Manafort Conspired With Israeli Official To Influence Obama’s Ukraine Policy, Mueller Documents Show
In 2012, while working as a lobbyist for the pro-Russian government of Ukraine, Paul Manafort conspired with a senior Israeli official to pressure Barack Obama’s administration to disavow Ukraine’s then-opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, Haaretz reports.
The Manafort-Israel-Russia connection appears on the pages of the plea deal signed between Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and Robert Mueller’s office. The following is stated in the document.
“Manafort sought to undermine United States support for Tymoshenko. He orchestrated a scheme to have, as he wrote in a contemporaneous communication, ‘Obama Jews’ put pressure on the [Obama] administration to disavow Tymoshenko.”
According to the document, Manafort and an unnamed senior Israeli official conspired to tarnish the reputation of Yulia Tymoshenko by accusing her of anti-semitism.
Manafort and the Israeli official’s strategy was simple. The two men authored a written statement, slandering Tymoshenko. Manafort then spread the story to U.S. media.
“I have someone putting it in the New York Post. Bada bing bada boom,” he wrote to one of his associates.
“The Jewish community will take this out on Obama on Election Day if he does nothing,” Manafort told an associate, according to the document, implying that his goal was to pressure Barack Obama’s administration into acting against Tymoshenko, Manafort client’s biggest rival at the time.
By accusing Tymoshenko of anti-semitism, with the help of his Israeli co-conspirator, Manafort planned on spreading the story to American media. Eventually, it would reach the American Jewish community (“Obama Jews,” as Manafort put it), which would then pressure Obama to work in the favor of Manafort’s client.
According to Haaretz, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s then-foreign minister could be the mysterious Israeli official mentioned in the document. In October, 2012, Lieberman published a statement viciously attacking political rivals of Manafort’s pro-Russian client. Ukrainian elections were held on October 28, 2012.
“Israel condemns anti-Semitism in all its forms, and expresses hope that common sense will prevail,” the statement read.
If Avigdor Lieberman is indeed the mysterious Israeli official mentioned in court documents, his and Manafort’s tactic worked, at least to an extent, considering the fact that various American media outlets published his statement, including Breitbart and the New York Times.
Avigdor Lieberman is currently the Defense Minister of Israel. Today, Lieberman denied ever meeting with, speaking to, or working with Paul Manafort.
Manafort weaponized antisemitism with 'senior Israeli official' in Ukraine lobbying scheme https://t.co/W75z6Conqx
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) September 14, 2018
According to the Jerusalem Post, along with Manafort’s deep ties to Ukraine’s pro-Russia politicians, political influence campaigns directed by other states, such as Israel, through Manafort, are also attracting Robert Mueller’s attention.
The Jerusalem Post, too, noted that Avigdor Lieberman appears to be the unnamed Israeli official mentioned in court documents.
These developments may come as a surprise to the American public, but some intellectuals have warned that other foreign powers, along with Russia, have meddled in U.S. elections multiple times.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, renowned linguist Noam Chomsky recently argued — without denying Russian election interference — that Israel meddles in U.S. internal affairs “openly, brazenly and with enormous support.”
