fall away. 327 00:25:46,660 --> 00:25:53,240 And when that relationship disappeared, when his client was sent into exile, he 328 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:54,240 had nothing. 329 00:25:56,860 --> 00:26:02,080 To make matters worse, Manafort is also being sued by his old client. 330 00:26:02,620 --> 00:26:07,840 Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Over a multi -million dollar investment deal 331 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:08,840 gone bad. 332 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,340 Eventually, Oleg Deripaska said that Manafort essentially took his 333 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:18,660 Despite his mounting problems, Manafort fails to adjust. 334 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,660 He and his family kept spending hand over fist as if nothing had changed. 335 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:30,140 So in order to keep up this facade, he ended up resorting to an increasingly 336 00:26:30,140 --> 00:26:35,840 risky and sort of convoluted series of financial and accounting and tax 337 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,500 In December 2015, 338 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:44,020 Manafort begins applying for loans, even though he's hardly the perfect 339 00:26:44,020 --> 00:26:45,020 candidate. 340 00:26:45,260 --> 00:26:49,400 If banks looked at Paul Manafort's actual financial situation... 341 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,600 They would look at somebody who's had very little income coming in. They would 342 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,860 look at somebody who would be a real risk for repaying loans. 343 00:26:57,540 --> 00:26:59,340 So what did he do? He just lied. 344 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:05,300 He was committing bank fraud by submitting false documents to obtain 345 00:27:05,300 --> 00:27:09,940 banks and lenders. He would lie about his income. He would lie about his debt. 346 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:16,320 In one instance, evidence shows he takes a profit and loss statement showing his 347 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,700 company has lost $638 ,000. 348 00:27:19,630 --> 00:27:25,290 He has it changed into a document that can be edited and simply changes the 349 00:27:25,290 --> 00:27:26,290 numbers. 350 00:27:26,850 --> 00:27:32,010 From a $638 ,000 loss in the initial document that was sent from the 351 00:27:32,210 --> 00:27:36,830 after it was turned into a Word document that Paul Manafort could edit, it shows 352 00:27:36,830 --> 00:27:38,150 a $3 million gain. 353 00:27:39,270 --> 00:27:43,490 For Paul Manafort's purposes, he's telling the bank here, hey, I've got 354 00:27:43,490 --> 00:27:45,850 coming in, and yes, I can pay you back. 355 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:52,380 According to lawyers working for special counsel Robert Mueller, Manafort will 356 00:27:52,380 --> 00:27:56,760 use lies like this to secure $25 million in loans. 357 00:27:59,060 --> 00:28:05,360 Coming up, with his financial life in turmoil, Paul Manafort seizes an 358 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:06,360 opportunity. 359 00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:13,000 I think it's pretty clear that he sees Trump as the greatest opportunity for 360 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,180 salvation that he'll ever have. 361 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,640 I'll bring back our jobs and I'll bring back our money. 362 00:28:19,460 --> 00:28:21,560 Do the clothes make the man? 363 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:27,760 Take a look inside Paul Manafort's closet at AmericanGreed .CNBC .com. 364 00:28:28,980 --> 00:28:31,080 Want inside information from the show? 365 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:33,680 Join the Greed social network. 366 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,800 Like us on American Greed's Facebook page. 367 00:28:37,220 --> 00:28:38,220 We'll be right back. 368 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:56,360 In the early months of 2016, Paul Manafort is being pursued by Russian 369 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:02,480 oligarch Oleg Deripaska while also running a multi -million dollar bank 370 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,400 scheme. He's sitting in a place of desperation. 371 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:09,480 His marriage is in a bad place. 372 00:29:09,900 --> 00:29:12,960 His finances are in a bad place. 373 00:29:13,180 --> 00:29:18,540 He's looking for some way to reinvent himself, some lifeline. 374 00:29:19,260 --> 00:29:21,700 And he sees Trump come onto the scene. 375 00:29:22,140 --> 00:29:28,800 Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running 376 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,640 for president of the United States. 377 00:29:34,660 --> 00:29:39,220 And we are going to make our country great again. 378 00:29:42,220 --> 00:29:47,880 For Manafort, Trump was nothing less than a political and a financial 379 00:29:48,810 --> 00:29:52,890 Manafort uses his connections to score a job. 380 00:29:53,770 --> 00:29:59,110 This is the job application letter, for lack of a better word, that Paul 381 00:29:59,110 --> 00:30:03,450 Manafort submitted to Donald Trump through a mutual friend. 382 00:30:03,650 --> 00:30:07,650 He talks about himself as sort of an insider who knows how to navigate these 383 00:30:07,650 --> 00:30:14,630 very Byzantine party processes, but also casts himself as, quote, not a part 384 00:30:14,630 --> 00:30:15,830 of the political establishment. 385 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:23,980 Though he's resorting to fraud to stay afloat, Manafort isn't asking for much. 386 00:30:24,740 --> 00:30:29,180 One of the key selling points that Manafort makes and the case for in this 387 00:30:29,180 --> 00:30:34,060 application is that he will work for free. He says, I'm not looking for a 388 00:30:34,060 --> 00:30:36,400 job. And that he didn't need the money. 389 00:30:36,900 --> 00:30:38,100 The pitch works. 390 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:43,180 And by March, Manafort is Trump's convention manager. 391 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,340 By late May, he's taken over. 392 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,660 So joining me now from Southampton, New York, is the chairman of the Trump 393 00:30:50,660 --> 00:30:54,480 campaign, the head coach, if you will, Paul Manafort. Mr. Manafort, welcome 394 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:55,480 to the show, sir. 395 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:56,880 Thank you, Chuck. 396 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:04,020 Manafort may be working for free, but that doesn't mean he won't take 397 00:31:04,020 --> 00:31:05,900 of his lucrative new gig. 398 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:18,180 to improve his balance sheet. 399 00:31:19,260 --> 00:31:25,740 Manafort and his former Russian client, Oleg Deripaska, have had a falling out 400 00:31:25,740 --> 00:31:28,900 over a multi -million dollar investment deal gone bad. 401 00:31:29,980 --> 00:31:35,720 According to the Mueller report, Manafort asks how he might use his new 402 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:41,280 get whole with this Putin -allied oligarch and offers to provide him with 403 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,400 special briefings from inside the campaign. 404 00:31:44,330 --> 00:31:48,570 All indications were when Paul Manafort said to Oleg Deripaska, this Russian 405 00:31:48,570 --> 00:31:53,450 oligarch, can I provide you these insights into the U .S. political 406 00:31:53,450 --> 00:31:58,790 the U .S. election, to the Donald Trump campaign potentially, to get whole with 407 00:31:58,790 --> 00:32:03,350 you, he was referring to a debt that he owed Oleg Deripaska coming out of a 408 00:32:03,350 --> 00:32:04,410 failed business agreement. 409 00:32:04,970 --> 00:32:10,520 According to the Mueller report, Manafort's employee, Rick Gates, tells 410 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:16,060 investigators his boss has him share internal campaign polling data with 411 00:32:16,060 --> 00:32:21,820 employee in Ukraine so he could, in turn, send it to their former clients in 412 00:32:21,820 --> 00:32:26,720 country. Gates will also tell the feds he understands Deripaska to be one 413 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:27,800 intended recipient. 414 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:33,580 Later, when Russian efforts to push the election in favor of Trump are revealed, 415 00:32:33,820 --> 00:32:36,420 this alleged move raises many questions. 416 00:32:37,070 --> 00:32:42,150 A lot of close followers of the Russia controversy saw in Manafort's 417 00:32:42,150 --> 00:32:47,270 to share polling with some of these oligarchs, perhaps an effort to try to 418 00:32:47,270 --> 00:32:52,590 the Russian social media disinformation campaign that we now know was deployed 419 00:32:52,590 --> 00:32:55,710 to help Donald Trump in the 2016 election. 420 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,520 I think, however, there's an equally strong and perhaps even more convincing 421 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:06,240 argument that what Manafort was trying to do was to make money, and that's why 422 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:07,620 he was sharing the polling information. 423 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:13,980 He would want to show these former clients that he still had some serious 424 00:33:14,980 --> 00:33:20,100 According to the Mueller report, Manafort did not acknowledge ordering 425 00:33:20,100 --> 00:33:21,360 share the polling data. 426 00:33:22,570 --> 00:33:27,630 Though he did not respond to American Greed's requests for comments, 427 00:33:27,630 --> 00:33:32,350 spokeswoman has said he never received any polling data or private briefings. 428 00:33:32,890 --> 00:33:35,710 Hillary Clinton is the epitome of the establishment. 429 00:33:35,970 --> 00:33:38,070 She's been in power for 25 years. 430 00:33:38,270 --> 00:33:43,550 Despite his pronouncements, Manafort's days leading Trump's outsider quest are 431 00:33:43,550 --> 00:33:44,550 numbered. 432 00:33:45,470 --> 00:33:49,750 In August 2016, Manafort resigns from Team Trump. 433 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:53,040 in what the campaign calls a shake -up. 434 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:59,140 The following year, Trump is in the White House, and former FBI Chief Robert 435 00:33:59,140 --> 00:34:03,120 Mueller begins his inquiry into Russian election interference. 436 00:34:04,420 --> 00:34:09,139 Soon, Manafort finds himself directly in the crosshairs. 437 00:34:10,670 --> 00:34:14,790 St. Paul Manafort caught the eye of Robert Mueller because of his 438 00:34:14,790 --> 00:34:21,010 with Russia, connections with oligarchs, all of his offshore business dealings. 439 00:34:21,010 --> 00:34:25,550 And then once they began looking, found all of the financial misconduct. 440 00:34:25,929 --> 00:34:31,710 As will be revealed in future court proceedings, the financial misconduct 441 00:34:31,710 --> 00:34:37,310 investigators find includes the hiding of Manafort's Ukraine income, his 442 00:34:37,310 --> 00:34:39,190 multimillion -dollar bank fraud scheme. 443 00:34:40,060 --> 00:34:44,860 and his secret lobbying efforts in Washington on behalf of his Ukrainian 444 00:34:44,860 --> 00:34:51,600 clients. In October 2017, he and his deputy, Rick Gates, go 445 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:52,600 down hard. 446 00:34:52,940 --> 00:34:56,739 Breaking news tonight, the first indictment for the Mueller 447 00:34:56,860 --> 00:35:01,540 Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his one -time top aide 448 00:35:01,540 --> 00:35:02,540 federal charges. 449 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:08,560 At first, Manafort and Gates are indicted for hiding income from their 450 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:09,560 Ukraine. 451 00:35:09,690 --> 00:35:12,270 and hiding their secret lobbying efforts. 452 00:35:12,670 --> 00:35:15,170 Soon, their problems will grow. 453 00:35:17,910 --> 00:35:24,630 Up next, Manafort heads to trial, and a judge shocks many with his 454 00:35:24,630 --> 00:35:26,170 pronouncement from the bench. 455 00:35:26,510 --> 00:35:31,370 That judge also added that Manafort has no criminal history and has, quote, 456 00:35:31,370 --> 00:35:33,310 lived an otherwise blameless life. 457 00:35:33,690 --> 00:35:36,510 There was nothing about that record. 458 00:35:37,190 --> 00:35:40,650 that the adjective blameless should be applied. 459 00:35:55,310 --> 00:36:01,570 In the supercharged political landscape of 2017, not everyone sees Paul 460 00:36:01,570 --> 00:36:04,350 Manafort's indictment as justice at work. 461 00:36:05,250 --> 00:36:10,110 People try to paint this as some sort of a political indictment or some sort of 462 00:36:10,110 --> 00:36:13,530 a political attack going after the president's former campaign manager. 463 00:36:14,380 --> 00:36:19,740 I think that when you have a $25 million bank fraud and $55 million in offshore 464 00:36:19,740 --> 00:36:24,400 bank accounts, any prosecutor in America would bring that case regardless of his 465 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:28,360 connection to President Trump. But I do think, in addition, there was hope that 466 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:34,440 they could use those charges as leverage to provide cooperation from Paul 467 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,860 Manafort. And it wasn't that they wanted him to do in President Trump. They 468 00:36:38,860 --> 00:36:39,860 wanted to learn the truth. 469 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,860 At first, Manafort doesn't flip. 470 00:36:44,420 --> 00:36:49,700 But a few months after the initial indictment, someone very close to him 471 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:57,820 Manafort's former top aide, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying 472 00:36:57,820 --> 00:36:58,820 to investigators. 473 00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:02,080 Gates is now cooperating with the special counsel. 474 00:37:03,790 --> 00:37:07,770 It was really shocking when Rick Gates flipped on Manafort and decided to 475 00:37:07,770 --> 00:37:12,290 testify against him. This is a guy who had worked for and around Manafort for 476 00:37:12,290 --> 00:37:13,290 decades. 477 00:37:13,990 --> 00:37:18,410 He knew that he had worked closely with Rick Gates, that Rick Gates knew about 478 00:37:18,410 --> 00:37:23,230 all of the schemes. He was his close business partner and knew that his 479 00:37:23,230 --> 00:37:25,690 cooperation would likely be devastating. 480 00:37:27,290 --> 00:37:30,090 This is not the only trouble Manafort faces. 481 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:38,620 In June 2018, prosecutors hit him with additional charges. 482 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:44,860 They allege he's been coaching witnesses to say his secretive lobbying for 483 00:37:44,860 --> 00:37:49,600 Ukraine took place outside the U .S. and was therefore totally legal. 484 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:54,740 That looked right there that this is somebody who is hiding legitimate and 485 00:37:54,740 --> 00:37:58,660 serious criminal behavior. That was something that I think turned the tide 486 00:37:58,660 --> 00:38:01,480 far as what people looked at when it came to Paul Manafort's indictment. 487 00:38:05,190 --> 00:38:07,090 Manafort's bail is revoked. 488 00:38:09,170 --> 00:38:15,710 And the man who has lived in fine homes across the country is sent to 489 00:38:15,710 --> 00:38:16,710 lockup. 490 00:38:18,170 --> 00:38:23,810 Manafort's case is split in two, with one trial scheduled at the courthouse in 491 00:38:23,810 --> 00:38:26,890 Alexandria, Virginia, and another in Washington, D .C. 492 00:38:28,890 --> 00:38:31,410 On July 31, 2018, 493 00:38:32,380 --> 00:38:35,980 A jury in Virginia begins to hear the first of these cases. 494 00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:41,500 Though Paul Manafort was the Trump campaign chairman for three months, this 495 00:38:41,500 --> 00:38:43,020 trial is not about that. 496 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:49,360 Prosecutors argue that Manafort lied to hide his money when he was making it in 497 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:54,260 Ukraine and lied to get more from banks back home when that work ended. 498 00:38:54,620 --> 00:39:00,460 In making that case, their star witness is Manafort's longtime associate, Rick 499 00:39:00,460 --> 00:39:01,460 Gates. 500 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:07,060 Rick Gates is not a perfect witness, but very few cooperating witnesses are. But 501 00:39:07,060 --> 00:39:12,060 what Rick Gates could provide is essentially a talking roadmap and could 502 00:39:12,060 --> 00:39:16,720 the jury exactly how it was that Paul Manafort did his business. And for all 503 00:39:16,720 --> 00:39:20,480 Rick Gates's own faults, there were documents to back it up. It made him a 504 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:21,480 credible witness. 505 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:29,160 On August 21st, the jury finds Manafort guilty on five counts of filing a false 506 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:33,980 tax return, one count of failing to disclose a foreign bank account, and two 507 00:39:33,980 --> 00:39:37,740 counts of bank fraud while acquitting him on 10 additional charges. 508 00:39:38,620 --> 00:39:44,040 When the trial ends, President Trump denies a connection to the case. It 509 00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:48,180 involve me, but I still feel, you know, it's a very sad thing that happened. 510 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:51,000 This has nothing to do with Russian collusion. 511 00:39:51,850 --> 00:39:57,050 Not long after his guilty verdict in Virginia, Manafort agrees to plead 512 00:39:57,050 --> 00:40:00,550 to two conspiracy counts in his pending case in D .C. 513 00:40:01,450 --> 00:40:05,490 I think at that point he knew that the only way that he could reduce his 514 00:40:05,490 --> 00:40:10,130 potential prison exposure was to enter a guilty plea and to cooperate with the 515 00:40:10,130 --> 00:40:14,970 special counsel. And so he agreed to do that. I don't know if he ever intended 516 00:40:14,970 --> 00:40:16,130 to fully cooperate. 517 00:40:16,750 --> 00:40:18,290 Throughout his case... 518 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:24,220 President Trump praises Manafort for not flipping and dangles the possibility of 519 00:40:24,220 --> 00:40:25,220 salvation. 520 00:40:25,580 --> 00:40:29,620 Tonight, the president is saying that a pardon for Paul Manafort, his former 521 00:40:29,620 --> 00:40:32,240 campaign chair, is not off the table. 522 00:40:33,260 --> 00:40:38,280 Two and a half months after agreeing to help prosecutors, the government says in 523 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:44,360 a court filing, and a judge will later agree, that Manafort has broken his 524 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:49,320 He broke it because he lied to investigators about certain questions 525 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:53,940 had and certain questions that no matter how he answered, he wouldn't have been 526 00:40:53,940 --> 00:40:59,200 prosecuted for. And the question I think that will always hover over this story 527 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:06,040 is why? Why was he lying? Why did he decide not to fully play ball with 528 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:07,040 Mueller? 529 00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:11,960 He must have believed that the truth would be damaging to people he was 530 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:16,220 to protect. I don't know if that was President Trump or others, or if it got 531 00:41:16,220 --> 00:41:18,080 the very heart of cooperation about Russia. 532 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:23,900 But it may be that those lies or whatever it was he continued to protect 533 00:41:23,900 --> 00:41:27,560 reason that Robert Mueller was never able to establish a conspiracy between 534 00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:28,640 Russia and the Trump campaign. 535 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:32,420 In March 2019, 536 00:41:33,470 --> 00:41:36,930 Judges in Manafort's cases in Virginia and D .C. 537 00:41:37,170 --> 00:41:42,090 hand down separate sentences totaling seven and a half years in prison. 538 00:41:43,090 --> 00:41:46,170 Manafort did not respond to requests for comment. 539 00:41:47,170 --> 00:41:52,710 His is a fall from grace for a kingmaker who once stood behind the most powerful 540 00:41:52,710 --> 00:41:53,710 men in the world. 541 00:41:54,690 --> 00:42:00,610 Many who studied Manafort's long career as an influence peddler remained baffled 542 00:42:00,610 --> 00:42:05,610 by the words of the Virginia judge in his federal case, who said that, except 543 00:42:05,610 --> 00:42:11,010 for his recent crime, Manafort had lived an otherwise blameless life. 544 00:42:11,450 --> 00:42:17,790 There was so much evidence revealing Manafort to be a shady operator that to 545 00:42:17,790 --> 00:42:23,610 hear the judge sort of almost applaud him for living a blameless life to that 546 00:42:23,610 --> 00:42:27,650 point was sort of galling to a lot of people. 547 00:42:29,900 --> 00:42:35,240 That phrase, in an otherwise blameless life, really does stick into the craw 548 00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:39,880 because everything that Manafort had done from the moment that he opened up 549 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:46,820 lobbying shop in Washington had been done to personally enrich himself at 550 00:42:46,820 --> 00:42:49,600 the expense of American democracy.