Trump 2016 Campaign Chairman (Jun-Aug 2016); convicted of tax and bank fraud, pardoned Dec 2020
Background
Paul Manafort served as chairman of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign from June to August 2016. He had spent years as a political consultant and lobbyist for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians, including President Viktor Yanukovych. In August 2016, Manafort shared confidential Trump campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, whom the Senate Intelligence Committee later assessed to be a Russian intelligence officer. Manafort was convicted in August 2018 on eight counts of tax and bank fraud in Virginia and pleaded guilty in September 2018 to conspiracy and witness tampering charges. Sentenced to a combined seven and a half years, he was pardoned by Donald Trump in December 2020 after serving approximately two years.
